The Benefits of Boredom: Why You Should Stop Filling Every Empty Moment

When was the last time you were truly bored — standing in a line, riding an elevator, waiting for a friend — without immediately reaching for your phone? For most people, the answer is "I can't remember," because we have eliminated boredom entirely, filling every micro-gap with a screen. That feels like progress. It is actually a quiet loss, because boredom turns out to be surprisingly good for you. Here is why, and how to get it back.

We have accidentally abolished boredom

Not long ago, life was full of small empty moments — waiting, commuting, queuing — with nothing to do but think, observe, or let the mind drift. The smartphone erased them. Now every gap, however tiny, gets instantly filled with a scroll, a check, a video. We treat boredom as a problem to be solved immediately, an itch to scratch the second it appears.

The trouble is that those empty moments were doing something valuable. By never being bored, we have quietly given up the benefits boredom provides — and there are more of them than you would think.

Why boredom is actually good for you

Research and experience point to several real upsides of letting your mind be unoccupied:

• Creativity. Boredom is a launchpad for creative thinking. When your mind is not being fed external stimulation, it wanders, makes unexpected connections, and generates ideas. Many people have their best ideas in the shower or on a walk precisely because those are among the last boredom-friendly, phone-free zones left.
• Problem-solving. A wandering, unfocused mind often works on problems in the background. Step away and let yourself be bored, and solutions surface that never appeared while you were grinding — or scrolling.
• Self-reflection. Empty moments are when you process your day, notice how you feel, and think about your life and goals. Fill them all with input and there is no room left to reflect. Constant stimulation can be a way of avoiding your own thoughts.
• Rest and recovery. Your attention is a muscle that needs downtime. Constant input never lets it recover, which is part of why you feel mentally frazzled. Boredom is rest.
• Presence and appreciation. Not reaching for your phone lets you actually notice the world — the walk, the sky, the person across from you.

What "killing" boredom costs you

Every time you instantly fill a gap with your phone, you trade those benefits for a hit of stimulation. Over time this trains your brain to crave constant novelty and to find any unstimulated moment unbearable — the same pattern behind short-form video's effect on attention. You lose your tolerance for stillness, and with it, the creativity, reflection and rest that stillness produces. You also lose the ability to simply *be* without input, which is a genuinely uncomfortable thing to have lost.

How to let yourself be bored again

The skill of being bored can be rebuilt. Start small and deliberate:

• Leave the phone in your pocket during small waits — the line, the elevator, the commute. Just stand there. Notice the urge to reach, and let it pass.
• Take a walk with no phone, no podcast, no music. Let your mind wander. This is where ideas come from.
• Protect "boredom zones." Keep some activities phone-free by default — showering, eating, the commute, falling asleep.
• Do one thing at a time. Resist the urge to add a second stream of input (phone while watching TV, podcast while walking). Let single activities be enough.
• Sit with the discomfort. The urge to escape boredom peaks and fades in a minute or two. Each time you let it pass without reaching for the phone, your tolerance grows.
• Add friction to the escape hatch. If your phone is the automatic boredom-killer, make it harder to grab on reflex. See how to stop doomscrolling.

Boredom is not the enemy

Here is the reframe: boredom is not a void to be feared or instantly filled — it is fertile ground. It is where creativity, insight, rest and self-knowledge grow. The most creative and thoughtful people throughout history had *enormous* amounts of unstimulated time, and it was no accident. You do not need to seek out boredom like a monk, but you can stop frantically eliminating it. Let some gaps stay empty, and see what your mind does with the space. Often, it surprises you.

Boredom and children (a note for parents)

This applies to kids too, and it matters even more for them. Children who are never bored — handed a screen the instant they fidget in a restaurant, a car, a waiting room — miss out on developing crucial skills: imagination, independent play, and the ability to self-soothe and entertain themselves. "I'm bored" is not a problem for a parent to instantly solve; it is often the doorway to a child inventing a game, drawing, building, or simply daydreaming. The discomfort of boredom is what pushes a child to create their own fun, and that capacity is a gift that lasts a lifetime. It is genuinely okay — good, even — to let your child be bored sometimes, without a screen, and let them figure out what to do with the empty space. The same is true for you: modeling comfort with boredom, rather than reaching for your phone in every idle second, teaches them more than any lecture. A little boredom, for kids and adults alike, is fertile ground, not a failure of entertainment.

Frequently asked questions

Is boredom actually good for you?

Yes. Boredom gives your mind space to wander, which supports creativity, problem-solving, self-reflection, mental rest and presence. By instantly filling every empty moment with a phone, we lose these benefits.

Why does boredom make you more creative?

When your mind is not occupied by external stimulation, it drifts and makes unexpected connections, which is where new ideas come from. That is why insights so often arrive in the shower or on a walk — rare phone-free, boredom-friendly moments.

Why can't I stand being bored anymore?

Constantly filling gaps with your phone trains your brain to expect nonstop novelty, so unstimulated moments start to feel unbearable. It is a trained intolerance, and it can be rebuilt by deliberately allowing small, phone-free empty moments.

How do I get comfortable with boredom again?

Start small: keep your phone away during short waits, take phone-free walks, protect boredom zones like showering and commuting, do one thing at a time, and sit with the urge to reach for your phone until it passes. Tolerance grows with practice.

The bottom line

We have accidentally abolished boredom by filling every empty moment with a screen — and in doing so, given up its real benefits: creativity, problem-solving, self-reflection, mental rest and presence. The wandering mind is not wasted time; it is where your best thinking happens. Rebuild your tolerance for stillness by leaving the phone in your pocket during small waits, taking phone-free walks, and sitting with the urge to scroll until it passes. Let some moments stay empty — and see what grows there. Your most interesting thoughts are waiting on the other side of an unfilled minute. Stop treating every empty moment as a problem to solve, and boredom quietly becomes one of your most useful states.

*This article is general wellbeing information, not medical advice.*