Research Says Boredom Is The Secret To Improved Productivity

The science-backed excuse to stop working. - by Chelsea Tromans

We live our lives at a million miles an hour these days. And for many of us, we take great pride in our ability to do it all. But burnout is a rising phenomenon and it’s out to get us all. The way to beat it? Take breaks during your work day. Your boss will thank you for it.

Studies have shown that a little boredom is good for the brain. It can actually spark productivity.

“Boredom, like many other emotional states that we have, plays an important role in our lives,” explains Andreas Elpidorou, an author and associate professor at the University of Louisville. “We don’t want to be left without boredom.

We just want to know what boredom can do for us and how we can best react to it.”

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Researchers at the University of Central Lancashire found that when participants were tasked with a boring activity followed by a creative one, they came up with more imaginative and often better solutions.

The findings suggest that by first undertaking boring tasks that send your mind into a daydreaming state - which is how a lot of us cope with boredom, by dreaming of doing something better or improving the situation - you will prepare your mind for more creative thinking in the ensuing task. The more passive the boredom, the more creative participants were afterwards.

So before your next big brainstorming session, answer some emails, shuffle papers. Get bored.

Good things are sure to follow.

This article originally appeared on InStyle.

Chelsea Tromans

Chelsea is an experienced health and beauty writer. She has a sweet spot for anything that claims to make skin glow and won’t leave the house without a slick of mascara. Chelsea has 10 years of experience as a beauty editor and her words can be found on BEAUTYcrew, Women’s Health, Daily Addict, The Joye and Primped.