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You Need to Be Bored. Here's Why.

Harvard Business Review

1.6M subscribers • 2 videos on Rounds

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  • Recommended by 2 people, in Hacker News.
  • Presented by Arthur C. Brooks, Harvard professor, as the video describes them
  • Sells products. The upload promotes a product, supplement, program or service, or the speaker sells what they recommend.

For anyone, no background needed. Education, not medical advice.

17M views1 year ago2 recommendations

Brain and nervesMental healthNeuroscienceDepression and anxiety

Arthur C. Brooks explains how boredom activates the brain's default mode network, boosting creativity and protecting against depression.

Boredom isn’t a bug—it’s a feature. Harvard professor Arthur C. Brooks explains why boredom unlocks creativity, activates a powerful brain network, and might even protect you from depression. Learn how the mind wanders—and why that’s a very good thing. For more insights on leadership, success, and workplace well-being, explore Arthur's new book, "The Happiness Files", a curated selection of essays from his popular column in The Atlantic: amazon.com/dp/B0F4MFQ6VN You can also sign up to receive Arthur’s new six-week newsletter, “The Leader’s Happiness Reset.” It includes excerpts from his new book along with insights and guidance on how to find happiness at work, for yourself and for your team: hbr.org/email-newsletters. More by Arthur Brooks: arthurbrooks.com/ Books, tools, and more: store.hbr.org Follow us: hbr.org/ linkedin.com/company/harvard-business-review/ facebook.com/HBR/ twitter.com/HarvardBiz instagram.com/harvard_business_review Sign up for Newsletters: hbr.org/email-newsletters #HarvardBusinessReview #YourCareer #Career #Job #Work #Business #Harvard #HarvardBusinessSchool Copyright © 2025 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved.

Why it's here

2 people recommend this

What people say. Recommended for explaining the cognitive benefits of boredom and the importance of disconnecting from constant digital stimulation.

mixermachinein Hacker News • Recommends

On “iPhone dumbphone”

Also great video regarding this topic: "You Need to Be Bored. Here's Why." link to this video I now regularly force myself to "actively" do nothing for 15 minutes and just think. All the things I put into my brain as "todo, please remember" at some point in time are coming back during these 15 minutes. I get quite a lot of clarity with this exercise. As soon I pick up my phone afterwards and start browsing the clarity evaporates which feels bad. So wasting time on my phone becomes less and less appealing to me. Lets see where this leads me. I so far wasted quite a bit of time with my phone.
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davelacyin Hacker News • Recommends

On “Kagi News”

Nice design. I like the "today in history" feature Lately I've been working toward less app time and more boredom link to this video ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ works wonders
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latexrin Hacker News • Mentions

On “Vibe coding and agentic engineering are getting closer than I'd like”

> Also, when did we stop liking to learn? I suspect it happened when we achieved a level of such constant stimulation (there is a pocket computer always on us with infinite effortless distraction) that we’re never bored and never engage the default mode network. link link to this video When you’re bored, your mind goes to places it wouldn’t otherwise go. Curiosity kicks in. Curiosity is a precursor to learning. Learning engages the brain and is fun. But when you have the digital equivalent to infinite candy and the brain equivalent to a sweet tooth, it’s hard to resist. The consequence is the brain equivalent to a stomachache—depression and loss of meaning—but unfortunately it doesn’t hit you the sam…
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latexrin Hacker News • Mentions

On “Vibe coding and agentic engineering are getting closer than I'd like”

> Also, when did we stop liking to learn? I suspect it happened when we achieved a level of such constant stimulation (there is a pocket computer always on us with infinite effortless distraction) that we’re never bored and never engage the default mode network. link link to this video When you’re bored, your mind goes to places it wouldn’t otherwise go. Curiosity kicks in. Curiosity is a precursor to learning. Learning engages the brain and is fun. But it’s not fun all the time, some of it is challenging and frustrating (which is good, that’s the process that teaches you). When you have the digital equivalent to infinite candy and the brain equivalent to a sweet tooth, it’s hard to resist the siren’…
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FunnyLookinHatin Hacker News • Mentions

On “Don't use your phone while you poop”

"You need to be bored" - link to this video This is harder than ever - I've always got the urge (no pun intended to the original post) to start a new worktree, keep the agents unblocked, or write down a new idea. I've started going on silent drives to help - 2 lane roads for an hour or so, just staring ahead and thinking about nothing and everything. I'll reward myself with a podcast on the way back from wherever my "could be anywhere" destination is.
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