When were you last truly bored? Not watching something while scrolling your phone. Not listening to a podcast while you drive. Just you and your thoughts, with nothing to do.
For most of us, it’s been a while. We talked about this on a recent episode of our podcast, Tickety Boo, and it opened up more than we expected.
We’d rather do almost anything than sit with our thoughts
In a well known study published in the journal Science in 2014, researchers left people alone in a room with nothing to do but think, for somewhere between six and fifteen minutes. They had the option of giving themselves a mild electric shock. 67% of the men and 25% of the women chose to shock themselves rather than just sit there.
That tells you something about how uncomfortable an empty moment can feel.
Boredom used to be a normal part of life
You waited for buses. You stood in queues. You stared out of car windows and sat in waiting rooms and just waited. Now there’s a whole world of entertainment in our pockets, ready to fill every spare thirty seconds.
The kettle’s boiling, so we check social media. We’re in a queue, so out comes the phone. We’re with someone we love, and the phone sits on the table between us.
Every gap we fill is a door we close on an idea.
What boredom is actually for
Boredom isn’t a malfunction. Like hunger, it’s a signal. It nudges us to explore, to get curious and to let our minds wander.
That wandering does a job. Think about how many good ideas arrive in the shower, on a walk, or just as you’re falling asleep. There’s nothing competing for your attention, so the answer you’ve been trying to force all day finally turns up.
Someone on our team remembers her dad calling it washing your brain. Those twenty minutes standing at the bus stop as a teenager were doing a useful job that none of us noticed at the time.
What it’s costing us
- Our attention. Research by Professor Gloria Mark at the University of California, Irvine, found that the average time people spend on one screen before switching fell from around two and a half minutes in 2004 to around 47 seconds in more recent studies.
- Our ideas. Creativity needs space. If every quiet moment is filled, there’s nowhere for new thoughts to go.
- Our rest. Scrolling when we’re stressed feels like a break, but it often keeps the mind busy rather than letting it settle.
- Our relationships. Even a phone face down on the table takes something away from the person sitting across from you.
A lot of this is by design. Our phones are built to capture our attention, and they’re very good at it. So this isn’t about judgement. Most of us have drifted into it without noticing.
Why quiet feels so hard for some of us
For some people, boredom doesn’t feel peaceful at all. It feels restless. The moment there’s nothing to do, they find a project, research something or fix something that didn’t need fixing. I’m one of them.
What boredom often shows us is how uncomfortable we are when there’s nothing we need to do. That discomfort is worth getting curious about rather than escaping from.
Getting your bus stop moments back
Maybe the word boredom is part of the problem. On the episode we started calling them bus stop moments: standing with your hands in your pockets, watching the traffic and the clouds, doing nothing in particular.
- Walk without audio. Leave the podcast off now and again, and just walk.
- Give your phone a home. When you need to focus, put it on the other side of the room, not face down beside you.
- No phones at the table. A simple rule that applies to the adults as much as the kids.
- Wait without filling it. Next time the kettle boils or you’re in a queue, leave the phone in your pocket.
- Try to work it out yourself first. Before you reach for a search engine or an AI tool, give your own brain a go.
- Be present with people. If you’re with someone, be with them. These moments don’t always come round again.
If you manage people
Teams that never get a quiet moment struggle to think clearly. Back to back meetings, constant notifications and the expectation of an instant reply leave very little room for focus or good ideas.
Small changes help: meetings without laptops open, protected time for focused work, and leaders who don’t send messages at all hours. If stress and overload are building in your team, our article on burnout signs and what actually helps is a good place to start, and we run short workshops on stress and wellbeing for teams.
If you need support
If you can’t switch off, or you’re feeling constantly on edge or low, speak to your GP. Out of hours in Scotland, call NHS 24 on 111.
Samaritans: call 116 123, free, any time.
If somebody is in immediate danger, call 999.
Questions people ask about boredom
Is boredom good for you?
In small doses, yes. Boredom is a signal that nudges us to explore and let our minds wander, and that wandering is often where ideas, problem solving and creativity come from. The trouble now is that most of us rarely let it happen.
Why do I reach for my phone whenever I’m bored?
Because it’s easy and it works quickly. Phones and apps are designed to capture attention and fill empty moments. Over time, reaching for your phone becomes a habit, and quiet starts to feel uncomfortable.
How can I get better at doing nothing?
Start small. Walk without headphones, leave your phone in another room while you work, or wait for the kettle without scrolling. It may feel restless at first. That usually eases with practice.
Does phone use affect concentration?
Research suggests the time we spend focused on one screen before switching has fallen sharply over the last twenty years, and constant switching makes it harder to focus deeply. Keeping your phone out of sight when you need to concentrate can help.
You can hear more conversations like this on the Tickety Boo podcast.
This article is part of our practical guide to workplace mental health training for UK employers.
Help your team switch off and focus
Talk to us about short workshops on stress and wellbeing, or mental health first aid training for your workplace. No hard sell, just a conversation about what might help.