Let’s get bored

Using boredom as a teaching tool

It’s probably not uncommon for a teacher to unintentionally bore their students.

But I set out to intentionally do just that in the seminar I teach on creativity at Marquette University.

The assignment was literally to be bored.

It’s not as easy as it sounds. Boredom was once a passive state. You found yourself stuck in a dull situation and just had to endure — you had no choice.

Today, with endless amusement, stimulation and information at your fingertips, boredom and patience are deliberate actions that you must choose to take.

You have to choose to be bored.

So for this assignment, my students could do anything that lets them be aware of their thoughts. Do laundry, take a walk or stare out the window. Anything as long as they didn’t reach for their phone to quickly and easily amuse themselves.

The only ground rules were no distractions with music, texting, TV, or any artificial inputs.

You have to sit with the boredom.

Let it be your companion.

Be uncomfortable.

There is extensive research about the connection between boredom and creative breakthroughs. Your…