Bored and Brilliant

Being bored is bad, right? We'll certainly do anything to avoid it and with smartphones we need never be bored again, as we reply to our emails 24 hours a day, tweet as we watch TV, watch TV as we commute, check Facebook as we walk and Instagram while we eat.

Stimulation is good.

But what if it's not? What if what happens when our mind "wanders" is an important part of human cognition and an essential element of creative thinking.

When award-winning journalist Manoush Zomorodi posed these question to her listeners on her popular New York public radio podcast, the answer, from neuroscientists, psychologists and others, was a resounding yes. So over the course of a week, she led thousands of her listeners through experiments designed to help them reassess their technology habits, unplug for part of each week, and jump-start their creativity.

Now in Bored and Brilliant, she will take you through a series of challenges that will help you rethink your relationship to your devices without completely leaving the digital world.

This book is both a fascinating account of the history and science of boredom and a practical guide to inviting a little bit more boredom into our lives and reawakening our creativity.

Winner of Big Book Awards: Smart Thinking Award 2018 (UK)

If you've ever felt overwhelmed by the technology in your life, Manoush Zomorodi totally gets you. Tech Times A breezy and engaging book that is a little philosophy and a lot of self-help. This could do for unplugging what Marie Kondo's The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up did for decluttering Booklist In this age of information, Zomorodi's book seems revolutionary, almost subversive. Sprinkled liberally with research and insights from some of the leading minds in technology and futurism, Bored and Brilliant is an important reminder that we are not beholden to our devises Bookpage Bored and Brilliant shows the fascinating side of boredom. Manoush Zomorodi investigates cutting-edge research as well as compelling (and often funny) real-life examples to demonstrate that boredom is actually a crucial tool for making our lives happier, more productive, and more creative. What's more, the book is crammed with practical exercises for anyone who wants to reclaim the power of spacing out - deleting the Two Dots app, for instance, or having a photo-free day, or taking a '"fakecation." -- Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project Bored and Brilliant is full of easy steps to make each day more effective and every life more intentional. Manoush's mix of personal stories, neuroscience, and data will convince you that boredom is actually a gift -- Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit

Manoush Zomorodi is the host and managing editor of "Note to Self," "the tech show about being human," from WNYC Studios. Every week on her podcast, Manoush searches for answers to life's digital quandaries through experiments and conversations with listeners and experts. She has won numerous awards for her work including four from the New York Press Club. In 2014, the Alliance for Women in Media named her Outstanding Host. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

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