The benefits of boredom

TheBenefitsOfBoredom.mp3

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The benefits of boredom

This is not a word-for-word transcript

Neil

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Neil.

Sam

And I’m Sam.

Neil

How’s your week been, Sam?

Sam

Oh, you know, quiet – I haven’t done much or been anywhere – so, it’s been a bit

boring.

Neil

I know that feeling – when nothing exciting happens, it can lead to boredom –

the state of feeling little excitement or enthusiasm, often because you’ve got

nothing to do. But Sam, there is some good news – boredom can be good for you.

Sam

Tell me more!

Neil

I will but not until I’ve set you a question to answer. A survey by British

newspaper The Mirror, found Peter Willis to be ‘the most boring man in Britain’.

What ‘boring’ hobby did he have that earned him that title? Was it…?

a) Collecting train numbers – that’s train spotting,

b) Taking photos of letterboxes, or

c) Driving around roundabouts of the UK.

Sam

Wow – they all sounds deadly boring – but I imagine taking photos of letterboxes

is the most boring – perhaps?

Neil

Well, as usual, I will give you the answer at the end of the programme. But, as

you say, we might die of boredom following those hobbies – a phrase that

expresses how extremely bored you are.

Sam

But not for everyone – boredom depends on your state of mind – some of us

might find something boring while others might it fascinating.

Neil

True. But let’s talk about feeling bored when we have nothing to do – not even

trainspotting! Having nothing to do, or doing the same task again and again, can

certainly be demotivating. But according to Sandi Mann, who was speaking on

the BBC World Service’s The Why Factor programme, being bored doesn’t have

to be boring – it can be good for us…

Dr Sandi Mann, Psychology lecturer, University of Central Lancashire

It's this emotion everyone thinks is so negative but there's a real positive to it

too, there's a real upside to it. We become more creative, so for example, being

bored allows our mind to wander, allows us to daydream, and that can actually

lead us to problem solving and creativity. I fear that by swiping and scrolling our

boredom away these days, that we're losing that creativity because we've got so

much to entertain us - but it seems that the more we have to entertain us, the

more bored we seem to be! And there's a reason for that – and that’s because we

actually get addicted to stimulation and to novelty.

Neil

Some interesting thoughts from Sandi Mann there. She says that there’s an

upside to boredom – that means a positive side to a bad situation. And that is, it

can make us more creative.

Sam

That’s because when we have nothing to do, we allow our minds to wander. We

can think freely, which might help us solve problems. This can’t happen when, as

Sandi says, we swipe and scroll our boredom away – referring to the movements

we make on smartphones.

Neil

Yes, and it’s smartphones we turn to for entertainment when we are bored – it

gives us stimulation – it activates or enriches the mind. And it gives us something

new, unusual and different to look at – what we can call novelty.

Sam

I’m sure many of us look at our phones when we are in a queue or sitting on a bus

– just to prevent being bored – but it seems we should just sit and think. Let’s

take inspiration from Manoush Zomorodi – an author and host of the Zig Zag

podcast. Here she is speaking on The Why Factor programme, explaining that it

takes effort but it’s worth it….

Manoush Zomorodi, author and podcaster

We think, who wants to be bored? What an awful sensation that is. And I think

that the issue is with mind-wandering, you don't immediately get to roses and

chirping birds, and amazing creative thinking - there is this uncomfortable period

that you have to pass through where maybe you start thinking about things you

don't want to think about or uncomfortable situations or unpleasant feelings

that you have, that's why boredom I think has negative connotations 'cos we feel

uncomfortable - but when we stick with it that's when the good stuff can come.

Neil

So, we might think boredom as an awful sensation – or feeling – because that’s

when we start focussing on negative things. Manoush thinks that’s why we have

negative connotations with boredom.

Sam

A connotation is an emotion connected to a word. But if we work through the

bad stuff and stick with it, amazing creative thinking can happen – as Manoush

says ‘the good stuff can come’.

Neil

So, basically, don’t think of boredom as being boring! However, could this

adjective be applied to the hobby that Peter Willis – the most boring man in

Britain – does?

Sam

Ah yes, Neil, you asked me what that hobby is. And I said he took photos of

postboxes. Was I right?

Neil

Yes, you were! Congratulations. The former postman dreams of taking a photo of

all of Britain’s 115,000 postboxes.

Sam

Well, good luck to Peter. I didn’t realise there were so many postboxes in the UK!

So, we’ve been talking about the benefits of boredom today – boredom is the

state of feeling little excitement or enthusiasm.

Neil

We mentioned the phrase to die of boredom which we use to express how

extremely bored we are.

Sam

But boredom has an upside, which means it has a positive side to a bad situation.

Neil

We heard the word stimulation which means activates or enriches the mind. And

novelty which describes something that is new, unusual or different.

Sam

And we described a connotation – that’s an emotion connected to a word.

Neil

Well, I hope you haven’t been bored listening to us! Goodbye for now!

Sam

Bye!

VOCABULARY

boredom

the state of feeling little excitement or enthusiasm

die of boredom

be extremely bored

upside

a positive side to a bad situation

stimulation

activates or enriches the mind

novelty

new, unusual or different.

connotation

an emotion connected to a word

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