What happened when I engineered more boredom into my life

As a knowledge worker who spends a lot of time on the internet, I struggle with distractions and information overload. I’ve tried a lot of practices to stop doomscrolling, some of which have worked. For example, I now read a nonfiction book first thing in the morning and a fiction book before I go to bed. This means I no longer start my morning and end my day staring at my phone. But I was still struggling to stay off screens when waiting in line, commuting, or exercising. I found myself getting sucked into a rabbit hole of rage-bait when I’m on the train. I also had the habit of queuing up a couple of podcast episodes before heading to the gym. It got to the point where coming up with story ideas felt like pushing a boulder up a hill. Given that this is an activity that typically gives me joy, I knew something had to change. After all, my livelihood (and sanity) depends on it. Going on a complete digital fast wasn’t possible for me. I could, however, try to reduce the information I was consuming to see if that would provide space for creativity. For a week, I made it a goal to consume information via the internet only if it was for research purposes. I also committed to letting my mind wander during times when I would typically listen to a podcast or mindlessly use my phone. In short, I tried to engineer more moments of boredom. Result: improved creativity and reduced anxiety I saw immediate results. I came up with several ideas during a single train ride, and one afternoon when I was really struggling to extract any creative thought, I closed my laptop and stared out of my home office window. My mind started wandering. Eventually, my brain started asking a series of questions that I was able to turn into solid story ideas. I also noticed improvement in my stress and anxiety levels. This was unsurprising, given that social media seems to thrive on anything sensational and controversial. Based on what I experienced, I’d assumed that my creati