Let one thought finish before you grab your phone. You’ll be surprised where some of them were headed.

Thinking needs a run-up, and most thoughts get cut off before they reach anywhere interesting. A dull moment is often the beginning of something, and reaching for a screen at the first hint of boredom reliably removes the conditions a longer thought requires. You are not out of ideas. They keep getting interrupted around the second sentence.

The next time you reach for your phone out of habit, wait two minutes and let the thought run. Note down anything that turns up. Boredom is where a lot of it starts.