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Creative Summer

The Art of Boredom

By July 18, 2019December 1st, 2022No Comments
The term boredom typically has a negative connotation. It’s often associated with being disinterested, tired or simply feeling like you having nothing to do. 

Boredom, noun. \ ˈbȯr-dəm \ “To weary by dullness, tedious repetition, unwelcome attentions, etc.”

But what happens when boredom is eliminated from our lives?

Today, we fill every second of our life with content through technology or other stimulation. And it’s tanking our creativity. 

When’s the last time you spent an hour of your day without checking your phone and sat alone with your own thoughts? Can you even remember?

Various studies, including one by Sandi Mann and Rebekah Cadman at the University of Central Lancashire, shed light what is called the “daydreaming effect”: 

“…the more passive the boredom, the more likely the daydreaming and the more creative you could be afterward.” – David Burkus

So give your brain a break! Trust that when you let your mind wander, your most creative ideas will spark.

Instead of listening to music on the drive home or checking your phone on a walk, be present in the moment and see where your thoughts take you.

As journalist and tech podcaster Manoush Zomorodi said in her TED Talk

“Learn to love being bored.”

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