When you have done many things and become used to doing them, boredom will be highly inevitable. Everyone is continually adjusting and readjusting in life, and in monotonous situations, you may find yourself being creative and trying out new things. While being bored is not left for a particular kind of people, race, or colour, what you do in such a situation matters a lot. Therefore, instead of sitting around your phone or glaring inside your favourite book, doing some creative and productive things will help you unwind.
The internet also has endless opportunities for one to catch fun, and for some, it will be hard to imagine life without it. From following social media trends to learning creative things to playing arcade games and much more, embracing the internet is a sure way to keep yourself away from boredom. While some resort to thinking and others would rather die than think, being bored is normal.
When you feel stuck or bored, there are many productive things one can do that will be creative, be it at the office, home, or online. That being said, exploring the following getaways will guarantee you are stimulated and active all day long aside from reading books.
Fascinating Things to do When Bored At Home
1. Try Fixing a Puzzle
Solving a puzzle is such a great way of keeping yourself busy and getting over boredom. Puzzles are usually stimulating and challenging, but it gives you an incredible feeling and sense of relief when solved. You can either try out a very challenging online crossword, jigsaw puzzle, or putting an epic puzzle together. You can also ask your family for clues when you get stuck.
2. Write About Your Life and Fun Things You Did in Your Diary
Writing has never felt useful than when you are keeping a journal about your life experiences and things you did. Although not everyone will find it helpful, pouring your heart on paper is just as good as it can be. Some may write about their feelings, love life, or traumatic experience, while others may deem it fit to keep a record of their daily activities in a diary. A study by Harvard Medical School says that penning down your thoughts can help both emotionally and mentally, and you will undoubtedly get inspired by it.
3. Try a YouTube DIY Tutorial
From makeup, cooking, and singing to dancing, learning a new language, and repairs, there are many things that one can learn on YouTube when bored. There are greater chances that there is already a video for anything you would like to learn on the platform. For instance, if you want to reorganize and declutter your room, this can be a way to go as you will discover different ways of doing that after watching a few videos on YouTube. What are you waiting for? Let’s get going.
4. Pen Down a Letter to Your Future Self or Someone Else
One of the things you can do when bored is to write a heartfelt letter to your future self or heartthrob. Although it may sound weird or appear insane, you will never know how creative you can be with this. To do this, you can pen down goals you want to achieve, visioning how and what you will be in the future and how you would like to be addressed. Similarly, this could be passionately writing your feelings to the love of your life, whom you never met yet. You never what will happen when you stumble on this later many years later.
5. Join an Online Workout Session
Doing exercise comes with great and numerous benefits, and one doesn’t have to register with a gym to achieve it. Instead, you can conveniently do this in your living room, putting on your favourite sports wears. You’d need a laptop with an internet connection to get started. Several workout apps can serve as your guide to help you achieve this; they include Beachbody On Demand, Nike Training Club, Physique 57 OnDemand, and much more.
6. Explore a New Recipe
A very engaging thing you can do when bored is to pick out and create a new recipe. If you are already used to your usual routine of having meatball and spaghetti recipes, then it’s time for a change. You can grab that cookbook on the shelf or check out new recipes on the internet. Whether you are vegan or using an already drafted meal plan, there is an incredible number of recipes you haven’t tried yet. By doing this, you will become very active doing creative things to kill boredom.
7. Take a Warm Bath
When you get bored, you don’t have to stress yourself to get over it. However, taking the time out to enjoy a warm bath might be just what you need to feel better. Many can testify to the quality benefits of taking a warm bath. In addition to helping you cool off the day’s stress, a warm bath also helps you do away with discomfort and calm your nerves.
8. Host a Family Game Night
Organizing a game night for the whole family is an excellent way to drive boredom away. Family game night has been a long-known tradition, and the excitement that comes with the games will undoubtedly leave the entire family laughing in no time. For it to be productive, you have to add a little bit of creativity and humour. Besides, it’s all about the fun and doesn’t matter who wins or loses.
9. Learn How to Play a Musical Instrument Online
Boredom can sometimes lead to self-discovery, and learning how to play an instrument you most admire can you snap out of the box. Music always has a way of creating the feeling of euphoria and helps in stress management. You can find resources for any musical instrument you want to learn online, be it the guitar, piano, harmonica, drums, and much more. A 2017 study has shown that learning how to play an instrument helps keep the brain active, smart, and coordinated.
