It’s boring to say, but boredom is important

Have you ever found yourself staring out of a window or playing with random objects to combat boredom?

Studies suggest that boredom can serve as a catalyst for creativity under the right conditions

It’s a common experience many of us can relate to, especially when we were younger.

But have you ever considered how boredom can act as a catalyst?

I was recently watching some random comedian on TikTok. He was hilarious and made a few interesting points, which got me thinking about creativity and boredom.

The comedian talked about his younger days. Back in those days, we seemed to spend a considerable amount of time staring out the window, making up games or playing with loo rolls, waiting for things to happen, like waiting for the few hours of kids’ programmes to come on TV. Each of these activities involved occupying your mind as you tried to bat away boredom.

I have also been thinking a lot about how, when I turned 18, I was desperate to leave home, and as soon as it was practical, I packed up my things and moved out, never to return. This seems to be a common theme for many middle-aged people. Now, our children won’t or cannot leave home. Obviously some practicalities are in play, such as house prices, the cost-of-living crisis and being saddled with debt.

But one thing that spurred me into action to break the cord was boredom.

There was so much time spent at home doing nothing that leaving and getting a crappy job to pay the bills seemed like a positively exciting option. And so it proved to be.

Since I left home in the early 1990s, all the voids between activities have been filled. We just about had the VHS, meaning you could record and watch a programme later. Looking back, the quality was pretty suspect – they should have gone for Betamax! And who can forget Donkey Kong? Now that was a game that could fill a few minutes.

The Internet and its protocols ushered in new ways of accessing information, but you were always tethered to something such as a desktop. The mobile phone untethered us from the hallway telephone and phone boxes, and then in 2007, untethered pretty much everything else, to the point where now we can be entertained pretty much every minute of every day. Boredom has been squeezed out of the gaps. And that old devil of the law of unforeseen consequences comes to pass. This is just my POV, but what do the academics say?

The connection between creativity and boredom has been a subject of interest in psychological research. Several studies have explored how boredom can foster creativity by allowing individuals to daydream, leading to novel ideas and solutions.

One notable study by psychologists Sandi Mann and Rebekah Cadman at the University of Central Lancashire investigated the relationship between boredom and creativity. Their research found that individuals subjected to a tedious task performed better on subsequent creative tasks than those not bored, suggesting that experiencing boredom can stimulate creativity by encouraging the mind to seek new and exciting stimuli.

Wanja Wolff, Vanessa Radtke and Corinna Martarelli have published a report called “Same Same but Different – What is Boredom Actually?“. In it, they mention Leo Tolstoy, who characterises boredom in Anna Karenina as the “desire for desires”, and also Bertrand Russel in his Nobel lecture, who stated: “Experience shows that escape from boredom is one of the really powerful desires of almost all human beings.”

Overall, these studies suggest that boredom can serve as a catalyst for creativity under the right conditions. By embracing boredom as a natural part of the creative process and leveraging it to engage in reflective activities, individuals can unlock their creative potential and generate novel solutions to problems.

Why write this now? We are at a point where boredom may be about to disappear in its purest sense. The last vestiges are mangled out by, among other things, generative AI and the metaverse.

So, next time you embark on an innovation sprint or have a company away day, instead of thinking about fun activities, why not take a different tack and enforce boredom? Who knows what great ideas you may come up with. A genuinely world-changing fintech idea could be ten yawns and a watch of rain on the window away!

About the author

Dave Wallace is a user experience and marketing professional who has spent the last 30 years helping financial services companies design, launch and evolve digital customer experiences.

He is a passionate customer advocate and champion and a successful entrepreneur. 

Follow him on Twitter at @davejvwallace and connect with him on LinkedIn.