Nobody ever brags about being bored. It's the feeling we fix, fill and apologise for. But think of a moment you remember fondly. Not a birthday or a holiday, something smaller. A slow Sunday morning with nowhere to be. Sitting in the garden with your grandma, admiring the flowers while the tea went cold.
It’s quite odd that these are the moments that stick. At the time they felt unremarkable. Maybe even boring. But years later, they're the ones we'd give anything to experience again.
We've spent decades treating boredom as a problem. But we think it’s time for a rebrand. So this is our case for falling a little bit in love with the beauty of boredom.
Why do we villainise boredom?
The loudest feelings get all the attention. Boredom isn’t as powerful as excitement, joy or passion, or as deep as love or anger. Even sadness and grief get poetry, films, whole albums. Boredom gets... kind of a bad reputation. It's the feeling we apologise for ("sorry, this is boring"), the one we've built a trillion-pound entertainment industry to eliminate. Social media celebrates polished, glamorous and elaborate moments, making us feel like we need to be doing the same, and that if we’re bored, we’re not living as fully as the people we see online.
But boredom is a feeling in its own right: your mind with nowhere it has to be. That used to be a normal, daily human experience. Now it's so rare that most of us can't sit with it for five minutes without reaching for a screen.
Because boredom is mild, we treat it like empty time that needs filling. But it really doesn’t. Boredom is a feeling worth making space for, just like all the others. It might be a bit uncomfortable, or even feel like ‘wasted time’ in an era of toxic productivity, but boredom is sooo good for your brain that it’s worth sitting in. And the more you do it, the more you crave it.
The boring moments are the ones we keep
Memory is a strange thing. It doesn't keep the highlight reel we expect it to and it’s usually the little things that we remember. Ask someone at 80 what they remember about their life, and it's rarely the big events or promotions. It's simple moments: the packed lunch on a bench, or doing nothing in particular with someone they loved.
That's not a coincidence. The "boring" moments are the ones where we're actually there. No screen, no rush, no next thing that we need to get done. Boredom is where noticing happens because we’re completely present. And noticing is what memory is made of.
Every time we scroll through an idle moment, we surf straight past one future-us would have kept.
The benefits of boredom
If "boredom is beautiful" feels like a stretch, the research makes a practical case for it.
It's where ideas come from. When your brain isn't being fed information, it starts to wander - connecting dots and generating new ideas. One study found people who let themselves get bored scored higher on creativity tests than those who were constantly stimulated. Psychologist Sandi Mann, author of The Science of Boredom, calls it a "catalyst for creativity" and it's why your best ideas arrive in the shower.
It restores your attention. Attention is a finite resource, and modern life spends it relentlessly. In the same way that rest rebuilds a muscle, idle time (especially the gentle, wandering attention of being in nature) lets your brain recover.
Phones actually make you feel worse. Ahh the irony. Reaching for your phone doesn't actually cure boredom. Research on digital switching shows that hopping between apps and videos actually leaves people more bored, not less. And not the good kind of bored.
So even if you're not ready to romanticise boredom, knowing the benefits can help you sit through the initial discomfort. Boredom is proven to restore your focus, spark ideas and make space for the musings and memories you want to embrace.
How to find the beauty in boredom
We've already written the how-to-be-bored guide. Consider this a reframe: next time a boring moment arrives, treat it as one you might remember.
Let idle moments linger. Whether you’re in a queue, waiting for the kettle or experiencing a very British train delay - let the moment be empty. Notice one thing you'd normally have missed.
Keep a "boring moments" list. At the end of the week, jot down one unremarkable moment that was lovely. It might be an elderly couple holding hands at the bus stop, it might be watching the sunset on your own. You'll be surprised how many there were.
Leave white space in your weekend or evening. Try leaving an unplanned hour or two in your schedule to do nothing. To sit outside and enjoy the sunshine, or people-watch from a cafe.
Boredom will never feel as powerful as joy or excitement. Nobody chases it. But the beauty of life lives in the small, mundane moments, and being bored with your favourite people (yourself included) is the kind of ordinary you'll one day want back.
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Boredom FAQs
Is it healthy to be bored?
Yes. Research links unstimulated time to better creativity, restored attention and better decision-making. Boredom only becomes a problem when it's chronic - the everyday kind is simply your brain resting.
Why does boredom feel so uncomfortable?
Because we're not used to it. Constant stimulation from phones and streaming has made even five unoccupied minutes feel strange. The discomfort fades with practice.
How long should I let myself be bored?
Start with five minutes without your phone: a queue, the kettle, a window. Build up to 15-20 minutes of unstimulated time a day and see how you feel.