When you have nothing to do, scroll through this list of 150 boredom busters. Almost none of them involve staring at your phone or computer screen, which in itself is a novelty.
Below you’ll find 137 to 173 interesting things to do when you’re bored at home, school, or work. Maybe one of these ideas and activities will change your life forever. The key is not getting too bored because you’ll fall asleep instead of creating something the world needs.
The best thing to do when you’re bored right now is to count the number of “things to do” on this list. There are actually many more than 150 things to do; I doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled several numbers. The final number is 150 but there are, for example, at least four 21s and two 54s.
If you’re seriously bored, count the number of actual activities and ideas on this list, and share your total in the comments section. Maybe it’s not the most exciting thing in the world, but you’re bored. What else have you got do to?
Remember to scroll through the comments section at the end. Readers shared their hobbies and favorite things to do when they’re bored. Maybe you’ll find something interesting to to in their ideas.
150 Things to Do When You’re Bored
One of my friends builds guitars. Drawing, planning, constructing, sanding, painting – that’s the best thing for him to do when he’s bored. Not me. I have lots of writing to do, ideas to mindmap, blog posts to delete, and interesting vacations to plan. I also play a flute, give my dogs haircuts, and just sit and imagine stuff. And walk! I could walk all day long and never get tired.
1. Count the actual number of best things to do when you are bored on this list. How many duplicate numbers have I planted in this list? There are lots more than 137. When I first created this list I had 137 things, but then I kept adding activities and ideas. I’m just too lazy busy to re-number the list properly. So, how many boredom busters do you count?
1. Where is Aritzia? Look up faraway places andnames in a print atlas. You’d be surprised at some of the names you find!
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. Write something. Does writing bore you? Read How to Stay Motivated When You’re Writing About Something Boring.
4. Look up funny quotes. “Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.”
5. Look up inspirational quotes. “The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be.” –Anne Frank.
5. Clean out your junk drawer or closet
6. Set financial goals
6. Pluck your eyebrows
7. Make a list of things you love about someone you love
8. Listen to hard or soft rock music
9. Write a mystery thriller or juicy romance novel (a boredom buster for budding bloggers)
10. Write your the story of your life.
10. Learn how to get paid writing for magazines
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
14.Make homemade lavender ice cream(or bacon ice cream, or whisky ice cream)
15. Learn what your favourite dog breed reveals about your personality.
15. Bake oatmeal chocolate chunk coconut cookies
16. Memorize 5 new words from the dictionary (boring, even for a writer geek like me)
17. Playsudoku – thanks @BJMuntain for this boredom buster
18. Organize your recipes
19. Read your old diaries(one of my favorite things to do when I’m bored)
20. Find a volunteer job –read 6 Reasons You’ll Love Volunteering as a Big Sister or Big Brother
20. Write a song – maybe this will be the start of a new career!
21. Try aromatherapy
21. Learn a new magic trick
21. Capture a cricket
21. Teach your cricket the new magic trick
21. Make a mini stage for crickets who like performing for crowds
22. Make your birthday wish list
23. Plan your 100th birthday party so it’s not boring
23. Freewrite everything that pops into your head
24. Clean the bathroom
25. Learn how to deal with controlling parents
25. Do an office workout (if you’re bored at work or on a long car ride)
26. Make a list of things to do before you die
27. Make a standup desk for your computer
28. TellGod what you’re glad He created
29. Count your money
30. Cry
30. Give yourself a manicure or pedicure
31. Give your mom or dada manicure or pedicure
32. Find a new hobby
33. Brainstorm new ways to make new friends
34. Find someone to cheer up
35. Solve the biggest problem in your life. If your biggest problem is finding the best thing to do when you’re bored, you have a pretty easy life!
35. Get a more interesting life
36. Start planning your mom or dad’s next birthday party
37. Go outside and play that game that people play when they’re bored
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)
42. Learn how to be a volunteer mentor through Big Sisters/Big Brothers
43. Clean out your closet
44. Donate your preloved clothes to charity
44. Remember something you forgot
45. Watch old movies
46. Learn how vision boards help you achieve your goals
47. Join a MeetUp group
48. Start a MeetUp group called What is the Best Thing to Do When You’re Bored?
48. Visit your library’s website and read the free digital magazines.
49. Search the internet forclassic science experiments, crafts and upcycling ideas, board game hacking, code-cracking, geocaching, skateboard repair, yarn-bombing, stop-action movie-making, best-of lists, and much much much more
