I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the value of quiet in my daily (or at least weekly) routine. I often brag that I’ve never had cable since becoming an adult, as if it means I have better things to do with my time. But the truth is over the last few years, my free time has been increasingly filled with Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, and an ever-updating circle of blogs and websites, always something demanding my attention. Yet I know for a fact that my most intensely creative moments always come in the midst of silence – late at night, long drives, a rare early morning, etc.
That’s why I was really intrigued by an article I read recently on The 99% (in the middle of another lap around the internet). It was called “Why Boredom is Good for Your Creativity.” It basically argues that boredom can act as the first step in the creative process, followed by curiosity, then interest, then absorption in a creative task.
That’s why my new goal is to set aside time to be bored instead of automatically playing that next Seinfeld episode, or checking in on instagram to see what everyone is eating today.