On Boredom and Creativity

That small bundle of wires either sitting in your pocket, on your desk or now on your wrist has a magical way of keeping you busy. It goes incredibly well with that other large screen sitting in your living room or bedroom. They provide you with a consistent flow of entertainment, drama and easy access to friends around the globe.

Some humans may consider watching tv as idle time, but your mind is still being stimulated. Scrolling through Instagram has a similar effect even though it feels like you’re exerting no energy. With all of this mental energy being consumed, where’s the time for all of your creative thought.

Herein lies the power of boredom. When you have no podcast to listen to in the car, no screen to look at in the living room and no watch that lets you talk to friends, something magical happens. Your brain doesn’t just stop working. It begins to focus on things you may not have noticed. It begins to make connections and comparisons that you may have never thought about.

Your mind gets creative.

Try this experiment. Block 15 minutes of time every day to just sit in your living room and observe. Whatever thought comes into your head has free reign. Don’t stop it or dismiss it as stupid. You’ll find that a lot of interesting things may come up.

Next, start looking at all of the things around you and contemplate how they were created. The house or apartment you’re living in is probably the collective work of over a dozen people constructing it. The materials themselves have taken decades of effort and hundreds or even thousands of people to perfect the process of getting them to the builders of your home.

You may think of it as just a roof over your head, but it’s truly a masterpiece and your brain is making those connections.

Creative thought breaks are imperative and work very well in re-approaching problems in your actual life with a new point of view. A more objective point of view. A fun point of view.

Try it out.