8 February 2011 10 Fun And Free Things To Do When You’re Bored

So often I find myself wanting to go home when I am at work, and then on my days off I sit around on the couch watching TV or playing Xbox or refreshing Facebook and Twitter over and over, complaining about how bored I am. I’m sure most of you can relate to this. So what to do when you can’t think of anything to do? Here’s a list of ten things I enjoy doing, and best of all, they are all things that you can do for free!

1. Make a collage. Even if you feel like you are not an artistic type, anyone can make a collage! Try using some mixed media if the idea of cutting up magazines bores you. Use fabric, ribbon, sequins, paint, leaves, markers, whatever you can find! Need inspiration? Interpret lyrics from your favorite song. Use only things that are your favorite color. Try to capture a certain mood. Make a ransom-note style message for a friend. Or just do a search online for other collages!

2. Try cooking something you’ve never made before. I usually make up recipes as I go along, but if you don’t cook or bake much, allrecipes.com is a great place to start! Don’t worry if it doesn’t turn out perfect; make notes of what you can change and then improve on it next time. Soon you can have your own signature dish. Here’s one of mine: Lonely On Valentine’s Day, Eat It Til You Puke Pasta Marinara (For Two).

3. Crack open that book that you’ve been meaning to start. If you don’t have any books laying around, take a trip to the library or borrow one from a friend! I have a bad habit of buying or borrowing books and then never getting around to reading them. Some I am working on now are Why Does E=mc²?: (And Why Should We Care?) which is pretty much just what it sounds like and is super interesting, Walking Dead Volume 12, one of my faaaaavorite graphic novel series’ (You may have seen the TV adaptation recently), and The Bell Jar which I have read a bunch of times, but it is my all-time favorite book!

4. Color in a coloring book! This always makes me kind of happy and nostalgic. If you have a child in your family, you can color with them, or just give your colored pictures to your friends.

5. Make a fort in your livingroom! This is something I have been thinking about for weeks and been dying to do! My plan is to set it up so that I can watch TV from inside it, but of course you could do some other unboring activity inside!

6. Go for a walk, and pay attention with all five senses! Okay… maybe four, you probably shouldn’t taste anything. I prefer to walk in a park or arboretum, but you could just go exploring your neighborhood or the city too. Look closely at things, feel the textures, smell the air, listen to the birds or the traffic, or whatever. It will give you a new appreciation of things you take for granted every day.

7. Try out a new hair or makeup idea. There are tons of tutorials on YouTube that will guide you step-by-step through different looks for any skill level. Do something simple and wearable or do something outrageous and take pictures. I like to try out makeup looks from No Doubt videos or make myself look dead.

8. Play dress up! This goes along with the last one and is something I do about once a week. Try on clothes you don’t wear very often. Put on a bunch of mismatched items. Make a themed outfit. Whatever. You might figure out new ways to wear your existing clothes, or you might just make a fun mess of yourself.

9. Go to a pet store. Even if you’re not up for a new pet (maybe a Beta fish?) you can still walk around and squee over all of the adorable little hamsters and rats and ferrets and laugh at all of the silly and disturbing toys and outfits they make for animals.

10. Rearrange your bedroom or your house. Sit down with a pen and paper and map out where you’d like everything to be. What do you have that is no longer serving you? Give it to a friend or Goodwill. What do you need, that would be helpful? Starting over can be so refreshing. I’ve always wanted to try and use Feng Shui, at least in my bedroom!

So there are a few of my favorite ideas to help you kick boredom in the ass (without watching TV or playing video games)! Did anything here inspire you? What do you like to do to entertain yourself?