Bill Watterson, the creator of ‘Calvin and Hobbes’, once said: “Weekends don’t count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless.”
It sounds simple, easy. But really, think about it, when was the last time any of us actually allowed ourselves to do something completely pointless? Just ‘chumma’ sit, you know.
Somewhere between tight schedules and endless scrolling, ‘doing nothing’ has become harder than it should be. Screens, chores, and a never-ending list of tasks have taken over our lives, leaving little room for boredom.
And yet, the familiar “Mom, I am bored” or even the resigned “this work is so boring” continues to surface. Boredom, of course, is still around. We just don’t seem to know what to do with it anymore.
The case for boredom
Psychologist Seema Lal believes we may have been looking at it all wrong. “If necessity is the mother of invention, boredom is the father,” she says.
‘Idle mind is a devil’s workshop’ is the motto taught early on, and seeing idleness with suspicion becomes second nature. But Seema suggests reframing it as a ‘divine workshop’.
“When idle, our minds become a wide-open space for ideas, innovations, and pushing our beautiful, dynamic brains to see what they can create,” she adds.
Over the years, researchers have described boredom as a signal that your brain wants something meaningful. It’s a pattern many will recognise from the pandemic years.
While some people were forced to learn new skills out of necessity, many discovered their creative sides simply out of boredom. Remember Dalgona coffee, baking, and the flood of new content creators?
“Almost overnight, people turned into ‘MasterChefs’, amateur influencers, and learned new skills in a jiffy,” she smiles. With routines disrupted, people turned inward and started experimenting and ended up surprising themselves.
That instinct, Seema points out, isn’t new. “Years ago, a boring afternoon meant playing with mud, building forts, or inventing games,” she says. “Today, it might mean making memes or videos. The tools have changed, but the drive hasn’t.”
Aswathy Krishnakumar, clinical art psychotherapist, notes something similar from her experience. Having grown up with lots of ‘alone time’ at home, as a single child to working parents, she experienced the benefits of having time where there was no pressure to constantly perform.
“Boredom was never a problem. I always had a lot of time on my own and learnt to utilise time productively. There was no need to be told when to study, play or just relax, I did it all on my own,” she recalls.
She insists that the unstructured time she had as a child helped her develop skills that are essential even in adulthood. “I had the freedom to use my time the way I wanted to without my parents deciding how I should spend it. It made me independent and taught me to enjoy my own company early on. This helps me as an adult now,” Aswathy adds.
Theatre practitioner Manu Jose calls boredom an act of ‘self-compassion’. A self-proclaimed workaholic, he states that he grew up in a surrounding that considered ‘boredom’ a negative trait.
“I spent my time constantly working, doing something or the other. Never paused,” he says.
A serious illness, however, made him take a break. “That’s when I actually experienced spells of boredom. If anything, it only pushed me forward to do better,” he says.
What has perhaps changed today is our tolerance for boredom. Research over the years has consistently shown that boredom is not an inconvenience.
Studies have found that boredom can improve creative thinking, giving the mind a chance to wander and make new connections. At the same time, experts believe that not all boredom is the same — temporary boredom can spark ideas, but chronic boredom can lead to disengagement.
The difference, Seema says, often lies in how safe and rested we feel.
“Boredom is a biological necessity,” she explains. “Our nervous systems need both predictability and stimulation. The balance between the two determines whether we are surviving, living, or thriving.”
In survival mode, she says, people tend to fill every moment, leaving no room for stillness. ‘Living’ allows for rest or time that is unstructured and free. ‘Thriving’, however, comes when those still moments are used to explore something new or personal.
It is a delicate balance that modern life doesn’t always make easy.
With constant access to screens, boredom gets interrupted even before it has a chance to settle in.
“We tend to blame the current generation for not knowing how to be bored,” Seema says. “But passive consumption is often just the body’s way of coping with overwhelm. Creativity needs a rested mind.”
In other words, the problem may not be that we are bored too often, but that we are not bored long enough.
This is especially visible in children. While parents feel the need to fill their time with activities, experts suggest that unstructured time is important for development, as it builds problem-solving skills, independence, and imagination. Qualities that are difficult to develop on a tight schedule.
So when the occasion “I am bored” pops up, Seema suggests observing it rather than seeking to ‘fix’ it.
She offers a simple check-in:
B — Breathe: Pause without the pressure to produce
O — Observe: Notice what your mind is drawn to
R — Rest: Allow yourself to switch off
E — Explore: Let your thoughts wander
D — Discover: See what surfaces naturally
The idea is not to force productivity but to let the space for it to emerge naturally. That is the real challenge.
When we live in a culture that values constant activity, choosing to do nothing can feel almost unnatural. But maybe, as Seema puts it, that ‘empty’ time isn’t empty at all.
The boredom challenge
So here’s a simple idea. Do nothing for one hour every day. No phone. No task. No background noise. Just sit with the discomfort, the restlessness, the quiet. See what happens next. You just might relearn how to make your weekends count again.
Box 1:
Why is boredom good?
Boosts creativity and idea generation
Encourages problem-solving
Improves emotional regulation
Builds independence (especially in children)
Allows the brain’s “default mode” to activate
Box 2:
What research says
Studies show bored participants perform better in creative tasks
Short-term boredom → increased imagination
Chronic boredom → linked to disengagement
Overstimulation reduces the ability to tolerate boredom
Box 3:
Signs you might need boredom
Constant urge to check your phone
Feeling “tired” but mentally restless
Difficulty focusing on one task
Avoiding silence or stillness
Box 4:
The ‘do nothing’ guide
Try this instead of scrolling:
Sit without music or phone for 10 to 15 minutes
Take a walk without a destination
Let your mind wander
Follow a random curiosity
Box 5:
What research says: A 2014 study published in Creativity Research Journal found that participants who completed a deliberately boring task (like copying numbers) performed significantly better on creative thinking exercises than those who went straight into the task. The researchers concluded that boredom allows the mind to wander, which in turn boosts creativity.A 2020 study in the Journal of Adolescent Health tracking boredom levels among young people found that boredom is closely linked to motivation and engagement. It suggested boredom plays an important role in how children and teenagers interact with the world around them.A 2024 study on early childhood (published in Journal of Experimental Child Psychology) observed that even young children experience boredom meaningfully, and that it is tied to self-regulation and coping skills, which are key aspects of emotional development.