Boredom is something you have to schedule now
The argument for doing nothing on your next trip
I remember hearing someone describe their vacation in the Caribbean. They spent an entire morning watching a turtle leave its nest and make its way to the shore. They described how wonderful that time was and how relaxing it felt.
There must have been plenty to do near the condo. Restaurants lined the streets; tourist activities were everywhere. But this was the moment that cemented their experience.
Vacations come in different shapes
Vacations come in different shapes and forms. There are dopamine-induced, adrenaline-fueled trips where you might go rock climbing or bungee jumping; trips where you read a book by the poolside; and then there are the trips that embrace boredom and slow time down.
I recently experienced this, though the setting didn’t naturally harbor boredom.
My family and I stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge in Naples, FL. There are constant activities that keep kids and families entertained: ongoing events in the hotel lobby and indoor and outdoor water parks. But during our stay, I put my phone away for hours at a time.
In rare instances, I would spend thirty minutes on the poolside reading Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter on my e-ink reader — the only form of modern entertainment or information I consumed. Otherwise, I spent time in the water with my kids or watched them from afar, sitting in a chair.
Throughout the trip, maintaining this idea of minimal stimulation and embracing forms of boredom, I began to appreciate each detail and sensation around me.
I noticed things about my kids I hadn’t noticed before — a certain way they smiled or laughed during a specific moment, the conversations of people nearby. When we stepped out for pastries and coffee at Bontà Bakery on 5th Ave S, I could savor the food and hold a real conversation because my mind was at ease.
Boredom doesn’t happen by accident anymore
Today, there are very few opportunities or natural parameters that nurture this sense of low stimulation. For years, you could travel to a different country or town and be virtually cut off from cell service and the outside world. Now that’s becoming much more difficult as technology advances and remote areas gain coverage through services like SpaceX’s Starlink.
Most of the boredom we experience no longer happens naturally or by accident. We have to introduce it and shape it into our lives.
Neuroscientists call it the default mode network. It’s a brain system that activates when we stop feeding it input, linked to creativity, self-reflection, and the construction of a coherent sense of self. A 2014 study in the Creativity Research Journal found that participants who completed boring tasks beforehand generated more creative solutions than those who didn’t. This tells us we’re not wired for constant stimulation; we’re wired for rhythm. Unfortunately, we’ve eliminated almost all of the quiet half.
The $363 billion answer
It’s no surprise, then, that wellness retreats have become a booming industry. The global market was valued at $180 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $363 billion by 2032. The answer to information overload has always been in front of us: saying no. And there’s no better entry point than the vacations and trips we choose.
A vacation centered on boredom is a much easier introduction than trying to instill it in everyday life from scratch. By going away somewhere, you are already disrupting your routine, and you can build and experiment with new habits.
What Thoreau actually did
The instinct to withdraw isn’t new. Henry David Thoreau, the 19th century American writer and philosopher, tried it in 1845 — though his experiment looked nothing like what most people imagine.
Thoreau’s retreat to Walden Pond wasn’t this isolated, distant place. Concord was a short walk away. He had visitors and he went to town. But what changed was withdrawing just enough from the external world to minimize its influence. “Simplify, simplify, simplify” was a method for living in the world without being consumed by it.
The mundane was invaluable
In Dark Matter, the protagonist Jason Dessen doesn’t feel entirely satisfied with his life. He’s happy; he has a wonderful wife and son. But he wonders what would have happened had he continued to pursue his research.
As it turns out, an alternate version of him did exactly that in a parallel universe, and that version kidnaps him to take over the ordinary life Jason had questioned in the first place.
That “Jason2” had achieved every professional success imaginable, but he wanted what the protagonist had more than anything else. Jason realizes the mundane was invaluable only after losing it all — only then could he live a better life.
Thankfully, we don’t need to be kidnapped by an alternate self to appreciate what we have; to explore our thoughts and be present without demanding external stimulation. Leaving for a few days on holiday and designing it to embrace boredom, reflection, and rest helps us step back and appreciate who we are, where we are, and how far we’ve come.
Start wherever you are
This experience doesn’t have to happen somewhere purpose-built for stillness. A water park, pools, beaches, forests — anything that embraces nature works. And if putting down electronics is a struggle, being near water helps; it makes picking up a device far more consequential.
If a vacation isn’t possible, there are still ways to get away. A picnic in the neighborhood — no distractions, just food, a friend, and the wind — will produce the same effect. Do it often and it becomes a lifestyle. Embracing boredom, wherever you are, helps reshape and define you. It makes you grounded. And it’s why today, when boredom is rarely facilitated, it’s something we have to create and build on our own.