Boredom
No situation is boring in and of itself. Boredom arises only from our judgment — and from the implicit expectation that reality ought to be different from what it is.
via Mirko Marquardt
“What if the feeling I’ve been calling ‘success’ was just temporary relief from self-inflicted pressure? What if the real win wasn’t getting everything done, but no longer needing to prove that I can?”
via Substack “milk & cookies”
"What if we started measuring our days not by how productive they were, but by how peaceful they felt?"
via Substack “milk & cookies”
But if the deep roots of boredom are in a lack of meaning, rather than a shortage of stimuli, and if there is a subtle, multilayered process by which information can give rise to meaning, then the constant flow of information to which we are becoming habituated cannot deliver on such a promise. At best, it allows us to distract ourselves with the... See more
Boredom is good, she argues, because it ignites a network in our brains called the “default mode network.” In short, when we daydream, when we stare blankly out the window, when we perform mindless tasks in which our bodies operate on auto-pilot, our minds start making unexpected connections and solving problems. Some of this kind of sub-conscious... See more
Boredom and Creativity: Is boredom a path to brilliance?
Creativity requires connecting the dots, and connecting the dots requires allowing time for my subconscious to consolidate my ideas and make associations. This means that, from time to time, I need to just stare out the window and do nothing.
This doesn’t feel productive, even though it is.
This doesn’t feel productive, even though it is.
Ozan Varol • You’re doing better than you think. Here’s why. - Ozan Varol
But busyness has a way of stealing creativity from you. Generative work, like art and writing, requires long periods of nothingness: it’s only in that wide empty space that ideas emerge. Long runs, hot showers, commutes that don’t involve harried Slack messages and listening to podcasts at 2x speed. Sitting at the edge of a dock, listening to the... See more
Jasmine Sun • the scenic route
Our ideas appear primarily in one situation: when little else is occupying our thoughts…Good ideas require boredom. If you constantly ingest new information, the existing information can never be digested.
Nat Eliason • The Art of Fermenting Great Ideas The Art of Fermenting Great Ideas
“The secret to doing good research is always to be a little underemployed. You waste years by not being able to waste hours.” Managers who spend most of their lives in meetings should post that thought on their office walls.