The Lost Art of Boredom

A phrase many parents have heard at least once is:

"I'm bored."

As tempting as it is to rush in with a solution, boredom has traditionally played an important role in childhood.

When children aren't entertained, they often begin creating.

They build cubbies.

Invent games.

Draw.

Imagine.

Explore.

In other words, they learn how to generate their own engagement with the world.

Boredom isn't a sign that something has gone wrong.

More often, it's the space where something new begins.

Yet somewhere along the way, many of us stop tolerating boredom altogether.

Waiting for a coffee? Check your phone.

Standing in a queue? Scroll.

Sitting at a red light? Turn on the radio or a podcast.

Every spare moment becomes an opportunity for stimulation.

The problem isn't technology itself. The problem is that when we constantly fill every gap, we leave little room for reflection, creativity or insight.

I’m sure you’ve noticed how some of your best ideas don't arrive when you're concentrating harder.

They arrive while walking.

Gardening.

Driving.

Showering.

Looking out the window.

There's a reason for this.

Research into the brain's "default mode network" suggests that when our attention isn't occupied by a specific external task, the brain can shift into a mode associated with mind-wandering, making connections and generating ideas. In a 2024 study, researchers found that this network was involved in both mind-wandering and creative thinking, and disrupting its activity reduced the originality of people's ideas.

In other words, giving the mind some space isn't necessarily doing nothing.

It may be giving the brain room to connect the dots.

Our brains need periods of input. Yet they also need periods when we're not taking anything in. Time to process what we've experienced, learned and felt. 

This week, instead of immediately filling every empty moment, experiment with leaving one pocket of boredom untouched.

No phone.

No music.

No podcast.

Just a few minutes of space.

You might be surprised by what shows up when there's finally room for it.

Because boredom isn't necessarily empty.

Sometimes it's where creativity begins.

Reference:

Bartoli, E. et al. (2024). Default mode network electrophysiological dynamics and causal role in creative thinking. Brain, 147(10), 3409–3425.

DOI: 10.1093/brain/awae199. Link