9 Productive Things to Do When You're Bored at Home

Written by: Cora Gold

Being bored can be a luxury. It means you’ve cleared some of your most important tasks and have spare time. You can use the free period to de-stress from other parts of the week and enjoy the quiet and comfort of your home. That said, there are other ways to keep yourself busy at home. 

1. Clean the House

You can never go wrong with tidying up your home. Sweep the floors and wipe the surfaces afterward. Look for any lingering trash and add it to the garbage bag before bringing it outdoors. Pick specific rooms like your kitchen, bathroom, or bedroom for thorough cleaning.

You can also focus on smaller spaces. Clean your home office desk by dusting the nooks and crannies. Your vanity table is also important. It’s recommended to wash makeup brushes every seven days or so to remove germs.

2. Organize Your Closet

Shopping sprees are fun to find new clothing and expand your style. Just remember to organize your closet afterward. Fold them neatly to assess how much space you have left. You can use a clothes hanger for dresses and other longer pieces.

If you come across items you don’t feel like wearing anymore, consider giving them away. You can always give them to a family member or friend of the same size. Some charities also accept clothing donations. 

3. Exercise

Exercise can kill time and improve your physical health all at once. It can also boost your mood and energy levels. Most people may head out to go to the gym or park, but there are plenty of workouts you can do in the comfort of your home.

All you need are the essentials, like dumbbells and a mat. You can also invest in a treadmill for your fitness. However, you could also just go the free route and try jogging in place.

4. Write and Journal

Sit down and hone your writing skills. You can search for some creative writing prompts on the internet and create some poems. Take your time and flesh out a short story if you wish. 

Alternatively, you can step away from fiction and journal instead. Write down some of your recent experiences and thoughts. Introspection can be a powerful tool for processing your feelings and avoiding boredom. 

5. Try Some Light Reading

Reading is also a productive way to spend a free day. You can search the news on your mobile phone and scroll through some articles and thought pieces while on the couch. Remember to schedule breaks in between to avoid doom scrolling. Books are also good for light reading. You can look out for some novels or comics.

6. Do Arts and Crafts

Crafting is another fun way to relieve boredom. Take out some paper and practice some of your origami skills. You can also grab a pencil and sketch some of your ideas on the paper. 

Polymer clay is also fun and malleable, letting you make creative hair clips and earrings. The package will usually have instructions to make the drying process easy. Remember to cure a scrap piece to test your oven temperature’s efficiency before putting in your masterpiece.

7. Meal Plan and Prep

Thinking about and cooking your meals consumes so much time throughout the week. If you have a free day, take the liberty of meal planning and prepping. Cut the ingredients and place them into containers. That way, you just have to get the food out of the fridge and heat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

8. Review Your Budget

Finances can get a little out of hand now and then, so you should make time to assess your budget. Lay out some of your paper receipts and online transactions to see whether anything lines up. Check for any unpaid utility or credit card bills. You can also review your savings goal and see whether you’re still on track to make it.

9. Update Your Digital Space

It might be time to make some long-overdue tweaks to your digital space. Here are some suggestions on what you can do to simplify your online space:

• Change your passwords: Bad password habits plague lots of internet users. For instance, about 45% of people use a password over 10 years old. Others may use a generic word or phrase that hackers can easily guess. Log into your accounts and create a more secure code. You can also enable two-factor authentication.

• Sort through emails: Have an inbox with more than 100 emails? It’s high time to finally go through it. Delete the emails and make sure to remove spam. Check messages from reliable senders and look out for personal letters from acquaintances. 

• Alter your layout: Some people brush off organizing their desktop layout, but it’s a nice activity during free time. You can coordinate the icons with your desktop wallpaper and group them. 

• Update your playlists: Got a song that you’ve always wanted to add to your existing playlist? Or maybe you’re thinking of making a new one after a fun music discovery? Time to revisit these ideas. You can even play them in the background.

Replace Boredom With Productivity

Boredom creates so much free time. Use it to plow through some tasks that you have been putting off. Fixing up your physical space, learning a new skill or planning for the future can take up the whole afternoon. Nevertheless, that’s a check off your invisible to-do list.