Is Your Life Boring? 108 Things to Do When You’re Bored
These boredom busters aren’t just for kids who are bored during summer vacation – lots of adults need things to do when they’re bored at work.
Before the tips, a quip:
“There comes a moment in the day when you have written your pages in the morning, attended to your correspondence in the afternoon, and have nothing further to do. Then comes that hour when you are bored; that’s the time for [fill in the blank with a boredom buster!]…” ~ H.G. Wells.
If you’re a kid, read Amelia’s Boredom Survival Guide.
If you’re an adult, read Beyond Boredom and Anxiety: Experiencing Flow in Work and Play. These books will give you a fresh perspective on your boring old life, and give you at least one healthy, interesting thing to do when you’re bored: read!
One of my friends builds guitars — that’s his favorite thing to do when he’s bored. You could try learning a musical instrument – it’s good for your brain and it’ll give you something interesting to do. I recently started playing the flute again, and will be joining an orchestra soon. If you love to listen to music, you’ll LOVE learning how to play an instrument.
108 Things to Do When You’re Bored
1. Make homemade lavender ice cream (get creative with your flavors)
2. Make chocolate or hemp soap as a gift for someone
2. Make up your own reality show
3. Make up with someone you’re fighting with
4. Clean out your junk drawer or medicine cabinet
5. Set smart financial goals – or figure out how to pay off your debt
6. Pluck your eyebrows
6. Count the number of duplicate numbers in this list.
7. Make a list of things you love about your partner, child, or parent
8. Listen to soothing music or soft rock
9. Read a thriller or juicy romance novel – thanks @Lynn_Murphy for this boredom buster
10. Write your own thriller or juicy romance novel
11. Update your email list
12. Email your friends and ask for their favorite things to do when they’re bored
13. Trade Wii games and gear with your friends — or try the newest Wii games
14. Write an apology to someone you’ve been avoiding
15. Bake oatmeal chocolate chunk coconut cookies (one of my favorite things to do when I’m bored)
16. Memorize 5 new words from the dictionary
17. Play web sudoku – thanks @BJMuntain for this boredom buster
18. Organize your recipes
19. Read your old diaries
20. Find a volunteer job
21. Try aromatherapy
22. Make your Christmas wish list
23. Freewrite everything that pops into your head
24. Clean the bathroom
25. Do an office workout (if you’re bored at work)
26. Make a list of things to do before you die
27. Make someone happy
28. Explore ways to be more spiritual
29. Balance your checkbook (which might make you even more bored)
30. Give yourself a manicure or pedicure
31. Give your partner a manicure or pedicure
32. Find a new hobby
33. Find a new way to make friends
34. Find a new pet
35. Find a new way to improve your love relationship
36. Start looking for Halloween costumes
37. Go outside
38. Pretend you’re a tourist in your own city
39. Wash your dog
40. Brush your cat
41. Brush your mom’s hair
42. Go to the library (one of my favorite things to do when I’m bored)
43. Clean out your closet
44. Donate your preloved clothes to charity
44. Start planning your next birthday party!
45. Watch old movies
46. Learn how vision boards help you achieve your goals
47. Join a MeetUp group
48. Start a MeetUp group (a great thing to do when you’re bored!)
49. Clean out your kitchen cupboards
50. Write a letter
51. Update your resume
52. Google old friends
53. Play Lexulous on Facebook – thanks @venusvision for this boredom buster
54. Clip your nose hairs
55. Learn to crochet or knit
56. Rearrange your living room
57. Go to the dog park
58. Face your demons
59. Plan your next party
60. Pray or meditate
61. Practice self-hypnosis
62. Plan your next vacation (I love exploring cheap vacation packages when I’m bored!)
63. Make a “to do” list for tomorrow
64. Read poetry
65. Research your family tree
66. Make a household budget
67. Take a bubble bath
68. Download your photos – you’ll see you haven’t had a boring life
69. Knit – thanks @SimplyForties for this boredom buster
70. Organize your finances
71. Sweep your deck or balcony
72. Write a short story
73. Pretend you’re asleep
74. Explore different ways to achieve fitness goals
75. Draw your bedroom
76. Sort through old photos (one of my favorite things to do when I’m bored)
77. Make a scrapbook
78. Play online trivia games
79. Go for a walk
80. Pick up trash in your neighborhood
81. Get a job (unless you’re looking for things to do because you’re bored at work!)
82. Write a song
83. Start a blog (but not a boring one!)
84. Write a blog post about how boring your life is
85. Change your blog theme
86. Dust the shelves
87. Listen to talk radio
88. Talk a walk down memory lane
89. Putter
90. Grab a yoga mat, focus on deep breathing, and re-energize with deep stretching – thanks @catlover1964 for this boredom buster
91. Do crossword puzzles
92. Wax your bikini line
93. Give yourself a massage
94. Create a unique board game
95. Learn how to deal with toxic relatives
96. Clean out old computer files
97. Paint a self portrait
98. Learn to juggle (one of my husband’s favorite things to do when he’s bored)
99. Read old magazines
100. Tweet! – thanks @runaholickassy for this boredom buster
101. Lie on the grass
102. Lie in the snow
103. Lie in the rain
104. Don’t lie to yourself
105. Listen yourself to different types of music
Want to make life better? Read 7 Tips for an Interesting Life.
What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re bored?
Category: Brain Health Tips, Happiness Tips, Health & Wellness, Mind & Soul, Self-Improvement Tips, Stress Management Tips
Volunteer! If you’re bored with life, volunteering will help other people and make your life more interesting.
Dance, makeup your own dance routine:)
I love to look at something in the room and then try not to think about it. It is a fun way to make your brain go crazy! I always love to turn on some music blasting loud and then dancing like there is no one watching ( WARNING: close windows or someone unexpected might be watching hehe)
very interesting things that will work for me if i get bored thanks for the list
Thanks for adding to my list of things to do when you’re bored!
I think making up a game is a great boredom buster.
i just go on the computer and look up pics. of the first thing tht comes to mind. otherwise i would play a game or make up one.
I like to go on chatroulette.com although i warn it can be a little R rated so you have to move on quick and be ready ha. i like baking cookies or doing somethng crazy like going to a Karoake night or going up and down the street wearing wierd clothes. If your really bored don’t hold back and you’ll have the most fun. Some of my friend painted eachothers backs and took photos and it sounds wierd but it was a lot of fun and the pictures looked amazing almost professional. Just taking pictures is fun.
this is wicked. i followed all these and found the whole day had passed.
Paul, London
Thanks for your tips, Isabel! I’m the complete opposite of you: I don’t garden OR write poetry.
My favorite thing to do when I’m bored is to go for a walk — especially if I have a purpose. I know it sounds boring, but I LOVE to walk, and we have lots of forest trails around our house
I also read or write poetry. It is my way of pouring out all my feelings which I could never share with anyone. Poems on love and nature are particularly very nourishing.
I do gardening. Not only do flowers and plants take my mind off so many stressful situations but being out under the morning sun also energizes me. In the late afternoons, I go back to check the flowers if they need watering and thereafter, just sit on the grass and warch the sunset…and all the tensions and boredom are gone…
Figure out if Twitter is something you like.
try to identify things in room with eyes closed
Clip your toenails.