49. Clean out your kitchen cupboards
50. Write a letter
51. Update your resume
51. Make low-fat high-fiberpancakes that don’t taste as boring as they sound
52. Google old friends
53. Play Lexulous on Facebook – thanks @venusvision for this boredom buster
54. Clip your nose hairs
55. Write a letter to your mom, telling her what you love about her
56. Rearrange your living room or bedroom
57. Go to the dog park
58. Face your demons
59. Call your grandma or grandpa
60. Look up funny animal quotes. “Dogs have masters. Cats have staff.”
60. Make a list of things your Guardian Angel has protected you from so far
61. Practice self-hypnosis
62. Plan your next vacation – read my Africa travel tips article – I lived there for three years!
63. Add a song to What Is the Best Breakup Music?
63. Make a “to do” list for tomorrow, so you’re not bored again tomorrow
64. Read poetry
65. Learn to crochet or knit
64. Start thinking about your scholarship applications
65. Research your family tree
66. Make a household budget
67. Take a bubble bath
68. Download your photos – maybe you’ll see you haven’t had such a boring life after all
69. Knit
70. Organize your finances
71. Clean up a mess
72. Write a letter to your dad, telling himwhat you love abouthim
72. Write a short story
73. Pretend you’re asleep
74. Learn 12 small ways to get healthy that make a big difference(is this a boring thing to do when you’re already bored?)
75. Draw your bedroom on the back of a postage stamp
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
79. Write about the best thing that ever happened to you
80.Draw who you wish was sitting beside you right now
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! Then look for a new job.
82. Write a song
82. Here’s what I do when I’m bored: I plan my next road trip. I researched and wrote What Are the Best Things to See and Do on a Cross-Canada Road Trip?
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
85. Read through the comments on this blog post – add to the collection of things to do when you’re bored at home
86. Dust the shelves
87. Listen to talk radio
88. Talk a walk down memory lane
89. Figure out what your dream job is
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 upper lip
93. Choose a life verse. Here’s mine: “I am like a tree planted along the riverbank with roots reaching deep into the water.I do not fear when the heat comes or worry in long seasons of drought.My leaves stay greenand never fail to produce fruit.” ~ Jeremiah 17:8.
93. Give yourself a massage
94. Create a unique board game
95. Meditate
95. Read 7 Ways to Cope When You Feel Lonely and Isolated
96. Clean out your old computer files and make room on your phone or tablet for more junk
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 messages of encouragement and hope
101. Lie on the grass
102. Lie in the snow
103. Lie in the rain
104. Don’t lie to yourself or your mother
104. Toilet train your cat
104. Learn why life is more interesting when you hold on tight to God
105. Listen todifferent types of music
106. Try to make it through an hour without touching the floor (thanks Eliza for sharing this creative thing to do when you’re bored!)
107. Make silver coins with foil, and create a treasure hunt (thanks Renee for this boredom buster!)
108. Turn the music up LOUD and DANCE your boredom away (thanks Macie for this fun thing to do when you’re bored!)
109. Tell me how many “things to do when you’re bored” are actually on this list (I honestly have no idea, because of the duplicates)
110. Tell me one way to improve this blog – what would you do differently if it was yours?
110. Decide what you’d go to college for
111. Watch Zoolanderbut don’t do what they did when they were bored at the beginning of the movie!
112. Rewrite the ending of your favorite movie
113. Plan a treasure hunt for your dog or cat: Hide treats in strategic areas around the yard. But not if you have a problem with rats or raccoons.
Did you count the actual number of best things to do when you are bored? How many duplicate numbers did I plant in this list?
Your turn. What do you do when you’re bored? Make a list of your 20 favorite activities. Include everything from surfing (the waves in the ocean, not the internet) to eating popcorn (yum!) to writing song lyrics (no thank you, not for me). Creating your own list of things to do when you have nothing to do is a good way to beat boredom.
Final thing to do when you’re bored: Get a tattoo and learn the best way to show it off!
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166 thoughts on “150 Things to Do When You’re Bored”
LanceJuly 2, 2020 at 2:43 pm
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When I’m bored I like to find new quotes to add to my quote collection. Here’s my new favorite:
“I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy something.” ~ Jackie Mason.LiviJune 25, 2020 at 5:46 pm
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Hi, thanks for the ideas! I’m not sure, is 11 a tween?? I think maybe some things arn’t like me, but i’ll do the ones that I wont get bored while doing. Thanks anyways for the ideas once again!
BobMarch 24, 2020 at 8:04 am
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I LIKED READING YOUR 137 TIPS ON WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU’RE BORED, THANK YOU. WHAT ABOUT PLANNING YOUR NEXT PARTY?
CrystalJuly 4, 2019 at 6:04 am
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Im only 10 so i cant do most of the things.
Btw you should add” Read this whole list while your bored” it helpedAllieMay 27, 2019 at 8:19 am
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you have 143 things to do when your bored
Tags:achieving your goalsbest life tipstips for a meaningful lifetips for teenagers