A plea for boredom (and against your phone)

In our capitalist world, a quiet moment can quickly feel “useless.” That is anything but true. The most brilliant inventions and the best-conceived marketing strategies don’t just fall into your lap. You have to give your brain the space to work. In this column: why it’s so crucial that we get bored.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I’m writing this column about silence while it’s raining outside. My window is open. I hear the rain against the glass and on the leaves of the trees. An occasional bird. Otherwise, it’s quiet. This is exactly the kind of moment when I feel creative. It makes me want to put a story together. Or to think about interesting concepts or plans for the future.

Boredom just isn’t part of the picture anymore

Moments like that are becoming increasingly rare. If we have to wait just a minute in line at the checkout, we reach for our phones. Even when we’re watching a show, and the plot seems to be slowing down for a moment, our hand reaches for that phone again. It’s like a reflex.

It’s no different in my personal life. My work is dynamic: every day I speak with scientists and entrepreneurs who have a new story to tell. And just two weeks ago, I was in Antwerp and Paris for events, where I attended so many fascinating presentations that I’m still working on developing those stories. Boredom? It just isn’t part of the picture anymore.

Fostering creativity

In our capitalist world, a moment of silence can easily feel pointless. Nothing could be further from the truth. Research shows that boredom can actually help foster creativity. British psychologist Sandi Mann, for example, conducted an experiment in which people first had to do something very boring—copying numbers from a phone book for 15 minutes—and then were given a creative task. It turned out that this group came up with more original ideas than people who hadn’t done that.

I notice this myself, too. The idea to run another marathon came to me at a “random moment.” I was sitting on the couch in the living room, waiting impatiently with a tapping finger on the armrest, while my boyfriend was loading the dishwasher. We were about to head out together in a few minutes to go grocery shopping. Normally, I would grab my phone to stave off boredom, but I didn’t. I just stared out the window for a moment. That same day, I signed up for the Madrid Marathon.

Then there was the plan to climb a high mountain in Switzerland (the Matterhorn). I was in the car on the way back from a week in Switzerland with family. It was quiet; no one said a word for a few minutes, and I was just looking out the window. Suddenly, the idea hit me: I’m going to do this.

These are a few examples from my personal life. But I can also easily imagine that this principle applies just as well to professional life. For the creative ideas you need in your career. Take a startup entrepreneur or an inventor. ASML’s machines also started as a wild but brilliant idea. Or on a smaller scale: an original marketing strategy can make the difference between survival and closure for a company.

Even if it’s just 10 minutes

My conclusion is actually simple: what if… we all made a little room again to be bored. Not all day, but just now and then. Even if it’s just ten minutes.

Before you know it, a moment of boredom could lead to your company’s greatest growth. Or it might ensure that, just like me, you’ll soon be standing atop a mountain.