I had so much fun writing my first article about stuff to do when you are bored that I felt like I needed to do more. I guess that’s because I can think of so many great things! Therefore my goal here is to provide an expanded list with more ideas of stuff to do when you are bored. I tend to wind up on the other side of the spectrum. Most days I wind up with too much to do to get it all done. Maybe that means I’m filling my days more than I should and need to stop and take it easy more often. Well, today is Sunday, the day for rest. We will see. Okay, let’s keep the list going!
Stuff To Do When You Are Bored
Work Out
Okay, you knew this was going to be on my list. I mean come on, it’s my list! When you find yourself with an open hour or two consider getting a workout in. It’s never a bad idea. Anytime you can spend on your physical or mental health is a good thing. Doesn’t have to be going to a box gym either. Go for a long walk. Air up the tires on your bike and take it for a spin. Make someone go and shoot hoops with you. My go to is lifting weights but I’ve got a solid home gym. You do what you want to do but this is certainly an option that will make you feel good afterwards.
Make a Photo Collage
I haven’t done this for a long time but it’s an excellent option. Go through some of your printed pictures and figure out a theme. Consider making a collage of your family, friends, kids, pets, hobbies, etc. Pick out the pictures you want to use. Take a quick drive to a hobby store and pick out what you want to put the pictures on. They have so many fun options these days. Honestly I like going through craft stores from time to time just to get inspired. After you buy the frame or whatever get to arranging your pictures in any way that inspires you. Only thing left to do now is to figure where to hang it!
Throw on an Old CD, Album, Playlist
My go to playlist usually consists of bands from the late 80’s and in the 90’s. Sometimes I will look through my CD’s and see one that I haven’t listened to in a long time but used to love. Putting it on and listening to it brings back all the memories and it’s easy to take a trip down memory lane. It’s pretty fun to do sometimes. It helps me remember certain points in time in my life and how the music was such a big part of it. This is also a great option to do along with something else like working out.
Start a Book
Ah books. Sadly becoming a bit of a lost art form. Every once in a while when I’m talking to someone I’ll ask them what was the last book they read. What’s depressing to me is when they can’t remember the last time they picked up a book. Come on man, that’s just sad. Picking up a book should be high on your list of stuff to do when you are bored. There is so much great reading out there. Try to remember what you used to like to read and pick something in the same genre. I tend to like things like detective novels or dystopian future type books. I’ll read other stuff as well but those are my go to. My wife has a huge love for books so there’s never a shortage in our house.
Bond With Your Pet.
This is an idea that just randomly popped into my head. Kind of funny too because I’m not really a pet person. We have 3 cats currently and I constantly tell my wife they should start doing some work around the house and actually contributing. I mean it seems like all I do is fill up their food dishes and scoop the litter boxes. What do they do for me? Fortunately most people like the pets in their homes. So the next time you are bored considering doing something one on one with your pet. Take your dog for a walk. Drive your cat crazy with some string. Have a race with your pet snake. Whatever your pet is go do something fun with it.
Pamper Yourself
Some people have a hard time with this. Some people have an easy time with this. Which ever one your are consider spending some time on YOU. Maybe it’s time to get that massage you always talk about. Nails always seem to be on the list for the females in my house. Perhaps buying a new item of clothing would be a nice way to treat yourself. Or even consider going and decompressing at a movie. Whatever floats your boat, think about something that makes you feel good. And go do it.
Look at Your Spending Habits
This is something that’s good to do from time to time anyway. When boredom begins to set in think about taking a look at your spending habits. It can be pretty eye opening and can give you ideas of how to tweak the outflow of money. The easiest way to do this is to look at your bank account online. Not many people are old school like me and still use a check register. To me the thing that I usually see when I review the houses spending habits are how much we spend on eating out. It’s not all the time and it can certainly ebb and flow. We certainly go through periods where we spend more than we should eating out. What changes can you make to your spending habits to get more money for the things that are important to you?
Rearrange a Room
Another idea of stuff to do when you are bored is to rearrange a room. This doesn’t tend to happen very often but it’s fun to do. Well, it takes work but the final product is pretty cool. When you move around the furniture and other stuff in a room it gives it a whole new energy. I did this last year with our downstairs level. Turned it into a place that I don’t mind hanging out in anymore. A few years ago we had our old deck torn down and a new one built. This fall I want to rearrange and make the lower deck into a place to hang out when the nights start getting a bit chilly. New energy.
Start a Journal
Do you journal? I do. I started it almost a decade ago when I was going through a tough time. I used to write in it almost daily. The last several years I usually do it about once a week. What I like a lot about it is it’s great for reflection. I can go back and look at what I wrote about last month or last year and see how things are now. It’s really good for seeing patterns in myself or others. If I see I am worried about something ongoing it means I need to do something about it or change my attitude towards it. Plus honestly sometimes it just feels to put pen to paper and get some things out that have been on my mind. Give it a shot the next time you are bored.
Start Your Holiday Shopping
I used to laugh at people that would buy Christmas presents in the summer. Not any more. Now I think those people are smart. They don’t wind up like me which is stressed in the 2nd week of December when I’m scrambling to come up with idea for people on my list. If you do your holiday shopping throughout the year you can actually enjoy the holidays more in my opinion! Ya know, I just inspired myself. I am going to start my holiday shopping by October this year. Thanks Mathew!
Wrap Up
So there you go. More stuff to do when you are bored. Next time you start to get that line of drool coming out of the corner of your mouth when you are bored look at the handy dandy list we’ve created. There’s no reason to be bored, there’s tons of stuff to do. Some of it healthy, some of it productive, some of it in the pamper category. In any event, no need to be bored any more!
Enjoy,
Mat A.
