Boredom is a monster. It envelopes you and drags you down into a swamp of negativity, but you can banish your beast by completing a productive activity when you're bored. When boredom hits, you get trapped in a vicious circle of not knowing what to do, feeling annoyed at yourself for wasting time, and then giving in to it. Every now and again the cycle will repeat itself and you get lost in a fog of frustration and desperation, because according to Forbes, stress can be bad for creativity. So it's no wonder that you can't think of any ideas to quell your boredom, when you're stressing out about wasting your day.
As an only child, I learned how to beat boredom from a very young age and more recently, I have learned one important boredom-busting method that can help us all as adults; you know that thing you've been putting off? Do it when you're bored. This way you'll feel you've accomplished something, it's another thing ticked off your never-ending to-do list, and you won't feel plagued by the task you've been dreading. Fellow Bustler Julie Sprankles discusses the benefits of tackling the thing you dislike most, first to inspire you to pull off that Band-Aid quick. So, here are a productive things to do when you're bored AF.
1. Purge Your Closet
When you're stuck for something to occupy your time, cleaning out your closet is a great activity. Get rid of all the stuff you no longer wear, items you only wore once, or things you are keeping solely for nostalgic reasons. You don't need all that unused stuff in your life and when you're done, you'll have space for new pieces; it's a win-win situation. For help on where to start, take a look at self-confessed minimalist Jenny Mustard's video on how to get rid of stuff. During the video she informs viewers of how she declutters her space and offers tips and motivational advice like, "Keeping your eyes on the prize, like if you're in doubt, just think about the feeling you will have when you have a decluttered home. If you are like me, a minimalist, it's going to feel so good, you will not regret it!"
2. Prepare Your Meals For The Week
This is a fantastically productive activity for when you're feeling majorly bored, full of despair, and needing to kill a big chunk of time. Preparing your meals for the entire week requires: planning, grocery shopping, cooking, and storing your food. If you have a free Sunday with zero plans and you're itching to do something, I'd highly recommend preparing your meals for the week ahead. Olivia Muenter, associate fashion & beauty editor at Bustle, shared her experience and advice on planning all your meals for the week ahead.
3. Backup Your Tech
In a perfect world technology wouldn't break, we wouldn't lose our phones on nights out, and we would never forget to press "Save." In the real world things like this happen, so future-proof yourself by backing up all of your technology. Remember those photos you have on your camera from your best friend's wedding? Now's the time to import them onto your computer. The project you've been busting your ass on for work? Save it to an external hard drive. That precious video of your niece taking her first steps? Backup your phone. Whatever tech you have, make sure all of your data is stored safely and possibly duplicated or triplicated if it's important. Your future self with thank you big time.
4. Book Your Appointments
Stop putting off your gyno appointment and just book it already! If you leave making your appointments to the last minute you might have to compromise on time slots and availability, which may mean you have to shift your regular schedule around to fit in with your appointments. So stop letting your hair get to the stage where it's totally outgrown and you're getting annoyed with it; book your hair appointment, doctor's appointment, dentist appointment, and whichever other ones you have looming on the horizon. You're bound to feel much better (and super organized) afterwards.
5. Go Through That Drawer
Most people have one of those drawers that you just shove things inside, in the hopes that a fairy will wave her magic wand and it will disappear forever. Sadly, although I do believe in fairies, I can't say I've ever encountered a magical drawer fairy or know of anyone who has, so you will have to organise your messy drawer yourself. On the plus side, you might locate items you thought you had lost and you'll be able to get rid of any unwanted crap which is taking up valuable drawer space.
6. Write All Your Important Dates & Contacts In Your Diary
As previously touched upon, technology can – and does – go wrong, sometimes through no fault of your own. Imagine if your phone suddenly stopped working or you left it on the subway; would you have your most important family members' and friends' numbers stored elsewhere? Or how about your work schedule next week which is packed full of meetings? Technology can really improve people's lives but don't let it rule your life. Make sure you write down all of your important dates in a diary and make a note of people's numbers you may need in case of an emergency. This way you'll still know where you're meant to be and when, plus you'll be able to contact your nearest and dearest if you need to.
7. Make Your Storage Solutions More Useful
I recently discovered blogger and YouTuber, Kathryn of Do It On A Dime. I was blown away by her organizing tips, which are not only smart but thrifty too. In a recent video on home organization, Kathryn tells viewers that she views organization as a system , rather than storage. Kathryn gives fantastic advice such as storing, "Most accessed items at the front" and suggests viewers, "Keep high traffic areas sparse." Take a look at her YouTube channel to help you get the most out of your organizational systems and rid yourself of the boredom bug.
Quit wallowing in your boredom and do something productive with your time!
Images: Pexels (3); RubbermaidProducts, hyacinth50, BarbaraOlson, .angels., BillWilson /Flickr
