4 Self-Improving Things To Do When You're Bored

I’ve never been a big fan of the word boredom. Even my 5-year-old already knows that (I’m not bored. I’m inventing a new game in my mind.) :-)). In fact, the word bored doesn’t even exist in my vocabulary. If you ask me, feeling unhappy because something is not interesting or because you have nothing to do (which is the definition of the word bored), shouldn’t be acceptable to anyone.

Choosing to define the extra time you have as the time when you’re bored, or using that time only to scroll down through social media is, simply put, a waste of time. I know it and, I know you know it, too.

Because let me tell you this, your time is too precious to be wasted on meaningless activities. As Friedrich Nietzsche profoundly said: “Is life not a thousand times too short for us to bore ourselves?”

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Instead, invest in quality time with yourself, aim to better your relationship with yourself, improve your skills and develop your knowledge.

I even go a bit further, and choose to, for example, watch a movie only as a reward for accomplishing few small or one bigger goal (which happens once a week) and not because I have some free time at the moment – but that might be a topic for another blog post. 🙂

Here’s a list of things you can do when you’re bored that will also help you improve yourself.

1. Self-care

Although I feel like everything from this list can go under the self-care category, let’s start this way.

Self-care is extremely important, and you should add at least one act of self-care into your daily routine. It’s not only beneficial for your physical but also mental health. Even not letting yourself be bored is self-care.

Self-care can be anything from indulging in an afternoon at the spa to doing face masks at home to meditation, taking a walk or doing yoga. You don’t have to do anything fancy or luxurious, what’s most important is how it makes you feel.

Take a journal, document your thoughts to get some clarity and let some of your anxieties and fear out. Put on a homemade face mask, pour yourself a glass of wine, blast some music and have a solo dance party. Draw your yoga mat, put on some relaxing beats, and meditate.

Finally, all you have to do is listen to your body and what it needs. Even a power nap could be beneficial to let go of the cumulated stress and recover from your daily endeavors.

2. Podcast/Reading

The next time you hear yourself saying “I’m bored”, start reading a book. You’ve probably been gifted a book, or you bought one thinking you will get to it when you have some free time. Well now is your chance. Remember, you’re not bored, you have extra time. 🙂

Pick up that dusty book from the shelf, or whatever drawer you buried it in, make yourself a cup of tea and find a comfortable area to sit in. Immerse yourself in the book for the next hour or two, detach yourself from your phone, laptop or TV and truly get to enjoy your alone time.

Give your mind a break and let your creative side out, you will find this experience to be most rewarding, and perhaps you will finally end up picking the habit of reading.

Or if reading is “not your thing” then podcasts are your best friend (excuses are not accepted?)! There is a wide range of educational podcasts that you can enjoy listening to while still learning something new and optimizing your free time. Here are some of our favorite:

3. Cleaning and organizing

Being bored or having nothing to do is an excellent time to organize the space you live or work in. Whether it’s your desk, your kitchen cupboards or your bathroom, chances are you already have a problematic area in your house that you need to deep-clean but you keep postponing it for later. Get those cleaning supplies out, put on some chill music and get to cleaning.

It may seem like a daunting task at first, but you will get a huge sense of satisfaction after, and you are gonna feel like a massive weight has been lifted off your shoulders. Cleaning can be very soothing, and dare I say, therapeutic. And who knows, you might re-discover some items that you thought were lost forever.

Decluttering the space you live in or work at will provide you with a sense of order and organization, it also helps your mind feel less encumbered.

4. Planning

Your precious free time should not go to waste. Instead, use it to make your future tasks and goals easier. Trust me, your future self will thank you.

Get your notebook, planner or calendar and map out your short-time, and long-time objectives. Review your schedule for the next couple of months and start thinking about any big projects ahead, and perhaps even vacation time or holidays.

This will help you get a clearer idea of how you can break one giant project into smaller and easier-to-manage tasks.

You can also create a healthy and balanced meal plan and start meal-prepping for the following week. This will not only save you tons of money from having to get takeout or eat out all the time, but it will also save you so much time, as you only have to grab your food, put it in the microwave and you’re set for the day.

Bored? Never again

“Our life is a reflection of our point of view” has been my motto basically my whole life and I’m still amazed by how many “aha-moments” you get when you change your perspective and point of view.

If just, in the moment of not knowing what to do, instead of asking Google What to do when you’re bored, you look at that time as a chance to start getting from one point to another, I’m sure you would never be bored again.

If you look at it as an opportunity instead of boredom, your list of things to do would suddenly grow.

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