Rest, Boredom, and the Default Mode Network: Why Doing Less Sparks More Creativity
Rest is not a luxury. It is part of the work. But I definitely have a hard time allowing myself to sit inside of the discomfort of that part of the work. Do you?
In today’s world, creativity is often seen as a product of focused effort. We are taught to schedule time, stay on task, eliminate distractions, and optimize our output. But what if the most fertile ground for creativity is found not in doing more, but in doing less? Emerging neuroscience, paired with longstanding psychological insights, suggests that rest and even boredom are not enemies of creativity but essential ingredients.
Central to this understanding is a part of the brain known as the default mode network (DMN). This system activates when we are not consciously focused on a task … when we are daydreaming, resting, walking without a goal, or letting our mind wander. It turns out that some of our most generative insights emerge not when we are concentrating, but when we are allowing.
I understand these ideas after decades of lived experience, interview-based insights, and deep research into the complex relationship between art and health. They are based on my unique 6-part framework. If you are interested in assistance in applying these ideas to your own life: Order a Creative Health Assessment or Book a 1:1 Coaching Call.
What is the Default Mode Network?
The default mode network is a network of brain regions that becomes active when we are not engaged in external tasks. It was first identified through neuroimaging studies that noticed certain areas of the brain lit up when participants were at rest. Rather than the brain going quiet during downtime, it was found to be highly active in this default mode.
The DMN is associated with self-referential thinking, future planning, memory retrieval, and internal narrative construction. This is the space of imagination, reflection, and integration. When the DMN is allowed to function freely, we make new connections, revisit unresolved questions, and entertain possibilities that do not emerge during focused work.
In other words, the DMN is the brain's creative compost bin. It turns over ideas beneath the surface, often without our conscious effort. This is why some of our best ideas come in the shower, on a walk, or while lying in bed. The mind needs mental spaciousness in order to surprise itself.
Boredom as a Portal
Boredom is often viewed as something to avoid or escape. We reach for our phones, refresh our inboxes, or scroll social media the moment a lull appears. But boredom, from a psychological perspective, can be a generative threshold.
When we allow ourselves to be bored without immediately self-stimulating, we enter a kind of cognitive quiet. This can feel uncomfortable at first. But once the initial restlessness settles, the mind begins to explore. Children often enter creative play after long stretches of boredom. Adults, too, can rediscover inner landscapes when not constantly bombarded by stimulation.
The tolerance for boredom is closely linked to nervous system regulation. If our bodies interpret stillness as danger, we will avoid boredom at all costs. But if we can practice resting without judgment, we may discover that boredom is not emptiness. It is a pause that invites newness.
I fully admit that sitting still and waiting through boredom is hard for me. It’s not that I’m a super active person on the outside. I am not constantly moving my physical body (which, come to think of it, might be part of the problem). Instead, my mind is going all of the time. I usually have my hands going too - crocheting and scrolling and typing. Mostly, though, I have what I call “words in my ears.” I sleep with ear buds podcasting all night. I have the TV on in the background. I’m reading, the words of others reverberating inside my own head. It’s fairly constant. I’m learning to take pauses from this and doing that learning is really hard for me. I am trying to see it as an invitation, to sit through the itchy uncomfortable part and see what emerges. Sometimes it works and it’s amazing. I’m a work in progress, as are we all.
The Psychological Cost of Constant Productivity
Our cultural obsession with productivity and optimization trains us to override natural rhythms. We internalize the belief that value comes from output, and rest is only earned after exhaustion. This mindset erodes not only our mental health but our creative capacity.
Psychologists have long observed the importance of incubation in the creative process. Incubation refers to the period where a problem or idea is set aside and allowed to rest in the unconscious. During this time, the mind continues to work behind the scenes, often yielding insights once attention returns to the task. The DMN plays a central role in this process.
When we never allow for incubation, when we instead demand constant clarity and “productivity”, we starve the creative process of one of its most vital phases. Rest is not a luxury. It is part of the work.
Reclaiming Spaciousness
Supporting the default mode network does not require complete withdrawal from daily life. It asks for intentional spaciousness. Practices like walking without a podcast, lying down with your eyes closed, journaling without direction, or simply sitting in silence can activate the DMN and restore creative flow.
Artists and thinkers across disciplines have known this intuitively. Many have spoken of the importance of wandering, idleness, or ritual pauses. The science now affirms what creative traditions have always understood. The mind needs space to surprise itself.
Reclaiming rest and boredom as creative tools is also a form of resistance. It challenges the capitalist narrative that your worth is tied to productivity. It allows for a more cyclical, humane, and sustainable relationship to your work.
When you trust in rest, you trust in your own creative depths. When you allow boredom, you invite the unexpected. And when you protect spaciousness, you give your imagination the conditions it needs to thrive.
I offer my work for free, trusting that it will find the people meant to find it. If that feels like it’s you, know that the work does take a lot of work. Support it if you are able.
It took ALL summer but I finally had time to sit and read this. I loved all this--it's fascinating and also absolutely what I've been thinking about (and teaching!) Even when I teach and say these things, there's something very powerful about taking time to read it. Thank you!
Dear Kathryn, I have to say I am a quiet in the background fan of your writing. I truly appreciate how you invite us to use space, silence, our hands, our minds and our creativity in ways that soothe our nervous system and that invites hope, clarity and inner peace. This piece is truly magical. Thank you.