Feeling bored? Don’t escape it. Embrace it.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you—finally—have a calm moment to yourself, thinking that you will use this time to relax, but less than five minutes in, a different feeling sets in?

You feel restless. You feel bored. 

Instead of simply enjoying the moment of doing nothing, you feel a sudden urge to be “productive.”

Immediately, you stand up to maybe grab a book or turn on a language learning app or—God forbid—start to scroll through social media—anything to keep you occupied. Anything to allow you to escape this state of sudden boredom.

Nobody likes feeling bored. Personally, I can't stand it. I always feel the need to be doing something. Waiting for my flat white at the coffee shop? I quickly check my Instagram feed. The train is two minutes away? Time to see if any new emails have popped up. Stuck at a traffic light? An opportunity to find a better song on Spotify.

But what if boredom has a purpose to play, and by persistently evading it, we are depriving ourselves of this very purpose? 

First, research suggests that boredom allows the brain to properly recharge and recover, as it is no longer preoccupied with receiving, processing and responding to outside information. Our minds need rest, just as any overworked muscle does.

Second, when the mind has to use its imagination to escape boredom, it starts to wander and daydream, both of which are excellent activities for fostering new insights and creativity. Research found that participants who engaged in boring tasks before a creative task performed better than those who were not bored.

Bottomline: Boredom, however unpleasant, is good for you. The lack of boredom can even be harmful. How many of us complain today of being too busy, being too unfocused, or walking around burnt out and depressed?

What if part of this is because we never allow our brains to properly recover? What if part of this is because we never permit ourselves to be bored?

So, embrace boredom. Try to view it as your friend, not your enemy. In this busy world of ours, it is perfectly okay to do nothing for a moment or two. It is okay to be bored. It is, as strange as it sounds, even good for you.

Allowing yourself moments of boredom can lead to new ideas, improved mental health and a more balanced life. 

Next time you find yourself with nothing to do, resist the urge to immediately seek distraction. Instead, let your mind wander and see where it takes you.