Have you ever gotten that itchy, restless feeling when there’s nothing around that feels even remotely interesting to do? That’s boredom. It sneaks up, a quiet whisper in an otherwise loud world of endless scrolling, background music, and the constant ding of notifications.
Nowadays, it’s almost like we’re allergic to being bored. We watch TV while we eat, check texts while standing in line, and even scroll while in the bathroom. Boredom gets treated like a disease, something to cure with social media, emails, podcasts—anything to fill the quiet.
But here’s the thing: if you’re a writer, boredom is something you want to lean into.
What boredom really is
Think about it: boredom is your brain’s way of saying, “Hey, this isn’t working, let’s try something new.” It’s that familiar frustration, that uncomfortable itch that makes you want to do anything but stay in that moment. Take this common example:
A kid tells their parent they’re bored. The parent gives them a list of ideas – they could read a book, ride their bike, draw with chalk, paint, or unbox their new action figures. The kid makes a face and stomps off dramatically. They don’t want to do any of those things. After a little while, the parent finds their kid making up their own activity to amuse themselves.
That’s boredom in action. When no entertainment is immediately available, boredom makes you restless, eager for something engaging. That’s where the magic starts.
For writers, that urge to “do something else” can be a bridge to creativity. Boredom opens a mental blank canvas, allowing you to dream up new ideas, explore characters and plot twists, or maybe just daydream into something that becomes your next big story.
Why boredom feels uncomfortable
Some people describe boredom as a kind of physical or mental pain. Except boredom is almost more aversive than actual pain. In some boredom studies, the participants preferred to inflict pain on themselves rather than sit with the frustration and lethargy that stems from boredom.
Today’s world attempts to stifle boredom by offering people constant stimulation. But boredom comes with repetition as well as emptiness. You can be bored of checking your phone all the time, but you’ll still check it because doing so gives you a shot of short-term dopamine. In the long term, though, you will feel restless with the lack of fulfillment it gives you.
Why boredom matters more than ever
“You’re not bored, you’re just lazy.”
“Boredom is a lack of imagination.”
Maybe you’ve heard these sayings before. They make it sound like creativity and boredom are opposites. But that’s not quite right. If you look closer, boredom is an invitation to flex your creative muscles, to make something out of nothing. It isn’t about laziness; it’s about what you do with the space boredom gives you.
With endless entertainment and tasks available at your fingertips, boredom has become rare. We’re almost never alone with our thoughts. All the noise from screens and lights keeps us mentally engaged in the moment but robs our brains of the stillness they need to imagine and dream. When there’s no space for wandering, creative ideas start to fade into the background.
Benefits of being bored
Neil Gaiman once said, “You have to let yourself get so bored that your mind has nothing better to do than tell itself a story.” That’s boredom’s gift: it nudges you to dig into your imagination, reach for memories, and connect dots you hadn’t noticed before.
Boredom, as uncomfortable as it can be, is a writer’s playground. The restlessness of boredom often reveals what you’d actually rather be doing: creating stories.
Creativity
It’s amazing what can come from a little emptiness. When you let yourself be bored, you’re giving yourself the chance to decide what to do next. Do you want to stay bored or do you want to entertain yourself? For writers, this often leads to the decision to think about their stories. The blankness is an opportunity to ask questions and engage in challenging scenarios that can spark a story idea, a plot twist, or even the resolution to that tricky scene they’ve been stuck on.
The more you practice boredom for yourself, not only will you have more ideas, but you’ll find many of them are of better quality than ideas you get when you’re distracted.
Just know that this has to be a firm choice. Writing does not satisfy dopamine cravings like scrolling does. It is a long-term project that you have to be willing to stick by, even through frustration, lethargy, or restlessness.
Self-control and resilience
If you choose to be bored, you choose to practice patience. It isn’t easy sitting in an uncomfortable space. For the first time in perhaps a while, you have to face your thoughts head-on, rather than brushing them aside for a new task or a social media post. But by the end, you will learn to regulate your thoughts and emotions, bringing about a self-awareness that increases your ability to focus on important things.
Sitting with boredom also increases your resilience by building your mental muscles. It’s hard to sit at one task for a long time when your brain has learned to only give split-second attention to media. The more you do it, the better you become at it. For writers, this discipline is invaluable; it strengthens the ability to sit with challenging scenes, plot points, or ideas without giving up.
Practice being bored
So, how do you work with boredom instead of against it? Start by carving out intentional “boredom breaks.” Maybe it’s just ten minutes during lunch or in the morning when you’re tempted to reach for your phone. Instead, try doing… nothing.
Observe your surroundings, sit with the restlessness, and let your thoughts wander. If this feels strange, it’s because we’re so used to constant stimulation. But once you practice a little each day, you’ll start noticing how creativity can spark during or afterward.
Another trick is to get moving without a particular outcome or destination in mind. Do something that lets your mind wander. Go for a walk, wash the dishes, show, or drive along a familiar route. These low-thought tasks let your brain slip into autopilot, leaving space for creative daydreaming. It’s in this semi-bored state that fresh ideas can emerge. And if you keep at it, your brain gets better at letting go of routine thoughts, giving you room for something original.
There is an art to being bored well. Give yourself a window—a set amount of time to just “be,” without distractions. If you have an hour between when work ends and when you have to pick up your child from a sport practice, choose to do nothing during that time. It has to be intentional, or else the spaces where boredom appears will feel like stagnation.
Additional tips:
Don’t fight the discomfort
Try not to berate yourself for finding it hard to be bored. That will just turn boredom into suffering and you won’t get any benefits from it that way. Neither the act of being bored nor the ability to be bored is a judgment of your character.
Look for purpose
Look for the “why” whenever you take on something to do. Decide what is important to you to determine which options to fill your time with outside of practicing boredom. This will help your actions maintain value, which in turn helps you avoid the bad feelings of boredom like lethargy and purposelessness.
Limit social media
Consider turning on screen time limits for your social media apps. Also, learn to identify how you are using media. There is nothing wrong with doing something intentional and enjoyable. But if you are passively browsing, you’re more likely to perpetuate a boredom loop.
Reclaiming your creativity with boredom
Boredom isn’t the absence of ideas; it’s the birthplace of them. When you lean into boredom, you reclaim the power to create, to think deeply, and to truly engage with the world around you. So, instead of filling every moment with noise, embrace the silence. Sit in your living room without the TV on or stand in line at Starbucks without checking your notifications. See what happens to your stories if you engage in regular, intentional mental emptiness.