The Surprising Link Between Creativity and Boredom
January 13, 2015
When was the last time you felt truly bored? If you’re having a hard time remembering, you’re not alone. The conundrum doesn’t only apply to dancers with jam-packed schedules. It’s also something that most 21st-century smartphone-using earbud-wearing people feel. But while technology is great (such as these apps created just for dance), being plugged in from the moment your smartphone alarm goes off in the morning may cause a problem. A recent story on WNYC’s “New Tech City,” reported that it limits your ability to zone out and experience boredom.
So why is that a bad thing? WNYC spoke with boredom researcher Sandi Mann of the University of Central Lancashire of the U.K., and she offered this defense of downtime: “You come up with really great stuff when you don’t have that easy lazy junk food diet of the phone to scroll all the time.” When you’re bored, the mind has space and time to wander, and who knows where your thoughts may
take you?
If you think you’re experiencing a dip in creativity, check out the latest project by “New Tech City,” Bored and Brilliant: The Lost Art of Spacing Out, which launched this week. The new initiative promises to help listeners rethink their interactions with technology. It might just lead to your next great choreographic idea or fresh thoughts on how to characterize a humdrum role. Get to daydreaming, and then get to the studio, stat!
