I love being bored. When was the last time you really felt BORED? 💤 For me it was a few days ago — but before that, I think it was as a child.

I recently listened to an episode of the great podcast from Stephen Gates, The Crazy One 🤪, about the lost art of boredom and its connection to creativity. I then googled it and decided to try it myself — being intentionally bored to push my creativity.

Think about your day. When weren't you checking your mobile phone, forcing your brain to create, find ideas, sketch a strategy, support your team, sitting in calls or meetings (yes, some one of them are boring, but it's not the same 😉)? Doing these things, your brain reacts and does what you tell it to do.

But when you’re bored, it begins to work on its own. It switches to creative mode. And studies have proven it.

Now, how to get bored? Go offline. Sit on your couch, with no music, mobile phone or Netflix. Drive alone in the car, without music or a podcast. Take a walk alone, without(!) your dog. There are also some exercises used in studies about boredom and creativity. One is to read your city's telephone book 😆. If that sounds like something you need to try, have fun!

At first there is one big problem: You feel bad wasting precious time. It’s hard to ignore, believe me. But when you succeed here, you will recognize a wave of pure creativity coming over you.

So take the time — set an appointment in your schedule and take 30–40minutes and call it “be bored”. Go offline and get bored.