Creativity Requires Wild Boredom

Boredom has terrible PR. But I'm a huge fan. As is creativity.

One of the prompts in my Explore Every Day book was: Spend one full hour being bored today.

If you've ever come up with anything creative, does this sound familiar: When there’s nothing obvious to consume, the mind starts to wander. It stitches together fragments. It replays conversations. It imagines alternate endings. It notices things.

Standing in line? Phone.
Waiting for water to boil? Phone.
Two minutes of quiet? Also phone. (Cough, cough. I might know these personally.)

Some of the most interesting ideas don’t arrive during intense focus. They show up in the in-between: in the shower, on a hike, staring out the window.

There’s a kind of micro-creativity that only happens when there’s space.

Boredom isn’t empty

Boredom is like childhood before the 1990s, no structure needed. Let your brain-kids run wild. Get into a little trouble. Unstructured, open space is where unexpected connections sneak in. Sure, your brain might light a few brush fires like the kids in our neighborhood did.

But some of your wild, unstructured thoughts might lead to something bigger.

Like, one cold and rainy January night -- and the four and a half days that followed it -- inventing an entire board game about perception and understanding.