10. Meditate
Research has shown meditation to be an antidote to stress and anxiety. Meditation has been practised for several years. It might be a tedious task for some and something that has to do with deepening one’s spirituality for others. However, in recent times, meditation is seen as a means of reducing stress and enhancing relaxation. When done correctly, meditation helps one slow things down, improve focus and sound sleep. There are different types of meditation, including yoga, mindfulness, guided meditation, and much more. What are you waiting for? Let’s start exploring.
Incredible Things to do to Overcome Boredom At Work
1. Try Taking a Walk
When things get so clustered in your head, and you need a way out of such a situation, taking a walk might be what you need to free your mind. Some offices usually have a break at intervals, which generally helps to keep employees calm and productive. If you don’t have one, try putting in at least a 5 or 10 minutes walk into your daily work schedule. To achieve this, one may not necessarily need to walk a long distance; just a little walk around your office will certainly help reconfigure your brain to new perspectives.
2. Organize Your Daily Activities
Are you thinking of improving your productivity rate and get over boredom? The reason you always feel bored at work might be due to an unorganized work plan. Try organizing your daily tasks, prioritizing them to achieve efficient time management. Hence, doing this will allow you to work on the important stuff and save time from working on less important things, which will spare no room for boredom.
3. Help Out Your Colleagues
Sometimes you get to finish your work so fast that you start feeling bored afterwards. In such a situation, try helping out a co-colleague who still has something to do. By so doing, you enhance a great collaboration with your team, and your input can go as fast as helping them deliver on their tasks faster. While trying this to get over boredom, offering help to your colleagues will also improve your leadership skills and reputation in your office.
4. Watch a Motivational Ted Talk
Interestingly, being bored sometimes leads you to have fantastic ideas and figure out better ways to improve yourself. TED Talks always have a way of dishing out motivational talks, which, when embraced, will help out with making great career choices. More than that, it will help develop strong skills that can boost your confidence and set you up for your next successful meeting or interview.
5. Create Ideal Strategies for the Future
Though you might see yourself aptly delivering on almost every task that comes to your desk, and when there is none, you get bored; this can be the best time to plan for the future, making strategies for bigger things yet to come your way. As they say, “when there is no plan, failure imminent.” Whether you are a senior, junior, or even a new employee, this could be your best opportunity to figure out things that will help you get to the apex of your career.
6. Listen to Inspiring Songs
Music, as aforementioned, soothes the soul and keeps your spirit high, and what is more fun than listening to songs that will help inspire you to achieve almost anything. Sometimes, if you have a task that doesn’t need utmost attention, why don’t you try playing music while executing such a task. Perhaps listening to songs that you already know the lyrics may end up causing a distraction, but you will certainly never get bored by listening to music.
7. Rearrange Your Workspace and Make It More Fun
Are you feeling bored right now? Look around your workspace and see how to rearrange your desk, conference table, and stacked papers. Some people work around a disorganized desk, a stack of books or newspapers, and clustered office space. However, taking time out to reposition some of these office items will come with brilliant ideas that will make your workspace more fun and appealing. Don’t forget to remove those things that are not essential and old stationaries that are no more in use.
8. Figure Out How to Perfect Your Current Skills
You might probably be good at what you do, but do you also know you can become better? Even the best and most successful people on Earth never stop trying always to improve themselves. Steady practice will help you hone your skills and be at the top of your career. Whatever skill you have, trying to perfect such a craft is far more important than learning a new one. It could be learning to type and read fast or to speak in a public gathering, and much more. Keep practising when you are free, and see how better you will become.
9. Explore to Learn More About Your Industry
When you have exhausted your current task and have nothing else to do, try researching more about your company or industry. There are chances that since you joined the company, you haven’t learned everything about the services they offer. Doing this could be your opportunity to find important details, including the stakeholders, company value, and future. It will help to align you properly to become an asset to the company.
10. Try Stretching And a Few Exercises
Exercises are geared towards keeping you smart and active all day long. However, sitting in one position for a long time could be so tiring, leading to fatigue, shoulder and back pains, boredom, and other health-related issues. To overcome this, one has to do a few stretches from time to time. Perhaps one can also walk around the building or a few other exercises. These stretches or exercises could take at least 5, 10, 20 minutes, or more, but they will undoubtedly help you get over stress and improved posture.
Fun & Productive Things to Do Online When Bored
1. Learn a New Skill
It can be fun and exciting to learn about new things. One can visit so many websites to learn a new skill, including YouTube, the video-sharing platform. Various online resources will soothe your passion, from coding to marketing to cooking to digital photography and much more. By doing this, you will say goodbye to boredom as there’s virtually almost nothing you may not be able to learn online.
