Creativity isn’t an issue just for writers, musicians, and artists—almost everyone uses creativity to solve problems, do their jobs, and just have fun with their lives. So you really need to check out this article from New Tech City titled “The Case for Boredom.”

In it, the host of the program explores a little bit about what boredom really does for us and how important it is for our brains and for creativity.

Oh, and how our phones and constant internet connectivity might be killing your creativity.

And then she issues a challenge to us to join the Bored and Brilliant Project. This is a series of daily challenges to help people take conscious control of their phone, internet, and consider how it affects our brains and our lives.

I just started going through the challenges (they began in January, so I’m a little behind—whoops) and the first challenge, as explained in about an 8-minute podcast, was to just leave your phone alone when you’re traveling. No checking texts while walking down the hall. No browsing Twitter on the bus. Just leave your phone in your bag.

Could you do it?

I learned about the challenge through their podcast (which I learned about from my wife – thank you!). The episodes so far are all thoughtful, engaging, and usually less than 20 minutes each. It’s hard not to binge on a few hours of listening about “how technology is changing our lives.”

But then I figured me bingeing on podcasts is just a way to avoid boredom …

Seriously – read the article or listen to the episode and subscribe. We might all be smarter people soon.