Bored and Brilliant: How Time Spent Doing Nothing Changes Everything - Softcover

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

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 essential part of how our brains work and crucial to our concentration and ability to think creatively? What if your relationship with distraction is stopping you from living your fullest life? When award-winning journalist Manoush Zomorodi posed these question to her listeners on her hugely popular New York public radio Podcast, the answer, from neuroscientists, psychologists and experts was a resounding yes. So over the course of a week, she led her listeners through a week of exercises designed to help them reassess their technology habits, unplug for part of each week and jumpstart their creativity. The response was astonishing. Now, in Bored and Brilliant, she will show you why the key to changing everything may be making time to do nothing by taking you through a series of challenges that will help you rethink and recalibrate your relationship with technology in small but important ways. This book is both a fascinating account of our new relationship with boredom and a practical guide to inviting a little more of it into your life and reawakening your creativity and productivity.