How is it possible that we spend so much money, time, and other resources on “spending” money?
The Problem
For the past month, I’ve been obsessing over my new hobby: mechanical keyboards. I bought one. Then I built another. I told myself: It’s fine, it’s just a hobby. It keeps me off the streets. But in reality, it wasn’t.
Yes, I relearned soldering. I built a keyboard from scratch, including soldering tiny surface-mount devices (SMDs), customizing and compiling firmware, and testing and adapting a new keyboard layout. But that rabbit hole was just the start of a spending spree. After the initial splurge (soldering station, accessories, materials, keyboard kits, keycaps, switches), came more research. More evaluations. Another keycap set. Different switches. Not only did I spend tons of time researching the “best” things to buy, but I also wasted hours browsing online store after online store.
What started as “Let’s get a healthier keyboard” ended up as:
- 120 hours wasted on online stores and watching reviews
- 1 keyboard purchase
- 1 keyboard build
- 4 keycap sets purchased
- 2 switch sets purchased
- A new box of tools I might (but likely won’t ever) use again
- And countless hours of unrealized potential doing something else of value
I’ll quietly skip over the environmental impact of the 10+ packages shipped from China, the UK, and Germany. But hey, those deadly heatwaves don’t come from nowhere, right?
The Blame
The blame is squarely on me. I could pretend I was coerced by influencers, ads, or algorithms—and while they didn’t help—no one held a gun to my head and forced me to buy anything.
My keyboard collection, already substantial before my mechanical keyboard frenzy, now contains 7 specimens. Meanwhile, my wife is still happily using a 9-year-old Logitech keyboard she inherited from me.
Weak will, dopamine-seeking behavior, and a constant aversion to boredom are to blame. Guess what happens when you slump on the couch in the evening and, instead of picking up a book or simply going to bed early, you seek entertainment on YouTube? You guessed it. You get bombarded with infomercials and influencer content that tickles your reward-seeking brain—and boom—you’ve made another purchase.
The Solution
Simple (in theory):
Embrace boredom.
It’s okay to be bored from time to time. In fact, I bet it will make me (and you) even more motivated to do something creative rather than trying to fill the void with yet another purchase.
