Are You a Brilliant, but Bored Leader?

If you’re a leader in your organisation or you’re a business owner, you need to think creativity. Leadership is about answering the question ‘What next?’ It’s about being future focussed and forward thinking.

But in the busyness of today’s world and the high demands on your time and attention when do you get the chance to think creativity? When do your most creative ideas come to you? 

For me, my ideas come to me during 3 times of my day, the first is in the shower. My kids have witnessed me racing out of the bathroom to write on the flipchart in the study many mornings when something has come to me whilst washing my hair. The second is when I’m driving in the car. If you check my phone, you’ll find lots of 1 minute videos of me in the car capturing an idea. The final time of the day is when I’m walking, looking out to the water and keeping a steady pace. 

Sound familiar? Maybe your creativity comes at similar times. Neuroscience research tells us that when we go on autopilot, our brains get to work. This is the time when our brains start forming new connections. 

So one of the keys to increased creativity is more autopilot time; more time to just ‘be’. 

Author and speaker, Manoush Zomorodi, talks about the brilliance that can come from her Bored and Brilliant - How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Productive and Creative Self book.

It gives us time to self-reflect, learn and grow from past experiences and consider our next move.

As a kid, I remember continually whining to my mum and dad that ‘I’m bored. There’s nothing to do.’ It felt like some days would stretch out forever with nothing to do. I remember making up my own games - using my imagination to create different worlds where I could be anyone or anything I wanted.

Now, as a mum with three kids, it's very rare for me to hear them utter the words 'I'm bored'. a very different childhood, right? Hmmm. Think about your own day….

Early for a meeting? Check your emails.

Waiting for your coffee? Scroll through your Instagram feed. 

Stuck in traffic? Listen to your favourite podcast. 

You can keep busy. You can keep distracted. You can multi-task. 

Technology is the greatest 'boredom buster' but at what cost? Our creativity. 

The solution? (You know what I'm going to say!! Haha) Put the phone away. Just ‘be’. Focus on the moment. Stop the multi-tasking. 

"It might feel weird and uncomfortable at first, but boredom truly can lead to brilliance."

- Manoush Zomorodi 

Midja x