Productivity in Boredom (Things to Do)

Disclaimer: this post is human-written and involves no AI in any form.

Are you looking for things to do when you're bored?

But scrolling through an endless feed of social media content doesn't appeal to you.

Maybe you'd like to do something interesting, enjoyable, and has a positive impact on your life. But it shouldn't be too demanding or feel like work either.

You're in the right place to find just the ways to keep away boredom while making it productive. You'll learn how to approach being bored and the few simple tactics you need to make small positive changes daily.

1. Doodle

Doodling is a natural activity we've all done since we were kids. Listening to boring classes or being in a meeting where we know we're not needed are the usual times we've doodled.

And often, we think nothing of it. However, according to author Sunni Brown who wrote The Doodle Revolution, doodling is a game-changing skill that anyone can benefit from.

When we doodle, we engage more parts of the brain, especially those involved with creativity and visual thinking. This makes it easier to process information easily, remember more, and come up with creative ideas.

So, try doodling when you're bored. All you need is a pen and some paper. Just let your hand and mind wander - draw faces, stick figures, concepts, and anything else you care about.

You may find it meditative, relaxing, and insightful. Don't be surprised if you get new ideas for something creative at work or in your daily life.

And the good thing is that it's fun!

2. Listen to an Audiobook

Don't want to read a book when you're bored? Well, nothing's stopping you from listening to one, and you can even listen to an audiobook while you walk, do the dishes, or something else.

You can listen to audiobooks for free via apps on your smartphone's app marketplace. Or you can invest in a subscription platform like Audible, which is worthwhile because you also get access to hundreds of free books and podcasts for free along with your regular set of credits.

Listening to an audiobook is powerful because you can learn new things using an interesting format. And if you don't want to learn something, opt to get entertained. Many celebrities voice books on Audible and some personalities narrate their own books. Listening to Anthony Bourdain narrate Kitchen Confidential in his own voice, for example, is a great way to spend your time productively while enjoying his amazing stories.

3. Clean Up Your Inbox

Have you been putting off unsubscribing from the dozens of email lists you don't need? Or maybe you need to delete some old emails that are no longer important to you.

Whatever your particular situation may be, it's likely you have some work to do on your email inbox.

Being bored is the perfect time to get rid of clutter in your email.

Start by handling all your unread messages. Use a filter and bring them up. Delete the ones you know you don't need to read and go through the rest.

Next, go to your spam and promotional folders. You likely need to subscribe from dozens of site. This is the chance to get rid of as many newsletter subscriptions as you can.

Decluttering your inbox in this way will make a great difference to how you feel. Getting a task done will give you a dopamine hit and leave you ready to do more. Maybe you'll move on to decluttering your desk or perhaps cleaning up your email will remind you of a client you need to take care of.

In this way, the simple task of managing your inbox when you're bored will transform how you feel.

4. Embrace Being Bored

Boredom is demonized far too much in today's fast-paced social media-driven world.

It's been part of human experience and history to experience times of sheer boredom and tediousness. And this is okay because people need times when they aren't stimulated.

Boredom also leads to bursts of activity and creativity as your mind looks for things to do.

Many inventions are the result of boredom. Here's what you should do - whenever you feel bored, avoid reaching out for anything electronic. This means leaving the TV off or keeping your phone and computer away.

5. Work on Your Vision Board

Another thing you can do is to build up your motivation by working on your vision board if you already have one.

If you don't, you should know that a vision board is a board (real or digital) where you can add pictures of your life goals. Many people use vision boards to stick pictures of their dream car, dream house, places they want to travel to, and even representations of their ideal mate.

The idea is that you make your goals into a collage and represent it physically, it tunes your brain into finding ways to make them happen.

The effort and act of thinking about what you want, finding suitable images from the internet or on magazines, placing them together, and thinking about them likely create a strong mental impression.

Creating a vision board can subtly influence your behavior and future actions. And it's a great way to spend your time in a creativite and meaningful activity sure to help you achieve any goal.

Other Things to Do When Bored

These aren't the only productive things you can do when bored; here a list of activities you can adopt when you want to fill your time:

• Try freewriting
• Try a new recipe
• Unfollow accounts on social media that don't serve you
• Journal
• Edit your resume and LinkedIn profile
• Attend a local meetup
• Take a new picture for your social media accounts
• Start blogging

And so on. Boredom is the perfect state to try new things or build something you started earlier. It can also give you the room to relax if that is what you need. Oftentimes, activities that help us disconnect and relax can do more than just plugging on.

Taking a walk, reading something entertaining, taking a nap, and other activities can help immeasurably. Just do whatever feels best and is more likely to contribute toward your overall well-being.

Back to You

While it isn't necessary to be productive every waking minute, it's understandable that you'd want to do something useful instead of wasting time.

And when you're feeling bored, it can be the best time to try something that boosts your overall well-being and sense of satisfaction and enhances your professional life in some small way.

Give the many suggestions here a try and see how it benefits you in the long run.