I tend to stay outside. Very. Whether it’s staring out the window on Amtrak or pausing at work to focus on a blank spot on the wall instead of my screen, I often let my mind wander. When I was younger, I was often derisively called a daydreamer, a space cadet, or just plain distracted. Of course, anyone can Very absent-minded, but bored and fabulous It is clearly stated by Manoush Zomorodi that letting your mind wander is not only necessary, but also a luxury that we should not take lightly in our hyper-connected age.
Zomorodi is the current host of NPR. TED Radio HourBut she was also the host of WNYC note to self For many years. In 2015, he made a series of episodes note to self Focused on the benefits of eliminating digital distractions and boredom. Then, in 2017, it became a book. Bored and Brilliant: How Space Can Unlock Your Most Productive and Creative Self Those episodes have been expanded, bringing in new expert voices, scientific studies, and anecdotes from Zomorodi and his viewers’ own digital detox efforts.
Some of what Zomorodi shares in the book are things we may take for granted in 2025 (phones are designed to be addictive). Or it may feel like things you “know” intuitively, without solid evidence to support it (daydreaming is good). But, what makes Bored and Brilliant work so well is how Zomorodi ties the various threads together, and he is on the journey with us, the reader.
In the introduction, she talks about her constant walks with her newborn baby, who refuses to sleep without movement. At first he hated it. Eventually, though, she got into a rhythm and “began to appreciate the fact.” [she] There was no destination.” This form of imposed boredom has both an inconvenience and a charm that can be difficult to appreciate. It’s a kind of liminality, and we’ve turned liminality into a whole subgenre of horror. But embracing it can be restorative and an engine for creativity.
She reflects on her tendency to fire up Twitter during her commute, sports two points at bedtime, and obsessively update his calendar. Zomorodi summed up our modern technology addiction problem perfectly: “My brain was always busy, but with all the information coming in my brain was doing nothing.”
Throughout the book, she points out the challenges of the paralysis of choice, which anyone who has lost an evening scrolling through Netflix instead of actually watching anything will be well familiar with. She highlights the subtle ways in which the presence of a phone, even if you’re not actively using it, can affect our interactions with others. And studies show that taking pictures with our phones instead of just being in the moment actually reduces our ability to remember things.
bored and fabulous However, this is not meant to penalize you for your technology use. Zomorodi talks openly about her struggles. At one point, she thinks his epitaph might read, “He clicked on links and saved a lot of articles to read for another time and never actually read them.” I have never seen or felt anything like this.
But it also suggests a way forward. Each chapter ends with a challenge from the original bored and fabulous series on note to self – Carefully document how and when you use your phone, don’t take a picture for a day, delete the app that wastes your time. Zomorodi presents some of his own insights from these experiments, as well as notes from the participating listeners.
bored and fabulous It won’t magically force you to turn off your phone or turn you into a creative genius. But it does provide an accessible, scientifically supported reason to unplug from time to time, and gives you some concrete steps to bring yourself back from the brink.
You can find it at most e-book stores, but I highly recommend you buy a physical copy from your neighborhood independent book shop, if for no other reason than to get out your device and scribble some notes in the margins. Or borrow it from your local library, grab a notebook and take some notes by hand.
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