Curious What To Do When You’re Bored? Here Are 18 Things to Try

In today’s fast-paced world, everybody seems to have something to do at all times. However, when we get a little bit of downtime, we may sometimes get lost and feel bored. Here are 20 things to do so you can say goodbye to boredom. Let’s begin!

Pick out gifts for your loved ones.

Are there any special occasions coming up for your loved ones?

Now is the time to look for some great gifts! You don’t necessarily have to spend a lot of money on gifts; oftentimes, an inexpensive but thoughtful gift can be as well-received.

What to Do When You’re Bored

1. Make Some Money

Whether you are a teen or an adult, there are many ways you can make money on the side.

Here are a few simple ways you can do so without a ton of effort:

• Take surveys online through sites like Survey Junkie or Opinion Outpost
• Become an Instacart Shopper
• Find gigs on Taskrabbit
• Babysit your neighbors’ kids
• Look after your friends’ pets.

2. Volunteer

Of course, not everything has to be about money. It is the perfect time to give back to your community when you’re bored.

Are there older adults in your neighborhood who may need grocery help? Can you volunteer a few hours of your time at your local food bank? These gestures are much needed, especially during the ongoing pandemic.

3. Work on Your Hobby

With no other tasks that demand your attention, it is now the perfect time to work on your hobby.

If you don’t have a hobby yet, here is a list of 10 ideas you can try:

1. Photography
2. Gardening
3. Knitting
4. Drawing
5. Playing the guitar or any other instruments
6. Blogging
7. Starting a YouTube channel
8. Writing
9. Learning magic tricks
10. Teaching yourself a new language

4. Read a Book

Walt Disney once said,

There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.

Walt Disney

Reading is beneficial for us because it develops our minds and our imagination. Through understanding the triumphs and losses of the characters, we become wiser.

If you are a book lover like me, chances are you have a long reading list. Why not take the time to read a few pages?

If you are looking to improve your personal finance habits, you may want to check out my ultimate personal finance book list!

5. Write in Your Journal

Journalling is also a fulfilling way to while away time when you’re bored. Writing in your journal helps relieve stress and gives you a chance to self-reflect. For the creative ones out there, journalling also helps inspire creativity.

Take me as an example. I have kept a journal ever since I was a little kid. As a blogger, I am in constant need of new ideas to write about. Every time that I struggle to come up with a new idea, I flip through my journal. I can always find an experience or a thought that is worth writing about.

Run some errands

There are always little errands to do when you are bored. When was the last time you checked the mailbox? Are you in need of a new carton of milk, or are you running low on vegetables in the fridge? Now is the time to get these small tasks out of the way!

After you are done with these small tasks, you may want to reward yourself with something small, like Starbucks’ coffee!

6. Bake Something

Another thing you can do when you are bored is to bake something. Scones and muffins are my personal favorites. They are super easy to make and delicious to eat. If you are looking for inspiration, check out my easy scones recipe and my sweet potato muffin recipe!

7. Cook a fancy meal

Other than baking, you can go one step further and venture into cooking a fancy meal. This is another productive thing to do when you are bored.

The Taste of Home has an impressive list of 45 cooking bucket list dishes for you to choose from. Any of them will, for sure, be crowd-pleasing.

8. Find Inspiration on Pinterest

Of course, other than going online to find food inspirations, you can also check out Pinterest. Pinterest is an image sharing platform designed for users to discover information on the internet using images for those who don’t know. It is basically a visual Google.

I enjoy using Pinterest to find new ideas to try. Whether you are looking for the next great dish to cook or the next dress to purchase, Pinterest has something for you.

If you’d like, join me on Pinterest to discover new items together.

9. Meditate

Meditation calms your mind. It brings clarity and calmness to your life, which can benefit your emotional and overall health.

Without a big to-do list at hand when you are bored, you have the unique advantage of having no distractions. Relax your muscles, close your eyes, and listen to a guided meditation. You will feel awesome after the session.

10. Review Your Personal Finances

If you are looking for productive things to do when you are bored, reviewing your personal finances should be an item you cannot miss. If you reviewed your finance you will know your financial position.  You can plan what to do when you have extra cash or when in need of cash take paid surveys or try surveys for free food.

Here are the steps I take when I review my personal finances:

1. To through my credit card statements to understand my expenses.
2. Compare my actual earnings and spending vs. my budget.
3. Note down any significant discrepancies.
4. Understand the drivers. It could be that I bought gifts that were a bit more expensive than expected, my utility bills went up because I have been working from home, etc.
5. Come up with an improvement plan if I find myself overspending. For example, I may try to go on a cash diet for a month or two to bring myself back on track.

11. Organize Your Home

Is your closet so full of clothes that the doors become too difficult to close? That’s a sign that you really need to spend some time organizing your home!

Organizing your home is another productive way to spend your time when you are bored. If organizing your entire home is too daunting of a task, consider only tackling a small section, such as the aforementioned closet. You will feel so much lighter after your home looks clean and tidy.

12. Declutter Your Home

While you are tidying things up, you may very likely come across items sitting on the shelves that you have long forgotten. It is now the time to declutter them all! You can donate them, gift them, sell them online, or exchange them through a barter platform like Bunz.

A good rule of thumb is that you probably don’t need it if you haven’t thought of an item for a year.

13. Do a Complete Makeover of Your Home

If you have more time on hand, then doing a complete makeover of your home can be a great option. You can paint the walls with your favorite color or new wallpaper, rearrange your pillows and furniture, or even build some new furniture yourself.

This project requires a bit more effort than simply organizing or decluttering your home, and you may not be able to finish in one go. But hey, this means that you don’t have to worry about what to do when you are bored for a little while!

14. Look Through Old Photos and Videos

When you are bored, why not take a trip down memory lane and look through old photos and videos? They will bring up happy feelings of nostalgia in no time.

15. Tackle the New York Times Crossword

If you like puzzles, you will like tackling the New York Times crossword. With everything going digital nowadays, you no longer have to wait for the newspapers for the crossword. Go to the New York Times Crossword website, and you can access many mini-challenges that will get your neuron firing.

In addition to crosswords, the site also has free games of Sudoku, spelling bees, tiles, and vertex. You will soon forget that you feel bored!

16. Stretch

Stretching is an easy but important routine to have in your day-to-day life. It helps improve flexibility, prevent injury, and improve posture.

When you are bored, get up from your chair and bed, and get some stretches in!

17. Update Your Resume

Do you think about your next big career move? Step one is to have a killer resume. If this is on your mind, you will want to spend your free time updating your resume. Reflect on what you have accomplished since the last time you updated your resume and write it down.

18. Nap

Of course, when you have some downtime, it is perfectly okay to lie around and do nothing. Our bodies need to recharge from time to time, and taking a nap can be just what your body is looking for at the moment.

Final Thoughts

See, there are plenty of ideas to make your downtime more productive and fun. Be sure to bookmark this article so you can refer to it every time you feel bored!

This article originally appeared on Your Money Geek and has been republished with permission.