Boredom awakens creativity

For the vast majority of us, the usual way for a long time was that the physical working spaces were different from those for our personal life.

The lockdown to which we have been submitted has arisen some confusion within us. We are no longer able of differentiating what belongs to one world or the other and, where we used to have the freedom to do nothing, now it seems that we have so many things to do than ever. Paradoxically, we’ve run out of time for getting bored.

Boredom is a mood, evidenced as an overall lack of interest; it may even generate negative feelings. Yet, not doing anything is usually the prelude to brilliant observations, remarks, insights.  

When such not doing anything, getting bored, is managed positively, it may trigger the curiosity, the imagination and creativity. 

I recall this boss that I had long time ago, in a company where the number of windows of the office was the hierarchical indicator, who “caught me” while I was staring out the window (oh yes, I did have one) with nothing in particular in my mind and he asked me: Do you believe that you are setting a good example by doing nothing?. This Ieft a lasting negative mark upon me, I say this quite openly. Can you imagine that someone would have asked something like this to Isaac Newton just before he saw the apple falling from the tree?   

“Wasting the time” is flying in thoughts that maybe we could not have before; we can even reach unthinkable questions, reflections and conclusions or unexpected answers. It is also likely that these are quite revolutionary and that no one had ever considered them before. We could label the groundbreaking outcome as an innovation; couldn’t we? 

Today, in times of uncertainty and ambiguity, it is time to “get bored”, to share the “boredom” with others (colleagues, friends …) and to imagine new answers to a world, that when we go out, will face us to a very different life.

Happy “boring time”.