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Productive Things to Do When Bored

Date

August 01, 2020

Time reading

4 minutes
bored woman napping on couch

The next time boredom hits while you’re spending time at home, instead of clicking through every option on Netflix, try one of these activities to keep you occupied. There are dozens of great ideas for productive things to do when bored at home, including reorganizing specific areas of the house, trying a new craft like diamond painting or sharpening your culinary skills. These activities can be used as alone time for yourself, or you can get other members of your home involved as a way to bond. Check out some of our favorite things to do in your house on a rainy day. 

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Productive Things to Do When Bored at Home

1. Schedule Your Day

If you’re feeling bored and unmotivated while staying in the house, a good way to ramp up your production is by organizing your day. Make a list of things that you need to get done. Then, prioritize your list to ensure that things that are more time-sensitive get done first. You can also compile a long list of activities or chores that you want to get done throughout the week. This is another way to beat off boredom by giving yourself an outline of what needs to be done instead of sitting around waiting for something to do. Once you’ve created a schedule for yourself, make sure to stick to it. Of course, it is important to fit in free time to spend time with family or enjoy your hobbies. 

do deep cleaning

2. Do a Deep Cleaning

No matter how tidy you keep your house, everyone’s home could use a really good deep clean from time to time. If deep cleaning the entire house sounds like an overwhelming process, try breaking it up for yourself by working on one room at a time. Choose the room that needs the most attention. Oftentimes, the kitchen is a good starting point as it's easy for grease and gunk to build up in hard-to-reach places. Scrub the inside of the oven or the microwave and clean out your cabinets. Then, move on to your next room. If your home has an attic or a basement where you store items, sort through your belongings to determine if there are things that you can part with and donate them to a local charity if possible.

3. Organize Your Office Supplies 

Even if you don’t have an official “office” room in your home, you probably have some area where you keep important papers and documents. This can be one area of the house where disorganization reigns. It’s easy to toss your papers into one designated area and never revisit it to clean out items that are no longer necessary. You can occupy your time by getting your paperwork in order. Work through folders to determine which items you should hang on to and which you can throw away. If your organization is a bit subpar, you can also devise a method for keeping track of your important items. Separate papers by category–for example: house/mortgage, car payments, tax documents, etc. Find a system that works together and stick to it.

try diamond painting project

4. Try a Diamond Painting Project

One of the best ways to beat your boredom at home is by crafting. Diamond painting projects are the perfect activity to occupy your mind, inspire your creativity and give you a sense of accomplishment. It usually takes several sessions to complete an entire diamond painting project, especially if you opt for a large design, because a great deal of focus is required to place each individual faceted bead onto the grid to create a larger, mosaic image. When you’re bored, you can spend some time–even just 20 to 30 minutes–to break out your project and put in some work. Once you’ve completed the project, you’ll actually have a physical reminder of your achievement that you can frame and display in your home or give as a gift. 

5. Donate Old Clothes

You can clean out your closet any time of the year, but if you’re looking for a way to cure boredom right as the seasons are changing, this is the perfect opportunity. As you pack away your winter or summer clothes and pull out your other seasonal options, you should sort through your belongings and determine if there are articles of clothing that you’re holding on to, but not actually using.

Freeing up closet space will help you feel more organized and will open room for new items. Oftentimes when we let our closets get too overcrowded, some of our items that we would wear more often become buried. Be realistic if you’re going to clear out your wardrobe and don’t hang on to something if you don’t actually believe you’ll wear it. A good rule of thumb is to get rid of it if you haven’t worn the article of clothing in the last six months. Of course, this rule isn’t always applicable, especially if you’re switching seasonal clothing. Anything you get rid of can be donated to a charity of your choice. 

get creative with your cooking

6. Get Creative with Your Cooking

Some people avoid cooking because they don’t feel as though they have enough time to create a well-rounded delicious dish. Although there are plenty of ways to whip up an awesome meal without spending too much time in the kitchen, cooking a more time-consuming meal is a great way to kill time and learn a skill. Research some recipes online that you might be interested in making and then head to the store to get the right ingredients. You can try something new, like cooking a vegetarian or plant-based meal, or whip up a favorite family recipe. 