2. Setup Online Streaming Party with Your Friends
Organizing a Netflix virtual party along with your friends is one of the coolest things to do when you are bored, and it’s relatively easy as it works in real-time. With this, you can catch up on all the new flicks on Netflix. Just go to the Netflix website, start the show you want to watch, and invite your friends to join. The best part is that you are doing this from the comfort of your home and can also chat while watching the show.
3. Play Great and Addictive Games
Sites like Pogo, 247 Games, Addicting Games, King, and MSN Games have made it easier to explore the endless world of exciting games on the internet. You can either play as a single-player or compete with other players from different parts of the world. There are many games one can play online, from motor arcades to mission games to board and card games, adventures, and much more.
4. Take a Tour of Another Country Using Google Street View
If you have ever used Google Street View, you will realize how interesting it is. With Google Street View, one can visually traverse any city globally without travelling to the place. When feeling bored, you can start by exploring amusement parks, streets, hotels, tourist destinations, and much more. We are confident you won’t regret every bit of it.
5. Listen to Hilarious and Comic Podcasts
Are you tired of listening to music? Try listening to funny and comic podcasts online. There are several podcasts one can find on the internet. From general wellbeing to self-care and comedy, it doesn’t matter if it’s your first time because there is a plethora of fascinating stuff to learn, which will help you overcome boredom. You can try this out even when you’re doing the dishes or busy around the house.
6. Plan the Trip of Your Dreams
If you are inspired by Google Street View to make your tour a reality, you can take the time out to plan the most amazing tour to see the world. The planning process will surely be nothing short of exciting as you will find many creative and productive ways to make it worthwhile. With the internet, you’d be sure to explore different tourist attractions, book hotels, and much more.
7. Watch Documentary Online
When you feel down and bored, one of the things you can do is to watch an online documentary. New research suggests that watching an online documentary about nature can help you get over negative feelings and enhance your general wellbeing. Experiencing nature in virtual reality has enormous benefits. While at it, you will deepen your connection with the natural world, thus making you feel good and do away with boredom.
8. Find Deals in Your Neighborhood
TV ads are cool, but sometimes you might need to explore coupon sites like LivingSocial and Groupon to find discounts on grocery shopping, restaurants, spa, amusement parks, and much more. This is undoubtedly one of the most excellent things to do when you feel bored, and the only thing needed is just your tablet or phone or computer with an internet connection. Be rest assured that with this, you will never get bored.
9. Find Latest Songs and Create New Playlists
If you are a music lover, nothing will be more interesting than creating new playlists. It’s time to create something from the 90s hit to your new favourite songs. You can do this by creating different playlists for different activities such as parties, working out, hiking, cooking, or working. What’s more? You can work with your friends worldwide to create the best playlist through a website like Spotify, which has social components.
10. Make New Online Friends
Are you feeling stuck and not knowing what to do to kick boredom away? There are lots of sites out there where you can make new friends in a matter of seconds. Some of these sites include Meetup.com, Yelp, Active.com, Kupple.com, etc. By visiting these sites, you will have the opportunity of meeting new friends and connecting with people with like-minded interests around the world.
Is Boredom a Sign of Intelligence?
Oftentimes, people attribute boredom as a sign of laziness. However, a recent study suggests boredom as a sign of intelligence. According to the research, smart people tend to get tired more quickly, and they find themselves spending time lazing around and wallowing in thoughts. Similarly, those perceived to be physically active occupy themselves with many activities, eventually getting them tired.
More so, many other studies have shown that those who are non-thinkers tend to be more open to boredom than those who actually think a lot. Perhaps, those deemed as non-thinkers find it easy to occupy themselves with several physical activities in a bid to escape being caged by their minds.
The bottom line is that boredom doesn’t necessarily make one more or less intelligent. However, it is the things that one does when bored that defines which category they belong to. While some get to discover a hidden passion when they feel bored, which, in turn, enhances creativity and productivity, others may feel sad, depressed, and don’t know how to get over it.
Why Do People Hate Boredom?
Being bored can be normal for some; for others, it can translate to having all sorts of negative feelings and being frustrated in the end. Almost everyone hates being bored because of its negative effects, including a high rate of depression and dissatisfaction with one’s life. Boredom leads to anxiety and wrong decision-making, and many other negative things one can imagine.
The main reason behind all these feelings is actually unknown, but several theories have been propounded about why people hate being bored. To help yourself in such a situation, trying out those things listed above would help you get over boredom and set your mind on being productive and creative.
