When do you get your best ideas or solutions? And where? And how?
For many years I said mine most often came to me when I was standing under the shower, or sitting on the toilet. What do those have in common, aside from taking place in the bathroom?
In both cases, I was not doing much of anything. Just letting the hot water run over me, relaxing all parts. Or sitting and waiting for shit to happen (sorry, couldn’t resist).
Another example was back when I was running a lot more, training for half marathons, and I’d get into a similar relaxed state, around 5-7 miles in, when the movement went on autopilot and my mind could wander as it chose. I never wore ear buds or listened to anything from a device while running, which matters, as we’ll see in a moment.
More recently, I’ve reconnected with a similar effect around meditation, either at the beginning when I’m letting everything relax, noticing my breathing, and clearing my mind of thoughts, or just after I’m coming out of a session. Once again, sitting and doing nothing.
I came up with this opening — including the potty humor — as I was starting my meditation this morning.
So what’s the problem?
Continuous Entertainment
Nobody wants to be bored. But for most of human history, we couldn’t escape being bored, giving us lots of opportunity to let our minds meander. To sit under a tree and have a falling apple trigger an idea. To get around by walking, with no devices, so our minds could wander, too.
Now, however, we’ve eliminated most chances for boredom to happen naturally. I saw a reference to a Harvard Business Review piece on the benefits of boredom and it led me to this video by Arthur Brooks explaining why we need to be bored and why it’s so hard today. In short, it’s your phone. Along with all the other devices that keep us watching and listening to social media feeds, podcasts, music playlists, and on and on. It’s only 5+ minutes, so watch it now, if you like:
Going back to my own example, standing still in the shower has dwindled as I find myself fitting them into smaller and smaller time blocks in my schedule. I confess I’d developed the habit of taking the phone or a book to make “better use” of time on the toilet. I haven’t been able to run more than 2-3 miles in several years, when I run at all, so I don’t get to that autopilot state.
Meditation still works, though I don’t practice that as regularly as I used to, either.
Why We Need to be Bored
As Brooks noted, the neuroscience couldn’t be clearer. When we shut off external stimulation, our brains turn on what’s called the “default mode network” of brain areas that are inactive when our attention is engaged with external stimulation. The title of a 2022 study sums up the importance of allowing our default mode network space to operate: The default network is causally linked to creative thinking.
Another researcher, Dr. Sandi Mann, offers a good definition of what boredom is, why we don’t like it, and why our default mode network kicks in when we’re feeling bored:
“[Boredom is] a search for neural stimulation that isn’t satisfied. If we can’t find that, our mind will create it.”
There’s the key. When we deprive our brains of the heaps of external stimulation at our fingertips today — mostly nonsense, or at least far less important than your next creative idea — we have a built-in remedy. Our brains look inside for material to work with, often making connections among previously disparate bits of knowledge, memories, and experiences.
The researchers in that 2022 study called this “divergent thinking” and “creative fluency.” They describe the default mode network as the part of the brain that,
“mediates spontaneous cognition … [and] is thought to contribute to the flexible retrieval of memories and generation of ideas.”
I like that term “spontaneous cognition” — reminds me of those ubiquitous images of a lightbulb suddenly turning on inside someone’s head.
Why Writers Need to be Bored
It’s not just neuroscientists who think about the value of boredom. Check out what some authors and others have said:
“The best time for planning a book is while you’re doing the dishes.”
“You have to let yourself get so bored that your mind has nothing better to do than tell itself a story.”
“Boredom always precedes a period of great creativity.”
“Boredom is your window on the properties of time that one tends to ignore to the likely peril of one’s mental equilibrium. It is your window on time’s infinity. Once this window opens, don’t try to shut it; on the contrary, throw it wide open.”
Madeleine L’Engle (picking up on how the default network fills in the stimulation that boredom is craving) —
“If we allow our ‘high creativity’ to remain alive, we will never be bored. We can pray, standing in line at the supermarket. Or we can be lost in awe at all the people around us, their lives full of glory and tragedy, and suddenly we will have the beginnings of a painting, a story, a song.”
“Boredom is the gateway to mind-wandering, which helps our brains create those new connections that can solve anything from planning dinner to a breakthrough in combating global warming.”
“Being bored is a precious thing, a state of mind we should pursue. Once boredom sets in, our minds begin to wander, looking for something exciting, something interesting, to land on. And that’s where creativity arises.”
“The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.”
“I’m a big believer in boredom. Boredom allows one to indulge in curiosity, and out of curiosity comes everything.”
QuestLove (musician Ahmir Thompson)
“On the face of it, it doesn’t make any sense. Boredom seems like the least creative feeling. But it’s actually a way of clearing space for a new idea to spring back up.”
“Creativity is the residue of time wasted.”
Getting Bored on Purpose
So now that you know why boredom is a good thing, how can you tap into it when you need a creativity boost?
I hinted at the big one at the beginning and Brooks confirmed it in the video: Put down the phone.
More specifically, think about your daily activities where you routinely pull out that powerful piece of continuous stimulation technology. I mentioned one that’s been easy for me: stop taking it to the bathroom. Other common times to put it away:
- when you’re eating
- while waiting in line
- should not need to be listed, but when you’re driving — and let’s add when you’re being driven
- when you’re walking, whether on the sidewalk heading for your next task, or a pleasure walk in nature
I’m sure you can think of other times in your own schedule.
Besides subtracting the phone from opportunities already in your day, you can also consider adding some. I mentioned how running and meditation have worked for me. The article in Time with the quote above from Dr. Sandi Mann offers some similar suggestions:
“To tap into true boredom, she suggests picking an activity that requires little or no concentration — like walking a familiar route, swimming laps or even just sitting with your eyes closed — and simply letting your mind wander, without music or stimulation to guide it.”
That’s the bottom line: find ways to let you mind wander, so you can benefit from the creative fluency and spontaneous cognition that are built-in. Your default mode network is just waiting for quiet spaces so it can go to work for you.
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