7. Start Journaling

There are so many benefits to writing in a journal–both mentally and emotionally. You can choose to journal about anything that you want, but many people like to record their personal experiences and memories. This is a rewarding way to create a story about your life that you can revisit for the rest of your life. Many people also like to log their thoughts and memories with the intention of passing their journal down to their children for a personal family history and create a deep connection. Journaling can also be greatly beneficial for your mental health because it helps you to understand your experiences and work through concerns and fears. 

diamond art linkedin profile

8. Update Your Resume and LinkedIn Profile

Even if you’re not looking for a new job, it’s a good idea to regularly update your resume and LinkedIn. It makes it much easier when you do decide to apply for a new job and it keeps the world alert to what you’ve accomplished in your career. Your LinkedIn profile is like a resume that can be reviewed online at any time. Although you may not need to update your specific job description (though you certainly should if your responsibilities have changed), you can add links to relevant work, post updates on your industry and stay connected with others in a similar field. Updating your resume may involve adding your latest job or altering your descriptions. Sometimes, even if the information hasn’t changed, the language can use a bit of improvement. 

9. Create Your Own Garden

A very productive project, creating your own home garden can help you integrate fresh ingredients into your daily diet and teach you a valuable skill. If you have children at home, this is an activity you can do together, teaching them how to grow and care for a living plant and educating them on healthy eating. If you’ve never had a garden before (or any kind of plant), it’s best to start small. Get a few easy plants that you know you have time to maintain. As you see success and realize that you enjoy gardening, you can move on to larger, more difficult projects. For anyone who may not have a background in home gardening, you can still invest in small herbs that can grow on your front porch or in a window sill planter. You can also learn how to care for indoor plants that can add some life (literally) to your home and help purify the air for healthier living.

woman reading book in hammock

10. Work Your Way Through a Book List

Reading a book is the perfect way to pass the time, whether you want to lose yourself in a fictional novel or read up on a nonfiction subject. If you find yourself feeling bored in the house often, make a list of books that you’re interested in reading (or books you’ve been saying you would read for years) and slowly work your way down the list. Much like with completing a diamond painting, finishing a book can give you a great sense of accomplishment while also sharpening your mental skills and potentially teaching you something new. If you really want to challenge yourself, you can look for book list challenges that encourage you to find, read and check off specific types of books, such as “a book with food in the title” or “a book recommended by a friend.” This will help you to branch out into genres you may not have expected to like. And, most importantly, it will keep you occupied when you’re stuck in the house. 

do at home workout

11. Do an At-Home Workout

Motivating ourselves to exercise can be difficult, but once you’ve set a routine and you stick to it, it can become something you actually look forward to. Exercise is obviously good for your physical bodies, but it also can greatly improve positive thinking and overall mental health. Because endorphins are released while working out, your brain begins to experience feelings of euphoria. Because of this, working out can also help reduce your levels of stress and anxiety. 

If you’ve never tried working out at home, you can discover thousands of great workout videos on YouTube to walk you through a routine. Zoom classes are also a very popular option right now, so you can participate in yoga and other workout classes in your area without having to leave the house. 

family plays soccer game

12. Spend Time with the Family

Whenever you’re feeling bored in the house, recruit some other members of the household to play a game, work on a diamond painting or watch a movie together. This is the perfect opportunity to spend more time as a family and bond together. You can even make it a regular activity and let a different person choose each time what they want to do for family night. Try new activities together and reflect on what you learned or what you enjoyed about the time spent.

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13. Learn a New Language

Many people dream about being multilingual but, again, feel as though they don’t have the time or resources to accomplish this goal. With so many technological advancements, it’s easier now more than ever to learn a new language. Pick a language that interests you or that you may already have some base knowledge of. Then, you can use a combination of different tools to begin your education–from online teaching programs like Duolingo to watching foreign movies and reading books in another language. When scheduling your day or your week, you can make this a part of your regular routine. Practicing for even just 30 minutes per day can help you on your journey.

14. Research and Write Down Bucket List Ideas

When you’re bored at home, it’s one of the best times to work on your bucket list. You can write down a handful of destinations you want to visit and activities you want to try and then do your research. You have the ability to make your dreams a reality, so start now! Compile your list and record valuable information to help you prioritize and find realistic ways to achieve your goals.

Make Your Free Time Count

It is important that we all take breaks to simply hang out and do nothing, but when we find ourselves with an abundance of free time, boredom begins to set in. We need to keep our minds engaged and feel a sense of motivation and accomplishment, which is why we pulled together this list of the most productive things to do when you’re bored at home. Next time you find yourself complaining about not doing anything, whip out your diamond painting project or start reorganizing the house. You’ll feel much more productive once you’ve completed a task. Then, it’s time to relax.