How To Be Bored - and Become Smarter Doing It
- Yueqian JIANG (9AIH1)
- 14 hours ago
- 3 min read
When was the last time you were truly bored? Not the “I have nothing to watch on Netflix” kind; but the deep, restless, ceiling-staring boredom that used to accompany long car rides or Thanksgiving dinners before the age of smartphones.
Have you ever watched a movie on your laptop, while catching up on your bio notes on your Ipad, and scrolling through Instagram Reels on your phone - all at once? I sure have. Since when did finishing a movie in one sitting start to feel like your peak productivity?
What is boredom
Boredom is a lack of stimulation, when your brain is taking “time off” work - but in our hyperactive world, it’s becoming more like a luxury - or even an illusion. Our attention spans are rapidly shrinking as a result of frequent device use. Scientists have even suggested that in addition to rising awareness, chronic oversimulation may be a contributor to the rising rates of ADHD diagnosis in children and adults.
We habitually doomscroll, multitask, and crave dopamine like it’s vitamin D. But the reality is, social media platforms that we are so devoted to have backstabbed us - they've hired neuroscientists to design all sorts of eye-catching features, from notification bells, to message pop-ups - all in hopes to hijack our brains’ reward system and capitalize off our attention. Every scroll feeds our evergrowing sense of FOMO - until our brains feel like the 30 open tabs on a dying laptop. These are all signs of overstimulation and a lack of boredom; It overwhelms your brain and decreases your ability to retain knowledge.
Boredom on your brain
On the other hand, it’s only when we experience boredom – say, while watching a movie – that the gears in our brain start moving.
The attention network kicks in and focuses on what’s important, while filtering out distractions. When we stop forcing our neural networks to remain buzzing, another fascinating system takes over: the Default Mode Network (DMN). This is the brain's “idle mode”, active during rest or introspective thought. It integrates memories, connects abstract ideas, and plans for the future. In short, it is the powerhouse for all your fundamental internal cognitive processes.
Those striking Eureka! moments? It’s your DMN at work, making unexpected connections precisely because you’ve stopped forcing it to.
How to be bored
Finish reading this.
Yes, I can see you rolling your eyes, wondering what’s for lunch.
If this piece is boring you, congrats — you’ve already started your first practice session.
Let your default mode network (DMN) take over.
When you feel bored, it’s not that nothing is happening - it’s that your dopamine baseline has dropped. Your brain is suddenly under-stimulated, so it starts craving the constant stream of novelty that it is used to. Let it.
No phones, no music, no external distractions…just simply exist.
Do something boring, like watch paint dry, or better yet, think about watching paint dry - which is somehow even more tedious. This is when your DMN flows into consciousness.
Try “cognitive fasting”
Cognitive fasting is the brain’s version of intermittent fasting. You intentionally starve your attention.
Sit somewhere dull and quiet for 15 minutes. Resist the temptation to reach for your phone or find an escape.
Then, once your mind has rebooted itself, feed it something complex. You’re finally ready to tackle that algebra homework you’ve been putting off for the last three days.
I would even suggest reading about the Boolean Pythagorean Triples Theorem - a 200-terabyte-long math proof mostly generated by a computer. (Yes, that’s a real thing, and yes, it’s every bit as boring as it sounds.)
You’ll be surprised to notice that your brain is suddenly hungrier for complexity now - maybe even for absurdly long proofs. This is because you’ve just reset your cognitive threshold (your brain’s capacity for absorbing information).
Use boredom to refresh your working memory.
Your working memory is your mental notes app for holding and manipulating information - and just like the app, it quickly tires and runs out of storage. Boredom can help clear it.
When you intentionally stop receiving stimuli for chunks of time, you’re basically rebooting (defragmenting) your cognitive RAM (short-term memory). After 10 minutes of staring at a wall, you’ll come back sharper, more focused, and surprisingly creative.
Congratulations, you’ve just become smarter by doing absolutely nothing.
The ingenuity of boredom
We’ve come to view boredom as a bug of the human mind, but it’s actually a fantastic efficiency-boosting feature. If we could all pause and take some time off amid our hyperstimulated lives to simply be bored, so much more insight may be formed.
So the next time you find yourself restless, fidgeting, or about to open yet another app, resist the urge. Be purposefully bored. Let your brain idle, wander, and reset.
Silence is when the smartest thoughts begin.
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