How Boredom Can Lead to Your Most Brilliant Ideas @TED #shorts

The average person checks email 74 times a day,

and switches tasks on their computer

566 times a day.

Researchers at USC have found --

they're studying teenagers who are on social media

while they're talking to their friends

or they're doing homework,

and two years down the road,

they are less creative and imaginative

about their own personal futures

and about solving societal problems.

So the next time you go to check your phone,

ask yourself: What am I really looking for?

Because if it's to check email,

that's fine -- do it and be done.

But if it's to distract yourself

from doing the hard work

that comes with deeper thinking,

take a break,

stare out the window

and know that by doing nothing

you are actually being your most productive

and creative self.

It might feel weird and uncomfortable

at first, but boredom

truly can lead to brilliance.