Question:
When was the last time you spent an hour genuinely bored?
No phone, scrolling, or emails…with nothing to do but twiddle your thumbs.
Let me guess:
You can’t remember. (Dw, I’m not judging. I’m guilty of this too!)
We live in a very stimulated world, where even the tiiiiiniest amount of boredom gets instantly whack-a-moled by our dopamine-dealing devices.
Ok, you say. So what?
Well, here’s what:
Could our constantly stimulated brains be holding our careers back?
And, vice versa:
Could intentionally making space for boredom be the career boost we’ve been missing?
Let’s find out.
🤔 Was Amazon built by “puttering”?
To start, here’s what Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, said about his morning routine:
"I putter in the morning. […] I slowly move around. I'm not as productive as you might think I am. Because I do believe in wandering."
He also says that “We don’t get on our phones [in the first hour of the day]. That’s one of the rules.”
Sounds inconsequential. But is it? Interestingly, Bezos says it’s this “puttering” time when he gets his best ideas. Now, I know…Bezos isn’t the most relatable dude out there, so it doesn’t prove a lot. BUT here’s what I’ve noticed in my own life:
My ideas flow best during quiet, device-free moments — morning coffee, when I walk aimlessly, or I try to fall asleep, or while I shower. Moments when, from the outside, it looks like I’m doing absolutely nothing.
(Fun fact: Aaron Sorkin, Oscar-winning screenwriter behind The Social Network, takes 6-8 showers a day when he’s working on projects because that's where his best ideas consistently show up.)
Here’s what I think’s going on:
🤔 Fallow field theory
Farmers know that to keep their fields productive, they have to let them rest every few years. Athletes do likewise - the body can only do so much before it collapses.
Imo?
The mind’s the same.
Unless you want a brain that’s only ever in a “meh” state, you need to give it a break from stimulation so it can digest the “input” that’s come before.
Put simply…
Constant stimulation kills creativity.
Ok, so if boredom = room for big ideas, how do we actually make time for it?
Here are some ideas:
🕘 Daily “empty time”
Schedule short “empty time” breaks daily.
Meals are an easy starting point — just eat, without reading, watching or listening to something.
Sounds dumb, but it’s harder than you think if you’re like me and constantly checked your phone during solo meals. Try not to. Your mind will wander, random memories might pop up, and it might feel pointless. But let it happen.
🚶 Walks without headphones
A lot of history’s greatest thinkers swear by walking.
Aristotle taught his students while walking around the Lyceum. Steve Jobs held meetings on the move. And Nietzsche - who walked 10 hours a day sometimes (!) said that, “all truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.”
So, go for a walk.
The only rule: No headphones.
Let yourself be bored with only your own thoughts. You’ll get some mental white space back.
🗑️ Don’t fill the micro-gaps
The moment there’s a “micro-gap” in our day — like waiting in line, waiting for a friend, or even waiting for a Zoom meeting to start — we reflexively grab our phones and start scrolling. Instead:
- Observe your surroundings. Notice the mundane (e.g. the design of the ceiling lights, the texture of your coffee cup) or whatever comes to mind.
- If you must do something, keep a tiny sticky note pad. Jot down random thoughts, scribble to-do lists, or doodle aimlessly.
- A quick hack: Don’t put your phone on your desk. When it’s sitting there in your line of sight, it’s constantly asking to be picked up.
I like this mindset shift: see these mini-waiting periods as little windows of rest and reflection, instead of dead time to be “filled.”
🤹♀️ Don’t multitask the mundane
Stop multitasking the everyday stuff: washing dishes, folding laundry, sorting out admin, driving to work. If you’re like most, you turn on a podcast or flick on YouTube to keep yourself “entertained.”
Try skipping that.
These “mundane” moments can be weirdly meditative (and productive!) if you let them breathe, instead of drowning them in constant noise.
✏️ Grab a single sheet of paper
If you prefer slightly structured boredom, grab a single piece of paper and a pen. Set a timer (10-20 mins), then write whatever comes to mind: random thoughts, words that spring to mind, half-baked ideas, or doodles. Don’t worry about neatness or logic.
I hope that makes you think about boredom a little differently. And you actually go seek it at some point today.
If you can, today, pick and try out at least one of the strategies above — and see how it feels! You may discover that a little monotony can unlock a whole lot of creativity.