“[T]he monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.” This quote is attributed to Albert Einstein.

A couple of weeks ago—don’t hold me to that; I lose track of time on the regular—I was driving home after running errands. My local National Public Radio station was starting a segment on the link between boredom and creativity. It’s believed constant stimulation, usually attributed to tech, has almost completely eradicated boredom. Before we pop the celebratory champagne, it’s also believed the absence of boredom is having a negative impact on our creativity.

Yikes!

The segment sounded interesting. Would you agree? I can see the correlation between dwindling boredom and struggling creativity. Between social media, click baits, and the rabbit hole of online research, I sometimes feel like I don’t give myself time to just sit and think.

However, rather than listening to the segment, I turned it off almost as soon as it started. In my defense, I had a lot to do, and I was already running behind schedule. What’s new? Instead I promised myself I’d listen to the segment online…one of these days. Apparently, that day hasn’t arrived. But I’ve read a couple of articles about the link between boredom and creativity, and the menace of distractions. I’ve read them while on line at the post office or waiting at the airport.

(Did you catch the irony there? I was distracted from being bored by reading online articles about boredom and creativity. Sad.)

Anyway, the basic theory goes like this: Boredom gives our minds time and space to wander. And these mental meanderings are considered essential to our creativity. This of course applies to all forms of creativity, whether you’re an author, songwriter, musician, artist, sculptor, designer. I can go on, but that would get annoying.

Instead of giving ourselves time and space to be bored, we seem to have trained ourselves to seek distractions.

What are people discussing on social media?

Ooh! What’s this breaking-news alert about?

Is today the day I complete The New York Times Strand puzzle without hints? (Seriously. Is it today? Or maybe tomorrow?)

Neil Gaiman is believed to have said this about boredom, “You have to let yourself get so bored that your mind has nothing better to do than tell itself a story.”

In one article on the benefits of boredom, a psychologist stated that when we allow our mind to really wander off, it could stray from our conscious into our subconscious. In that space, our minds are able to make different types of connections. I found this fascinating. These articles have persuaded me to schedule a full day of boredom. What about you?

I’ll leave you with this quote credited to Agatha Christie, “There’s nothing like boredom to make you write.”

Question: When was the last time you unplugged—even if just for a half day; baby steps—from your phone and/or your computer? If you never have, would you want to? Bonus question: Where would you go to be bored? A park? A beach? The mountains? The living room?

Patricia Sargeant writes romantic suspense as Patricia Sargeant, cozy mysteries as Olivia Matthews, and contemporary romance as Regina Hart. Her work has been featured in national publications such as Publishers Weekly, USA Today, Suspense Magazine, Mystery Scene Magazine, and Library Journal. When she’s not checking texts, reading breaking-news alerts, or logging onto social media, she hopes to be bored. Claim your free subscription to her monthly enewsletter at PatriciaSargeant.com.