Creativity and Boredom

by | Apr 7, 2019 | Creativity, Inspiration, My Life, My Writing

Bored Pug Longing for Creativity

I hate being bored.

I prefer to have a book in my hand, a show playing on the TV, or pen and paper to create with.

Sitting in waiting rooms, washing dishes, or twiddling my thumbs while the dog sniffs the umpteenth tree on our walk is my idea of purgatory.

I used to fight tooth and nail to avoid being bored. And, failing that, rushed through mundane tasks so I could back to immersing myself in one form of story or another.

For me, the advent of technologies like smartphones and tablets was a godsend.

Suddenly I had access to books, podcasts, audio books, television shows, and movies all on one portable device. I never had to be bored again and it was awesome.

Except… It really, really wasn’t.

I’ve said before that creativity is a muscle. The more I use it, the better it gets.

And all those times I was bored? I was daydreaming. Creating characters. Imagining worlds. Building stories and finding unexpected connections.

 

My inspiration disappeared.

I found starting new books harder and harder. Before, I had weeks and months of spinning ideas, drafting imaginary conversations, and considering back story before I ever set pen to paper. (Or fingers to keyboard, more recently.)

When I stopped letting myself be bored, I no longer had any of those unexpected ideas and possibilities and epiphanies to draw on.

Every time I sat down to begin something new, I was starting from scratch.

And there is nothing more disheartening or creativity killing than a blank screen and a blinking cursor.

The worse part was that it took me a long time to figure out what was wrong and why I was struggling. I thought it was writer’s block. Or, more frightening, that I lacked imagination.

Mostly though, I believed I just wasn’t working hard enough.

So I started researching productivity hacks and discovered concepts like single-tasking and time-blocking and minimizing digital distractions.

 

How I got my creative groove back.

When I started to put my phone away and using a ‘net nanny’ on my browser, I found myself staring into space a lot. Daydreaming again.

Creating again.

And I realized what I had been missing was a chance to hear my own thoughts.

Now, I’m trying to embrace boredom. I remind myself that freedom to daydream is the unexpected benefit of walking the dog or cleaning the house. (I still hate washing the dishes, though!)

Keeping my hands busy and mind quiet gives me a wide open space to create fantasy worlds. To discover characters and build romance.

To have a thousand adventures while standing in my kitchen.

 

I still hate being bored.

But I’ve finally remembered I don’t need a phone or a TV to keep myself entertained. I just need my own imagination.

 

Here are some links to few more articles and videos on the power of boredom:

Videos:

Articles:

Where’s your favorite place to daydream?  Share in the comments below or on Facebook.

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