I sometimes wonder if 100 years from now the last remaining shreds of humanity will look back at us with our cute fitness watches and snarky but mostly useless AIs (i.e., Siri, AKA the Furby for adults) and curse us for our greedy, untamable obsession with the machines that will one day become our masters (AKA Slaughterbots, AKA the Children of Siri).

Okay, so maybe technology won’t lead to the demise of our species (or it might!), but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a hindrence in our lives. Especially for those of us who are more creatively inclined.

Consider this, ye fellow artists. When are you most creative? While streaming The Walking Dead from Plex on your PC to the Roku 3 connected to your 64″ 3D LED HDTV?

Probably not.

How about in the john, while scrolling through Facebook/Twitter/Snapchat/Tinder/4Chan/LinkedIn (why?)/reddit?

Again, probably not.

If you’re like me, you’re probably at your creative peak when driving (unless you’re a “multitasker”/invincible teenager who can text and drive because you’re smarter and have better reaction time than everyone else) or in the tub. In the car you have music, scenery, and a pair of hands and eyes that are devoted to keeping your ass from driving through a tree. In the bath, you have the soothing sounds of running water and a virtual safe-zone from electronics because water and electricity just don’t mix well.

I know I’m not the only one who comes up with my best ideas in the tub. Hell, the word “Eureka!”, attributed to the ancient Greek scholar Archimedes, came from the tub when he discovered volume displacement.



And reddit, one of my all-time favorite ways to waste my life away on the internet, even has a whole subreddit for posting Shower Thoughts.

Case in point: The person who would proof read Hitler’s speeches was a grammar Nazi.

So, what am I getting at here? Dump technology? Go without phones and computers for the rest of our lives? Am I out of my mind?!

No. The point is… be bored.

And don’t just be bored, make time for boredom. Seriously, are you struggling with creativity? Having trouble pushing out fresh ideas? Tired of sitting on the toilet for hours complaining to your Facebook/Twitter/Snapchat/Tinder/4Chan/LinkedIn (seriously, why?)/reddit friends about how creatively constipated you are?

Then be bored. And just in case you doubt me, know this: The idea for this post came to me — like a fairy in the night — whilst I was in the bathroom… because I forgot my phone.

Boredom, folks. It helps you make things.

