Be Bored More. Here’s Why.
Have you ever been at a red light and picked up your phone? We all do. Know why? We’re bored. And checking email, texts, or worse, engaging the endless scroll of social media fixes that, as we look for something, anything to solve that boredom.
I’d like to make the case that our lack of boredom is one of the things that makes radio less entertaining. I’ll explain, considering I spend 100% of my time helping shows not be boring. (There’s a difference between you being boring and the benefit of you being bored.)
I’m always asking shows I work with, “Yea but what are we going to do with that to stand out?” Our step back from being creative has a huge downside. People don’t talk about us, they’re not captured by our imagination and curiosity, and we do fewer things that listeners find memorable so we’re not top-of-mind. I think the solution appears when we go get bored because when we clear our heads, creativity happens.
I get bored in Umstead Park, right by my house. I leash up Willow Two Toys® and Sam the World’s Neediest Dog® and we go for a walk. No phone, no music, no headphones, no disruptions. I turn the “gotta figure this out” dial down to zero. Only nature and my wandering mind. And what enters my brain when I invite in some boredom are solutions to challenges, ideas, and ways to innovate I didn’t have when I was filling that boredom with an endless search for something to solve it.
I don’t profess to have any super creative abilities. But I have found, when I create that brain space by walking through the park, things magically happen. I don’t know why and can’t predict when, but it happens. We don’t do enough of that. As an example from last week, we have a holiday concert at one station and the morning show has 100 tickets to give out. Instead of doing pairs of tickets so lots of listeners win, or the dreaded Family Four Pack (someone kill this, please), the walk through the park brought me the idea to give all 100 tickets to one listener. The morning show promotion Deck Your Doors was born in the park because of the boredom. The talent and brand manager loved it and now we have something that’ll make our show stand out.
When I got back to the office one day after pondering this, I Googled “the impact boredom has on creativity”. What I found was amazing. An article came up by Arthur Brooks, a Harvard professor. As did a video (below). It’s worth five minutes of your time. He said:
“We hate boredom because it makes us think about things we don’t like. But boredom switches our brains to bring us creativity, solutions, and even less depression.”
So, I’m here to say go be bored. Find a park, let your feet touch grass figuratively, leave the phone behind, and let your mind wander. If you’re one of my on-air talent, try this weekly and watch what happens to your creativity.
Any of us could bang the drum on radio’s issues. One thing in our control is what fuels our innovative spirit. Those of us of a certain age remember the wild west days when we’d think of an idea on Tuesday and it’d be on the air on Wednesday. It doesn’t just have to be standard phone topics or family four packs. We need quirky ideas and treatments to the right content on our shows that capture the listener’s imagination because they came from ours. Doing fresh things with the right topics will make whoever is listening in that moment stay because it’s so compelling. Getting more bored might bring you those ideas – it’s what works for me.
I recently decided to add to the boredom menu. I bought a bike. While my friends all have bets on when I’ll end up in the emergency room, I’m betting that the boredom of the rides, with no phones or distractions, will unlock more of my curiosity. A few days ago, the boredom of a ride brought me the idea for this blog.
I understand how the phone manufacturers and social media algorithms have addicted us. But some boredom unlocks creativity. So, let’s make some room for that to reclaim our full imagination. Ditch that bonus meeting or Zoom (unless it’s with me!) and create space in your week to let your mind wander. A walk in the park is my secret weapon. Maybe it’s yours, too. It could help your problem solving and increase your creativity, too. Then watch how much more inventive and memorable your show gets.

Human beings gravitate to routine and structure. The Bert Show on Q100 in Atlanta has been a part of that for decades. And poof, one day soon, it will go away. What will happen to his massive, loyal following in Atlanta and across his network of stations? However the station handles this moment could determine its success for many years.
