Is there more research on how boredom relates to creativity in general? I've been wondering recently about how my default in most cases is to look at my phone (reddit, social media, texting).
That must detract from my net new ideas. I know many a child driven to weird ideas, fun games, and general creativity from lack of anything else to do.
It's probably a spectrum (reading reddit/HN/etc. is likely to introduce new ideas), but I'd venture to guess that most people could stand to trade a lot of their daily phone time for some intentional boredom.
The key seems to be to tend to your inputs, make sure they’re decent quality and on topics you care about, then create time away from inputs to ruminate and ponder. Reading outrage-of-the-day content won’t give you better software engineering insights in the shower. But reading hyped-tech-trend-of-the-month content might.
Conversely, if your mind is constantly engaged in other people’s thoughts, it won’t have time to create its own. For me personally that means avoiding external stimuli for the first 2 to 3 hours of the day (doesn’t always work).
Anecdotally it absolutely seems to go hand in hand for me. To the point where I've started considering social networks, booze, THC, etc as dopamine sugar.
I'm allowed them now and then as a treat for hitting a goal* or something but not constantly, and definitely no cake for breakfast.
* for instance I'm enjoying a nice HN binge right now as I've already covered my rent this month with freelance work :)
While I've not had any direct results of any ideas yet I have filled 8 pages of my scratch diary with ideas and notes on my main side project since I've started reintroducing boredom into my life. Previously it was bad enough that I'd forget the diary existed for days and sometimes weeks at a time.
Rather than go insane if the boredom doesn't turn into creativity I'm allowed to read a book at any time rather than slip back to the sugary dopamine sources.
Could just be honeymoon period, I'm only a week or so into it, I might get bored of being bored soon.
I'm not sure "boredom" is the right way to characterize the state. Deliberately cultivating this quiet time for creativity is one possible aspect of a meditation practice. David Lynch has an interesting book about that, called Catching the Big Fish.
I'm extremely easily bored so creative state of mind is my every day normal I guess.
Only tricky part is that it's a gradual process over a short time of basic information gathering that has to be captured in the right contexts back and forth for me.
All these comments here also bring new insights, overlapping feelings and an idea we are all in this mess together. To boredom!
That must detract from my net new ideas. I know many a child driven to weird ideas, fun games, and general creativity from lack of anything else to do.
It's probably a spectrum (reading reddit/HN/etc. is likely to introduce new ideas), but I'd venture to guess that most people could stand to trade a lot of their daily phone time for some intentional boredom.