Anecdotally I felt that the 'become dumb to fight the boredom' mentality spills quite easily into life outside of work if you let it too. If I had a challenging day, I'd go home and study or build something - I'd keep the productive 'train' going. If I had a dull day, which was most days after the first 3 months getting to grips with the job, I'd go home and blank out watching a TV show or playing a video game. I couldn't break out of the 'dumb' mind-set after spending 8 hours in it.
Regretfully I've lost weeks and months to this mindless monotony over the last year. Thankfully Friday is my last day, and I start a post-graduate course in October which should be a splash of cold water for my brain. In short, I'm very much in support of your second point.
Regretfully I've lost weeks and months to this mindless monotony over the last year. Thankfully Friday is my last day, and I start a post-graduate course in October which should be a splash of cold water for my brain. In short, I'm very much in support of your second point.