I suggested we go on a long walk one morning for charity. That became Kennedy’s Wicked Long Walk. Kennedy just did her second walk and, in one day, raised over $70,000 for Samaritans, a local charity that serves young people who are challenged with mental health issues. Kids and mental health are the show’s causes, with the latter being important to Kennedy, as she’s been quite open with the audience about her mental health.
I’m not one for metrics but let me share some impressive numbers. Over $70,000 donated from more than 700 individual donors in one day. Samaritans provided to Kennedy the donor list and she wrote a thank you to every single one of them. She shared where their money was going and what it meant to her that they cared enough to help. Can you imagine how it felt for those who gave to hear from her?
This show gets the big and small stuff – they do things with relevant content that create wonderful experiences in the moment and big things that cause talk and keep them top-of-mind. Kennedy’s Wicked Long Walk is a new tradition for the show that asks listeners to help join forces for a cause that’s important. It’s a bold, different way to give fans a chance to do so, too. In turn, that deepens the bond – the connection- between Karson, Kennedy, and their Producer, Dan.
Let’s help you move from the former season to the latter. Let’s talk about two areas that help you get there: the money and the culture in your building (how you’re perceived). I’m not suggesting you’re not doing any of this or haven’t tried, but take these as reminders of ways you can become even more valuable in the building.
If you said it was resting comfortably at a zero, I’d get it. I’m Steve Reynolds and even I don’t care. And yet I listen to some personalities who think telling me that this is National Pest Control Week or today is National Doughnut Day is content. It isn’t, because it’s irrelevant to listeners’ lives.
I’m turning over the blog this week to one of the smartest people in radio. Jim Ryan consults, coaches talent, and is one of my closest friends. After nearly thirty years programming day-to-day in New York City for immensely successful brands like WLTW, CBS-FM, and WNEW-FM, along with growing national formats for Clear Channel, CBS, and Audacy, Jim felt it was time to take control of his future, so he’s stepped out on his own. Jim not only teaches me in every conversation, he makes me laugh out loud, too. Reach him at jim@jimryanmedia.com. Ladies and gents, Jim Ryan…
When radio played an original version of one of her songs (the ones owned by the guy she didn’t like), the request lines lit up immediately with Swifties telling the talent they needed to play her new versions. Companies like iHeart and Audacy moved to the new versions, mapping another Taylor win. The streaming services saw immediate results as well – Taylor’s new versions were crushing the originals in airplay. It all led this summer to Taylor buying back the original masters at a somewhat reasonable price.
Early August brings the tradition of the Morning Show Bootcamp. This year in Austin. A few hundred personalities who believe in radio gather to improve, grow, and network. As I reflect on the many I’ve attended, there’s one thing always missing that you should know. Before I reveal that, an admission…
Living in Raleigh, I became a Duke fan and Coach K had written a book in 1999 called Leading with the Heart. I re-read it last week and its message of leadership is more salient now, given where we are in the industry. It might be the single best book I’ve ever read on leadership. I quote it often and always note what Coach K preached is why Duke always wins.
The big story last week was the couple that got caught cheating at the Coldplay concert. I need to tell you no more because it was everywhere and you know it. Your audience does, too. We are in the engagement business, and we win when we own the moment. So, I wondered what radio shows did with that topic as it lived at the center of the pop culture universe. How did they seize the moment?
Mojo in the Morning at Channel 95.5 Detroit did Cheat Away at Coldplay where they asked listeners to confess their affair on-air to win tickets to the group’s concert in Miami.
Christine and Salt, WTIC-FM, Hartford had an appearance planned with a local baseball team. They wanted to record a video for the jumbotron warning cheaters at the game what could happen. The team nixed it, but I absolutely love that they came up with the idea.
Have you ever watched the latest installment of a favorite Netflix show and not hit the “skip intro” button that appears on the screen? We always hit that button.
Most days, shows are hitting it out the park. They’re on the right topics cut from that day’s pop culture, things going on locally, and stories about their lives that position them as just like the listener. Add to that some treatments of those topics which make the breaks sparkle.