Question:
When was the last time you went an hour without doing anything?
No phone checking, no social media, no emails.. nothing. When was the last time you were genuinely bored, 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!)
But, here’s my point:
We live in a very, very stimulated world these days, where even the tiiiiiniest amount of boredom will be instantly whack-a-moled by our dopamine-dealing devices.
Ok, you say.
So what?
Well, here’s what:
Could our over-stimulated brains be hurting our careers?
(And, vice versa:
Could making more space for boredom be the career boost we’ve been searching for?)
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.”
Yawn!
… or is it?
Because interestingly, Bezos says it’s this “puttering” time when he gets his best ideas. (which puts the dollar value on his “puttering” at $10 mil per hour or something)
Now, obviously that’s just Jeff. It doesn’t prove anything on its own. But here’s what I’ve noticed in my own life:
When I allow myself even a bit of low-key, device-free time — whether it’s early in the morning, or after dinner — my ideas start flowing in ways they just don’t when my brain is jam-packed with stimulation.
I’ve solved things I’ve been stuck on or had big realizations in moments where, from the outside, it might look like I’m just doing nothing: walking aimlessly, laying in bed when I’m trying to fall asleep…or even just taking a shower.
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 “empty time” every day where your brain can decompress & digest.
A simple way to start is with meals. Instead of trying to watch or read something at the same time, just…eat.
It’s harder than you think, but you’ll notice your mind starting to wander, analyzing old conversations or connecting random dots. Let it happen.
🚶 Walks w/o 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 Nietzche - 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 might find the mental white space you’ve been missing.
🗑️ The “No-Filler” rule for micro-gaps
These days, the second there’s a micro-gap in our day — waiting in line, waiting for a friend, or even waiting for a Zoom meeting to start — we reflexively grab our phones.
But what if we used those gaps differently?
- Set a “No-Filler” rule for these idle moments. No phone, no music, no reading.
- Observe your surroundings. Let yourself be curious about mundane things: the design of the ceiling lights, the way people walk by, the texture of your coffee cup.
- If you must do something, keep a tiny sticky note pad. Jot down random thoughts, scribble to-do lists, or doodle aimlessly.
It’s a tiny shift in mindset — seeing these mini-waiting periods as little windows of rest and reflection, instead of dead time to be “filled.”
🤹♀️ Don’t multitask the mundane
You might picture boredom as sitting in a quiet room doing zilch.
But there’s another way: stop multitasking the everyday stuff.
Think about washing dishes, folding laundry, or organizing your desk. Normally, we plug in a podcast or flick on YouTube to keep ourselves “entertained.”
Try skipping that.
Let your brain wander while you wash the plates or shuffle papers. Notice how your mind drifts — maybe it tackles a nagging question from work, or revisits a chat you had yesterday. 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 like the idea of giving your mind a little room to roam, but still want a tiny dash of structure, grab one sheet of paper and a pen.
Set a short timer if you want and just scribble. Write random thoughts, words that spring to mind, half-baked ideas, or doodles. Don’t worry about neatness or logic.
Sometimes, just letting your pen move can surface ideas that get buried when your brain’s juggling notifications.
I hope these ideas challenge you to think about boredom a little differently — and actually go seek it, instead of run away from it. Stop thinking ‘doing nothing’ is wasted time — reframe it as freeing up mind space for something good.
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.