Be More Bored

'Joel Snape is a brilliant writer and thinker on motivation, distraction and how to live a great life in an attention-sapping world' - Naomi Alderman, best-selling author
You need to be bored. But maybe not for the reasons you expect.
The world is full of things that demand your attention: from addictively-engineered short-form video and dopamine-driven social media, to language-learning apps designed to fill every moment of your downtime.
But what if the best thing to do is nothing at all? We all need to be bored. Not because boredom itself is an especially nice experience, but because it's a stairway to other states, helping to unlock incredible creativity and exhilarating moments of flow. In an era of autoplay and infinite scrolling, staring out of the window or doing the washing-up without a podcast aren't a waste of time: they're a way to get our brain working on everything from everyday problems to the meaning of our lives. Written by journalist Joel Snape, this insightful and accessible guide to one of our most misunderstood emotions explains how generations of thinkers have approached boredom, how it's being destroyed by the arms race of social media and hustle culture. and how to fight back. From his own phone-addicted starting point, Snape chronicles his journey into boredom: attending tea ceremonies and silent retreats, learning from Tibetan monks and watching Belgian arthouse films. He speaks to artists and advertising executives, neuroscientists, psychologists and the happiest man in the world, all to understand how to better use this essential mental tool. Being more bored isn't just accepting boredom when it happens, but actively seeking it out. To encourage this kind of intentional boredom, Snape provides dozens of practical tools and systems for us to switch off and zone out - leaving room for us to ponder, muse and daydream. Be More Bored is a game-changer: a manifesto for doing less, not more.

Joel Snape is a writer and editor who regularly contributes to the Guardian, Observer and BBC Science Focus, previously worked as editor of Men's Fitness magazine, and runs a successful YouTube channel focused on self-improvement. He has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and plays the piano (not well, but he's working on it). @joelsnape

Introduction: Why boredom matters Part 1: The story of boredom 1. What is boredom, anyway? 2. This is your brain on boredom 3. The death of boredom Part 2: Reclaiming boredom 4. Masters of boredom 5. Designing for boredom 6. Intentional boredom 7. Lowering your boredom baseline (or: boredom and productivity) 8. The creative power of being bored Part 3: The boredom balance 9. When boredom goes bad 10. Boredom redefined 11. A manifesto for boredom Conclusion: A life less boring Appendix 1: How to be bored Appendix 2: How to bore your family