The Power of Boredom: Why Your Brain Needs It
Now more than ever phones have become a core part of your lives. Whether it's a source of entertainment or messaging our friends, phones are always in our pocket. Having such a quick escape to dopamine has accustomed our brains to go reach for it whenever we're bored. This has hindered our ability to perform focused and deep work which is inherently boring. This article isn't about using a productivity app or a hack, it's about a fundamental shift in our brains to engage with difficult and prolonged tasks.
Take a moment and ask yourself: When was the last time you worked on something for an hour without checking your phone, switching tabs, or putting on background music?
The Science Behind Boredom
Dr. Sandi Mann, a psychologist studying boredom at the University of Central Lancashire, has found in her research that participants who complete boring tasks before taking creativity tests consistently outperformed those who went straight into creative exercises.
"Boredom is not a negative state," she explained, "It's actually the brain signaling that you're ready for something new." When we suppress that signal with a distraction, we neutralize that brain response that leads to our best thinking.
The Neural Impact of Constant Stimulation
Neuroscientists have observed similar patterns. When we feel under stimulated we reach for our phones causing neural pathways that make us less tolerant to mental strain stronger. It's a positive feedback loop where the more we do it the harder it gets to stop the urge for a quick hit in stimulation.
The Myth of Background Music
The growing reliance on background music while working is a perfect example of people claiming to need music to focus. Although research does show that simple background music can benefit routine tasks, such as those that do not require much cognitive effort. Studies show it actively impairs performance on work requiring complex thinking.
In reality background music is providing our stimulus hungry brains with enough distraction to tolerate the discomfort of focused thought.
Boredom as a Competitive Advantage
In a world that's filled with noise and distraction, the ability to focus and think for long periods of time feels like a superpower. Therefore it's more in demand than ever. Mastering the skill of being boarded will open doors to solve harder problems, create higher-quality work, and progress faster in their fields.