How many hours a day do you spend on your phone? How many times do you open Facebook? Do you ever wonder how your relationship with technology is affecting your brain, health, relationships and creativity?

These are all things that today’s guest, Manoush Zomorodi, started thinking about when she began hosting her popular podcast, Note to Self. Little did she know that her exploration of our relationship with technology (and the decreasing time we let our minds be bored) would lead her to a massive study and a new book.

But it turns out that letting our minds wander, letting ourselves get bored, zoning out and daydreaming are really important for our brains. In fact, the times we let ourselves be bored often lead us to our best ideas.

The more research Manoush does, the more she discovers scientific backing for this concept — that boredom leads to brilliance.

We can’t control when great ideas come, but we can set up our brains to be more open to creative ideas.

And it turns out that happens most often when we let our minds wander (and are not on our phones or computers).

From my own experience, I’ve noticed the same thing time and again. My best ideas come when I’m running, hanging out at the beach, going to the woods and disconnecting from devices.

I invite you to reinvent your relationship with technology and unleash your creativity in Episode 551.

Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play or TuneIn.