Boredom and creativity

View from my writing desk - why staring at the mountains might be good for me.

As an artist/writer I have noticed that periods of boredom are often a prelude to a creative spell.

I have often suspected this and have learnt not to be afraid of it.

Now its official.

When we are bored we are forced to think outside the box, do something different.

Some research at the University of Virginian published in the Journal of Science in 2014 found that students left alone in a room for 15 minutes gave themselves mild shock on the ankle to alleviate boredom.

Another study (reported in todays Guardian) found that students who had been given a boring task, copy numbers from a telephone directory, and then were asked to come up with creative ideas on different ways to use a pair of polystyrene cups, were more inventive than those who didn’t do the boring task.

Dr Sandi Mann, one of the authors, said we should embrace boredom “ to enhance our creativity.”

Maybe that’s why so many creative folk say they get their best ideas when walking….