“But that sounds miserable, doesn’t it?!” was the first thought that popped into my mind when I came across the concept of boring breaks.
The idea is to be bored during your breaks so that, when you return to work, it feels more interesting.
Trying to understand how this is supposed to work, I listened to Arthur Brooks’s five-minute video “You Need to Be Bored.” He mentioned that the moment we start to get bored, the default mode network (DMN) in our brain activates and we (humans) don’t like it.
Mechanism
Here’s what happens:
The DMN is a system of “connected brain areas that show increased activity when a person is not focused on what is happening around them.” (Psychology Today)
As soon as we find ourselves with no particular task, the default mode network activates, and with it our mind starts throwing existential questions at us, replaying memories or planning the future.
— Am I living the life I want?
— What happens if I do nothing?
It feels uncomfortable because there’s usually no simple answer to those questions.
Immediate default solution? Turn down the DMN = no more difficult questions. How? Pick up your phone—tons of immediately exciting content, specifically designed to keep you watching and not thinking. But this is not the solution you want.
This concept sounds right, but “boring breaks” still don’t quite follow. So if the job gets boring (as it tends to demonstrate this feature from time to time), the solution is to make your breaks even more boring? Meh.
I kept digging…
In this paper on boredom, the authors point to research showing that boredom leads to decreased productivity.
Participants (206 adults) were placed into one of two conditions. In the high-boredom condition, participants watched a video of a man describing different kinds of paint. In the low-boredom condition, they watched funny YouTube videos, like footage of a Rube Goldberg machine.
Those who watched the boring video performed less productively in the writing task than those in the more engaging condition. They were also significantly more likely to report their mind wandering away from the task at hand.
(Off topic: one way to reduce the negative effect of boredom on later productivity is to make the task feel meaningful. “The focus of participants who thought their essay was being used for a meaningful purpose, however, remained steady. This meaningfulness, the authors state, “creates an attentional pull that breaks the link between boredom and future mind-wandering, preventing the effects of boredom from spilling over to inhibit future productivity.”)
A lightbulb moment
The whole idea behind boring breaks is not actually about being bored.
“Boring breaks” are, in fact, about low-stimulus breaks alternating with high-stimulus ones. In other words, when different activities replace one another, the brain resets.
So if you’ve been working in front of a screen all day, the better reset is off the screen. And if you’ve been walking all day, the screen might reset you just right.
Boredom, by definition, is a state of mind characterized by a lack of interest, stimulation, or challenge. It can be caused either by low external stimulation or by internal factors such as poor motivation or a weakened sense of purpose.
If you only rely on external stimulation and neglect the internal side, like a sense of purpose, boredom is guaranteed. But boredom is not what we want to aim for.
What about being uncomfortable with an activated DMN?
Tolerance for an active DMN is something we need to practice if we want it to stop feeling uncomfortable.
Arthur Brooks is likely simplifying things by saying that we need to be bored more often. When you regularly engage (yes, actively engage) in mind-wandering with an aroused DMN, you get used to the state. It starts to feel revealing, producing results and answers that work for you.
Conclusion
And you have every right to disagree.
So no—no boring breaks!
Choose to actively think uncomfortable thoughts on a regular basis, and it will never be boring again. You’ll start to feel the need for active DMN moments and for the results they bring.
Instead of making breaks more boring to feel some interest in a boring job, I prefer to make the job interesting, the breaks compelling, and other activities enticing—so I naturally want to switch when I get tired of one.
Yes, routine doesn’t disappear, and things tend to get boring at times. But having a north star and the kind of thinking I described helps me spend more time in a wanted state. And it’s definitely not boring.
So what will it be for you?
Switch back to the job because you made your breaks so boring or switch back because the job itself is also exciting?
