What do you do when you get bored?

[Leo Liu]

I feel quite bored now even though I have got a lot of things to do. How do you kill your time or make yourself less bored when you have the same feeling?

 

[Vanadium 50]

Help others.

 

[Klystron]

When I become satiated with science and mathematics (or stuck in solving a STEM problem), I exercise; usually by swimming when a pool is available, on a bicycle or inside a gym, else by walking outdoors. The simple repetitions relax yet focus the mind aided by controlled breathing and improved oxygen flow.

While aware that people experience boredom, I almost never feel bored. Reading books and well moderated forums such as PF occupies and exercises my mind. With reading and conversation impossible; e.g., while swimming laps or sanding fresh woodwork, I review my understanding of previous material, putting ideas together in novel ways.

 

[Fervent Freyja]

Don’t usually have time to be bored, but when I’m stressed will do many different things. I do have some gaps in my days where I’m bored. Let’s see:

-Last Sunday I was bored. I ended up cooking and prepping meals to freeze (last Sunday was bored and did this) for my lunch for 3 weeks. I enjoyed it and it was productive. Sundays are my only off day and I dislike it. I usually save as many errands and chores for this day. Still, I end up bored.

-Read. I do that throughout the day, naturally. Usually news, research for school, or whatever I want to know. At home, I will usually coast along my shelves if I don’t want to get too into something, maybe something like poetry or psychology for light reads. I’ve run a small online rare bookstore for over 10 years, so there’s plenty. Those reads are unplanned. I’ve been slowly studying Karl Popper for the last two months- that was planned and I bought as many of his books that I could initially. I’m not as happy with him as I expected I would be.

-Driving to my jobs is always boring. I will usually listen to both assigned and unassigned lectures, podcasts, talk to one of my close friends on the phone, or just blast music as loud as I can. I do the same things all day at my full time job when I can. If I’m freaking out about not being prepared for an exam, I will record myself reading notes to maximize my chances of acing it (or sometimes just passing). I’ve only been taking one and two courses a semester and they are hard. One of the only upsides of this pandemic for me is taking courses online that I wouldn’t have been able to in the past; and thankfully, my employer let's me clock out to attend them. Really, I’m too anxious and stressed about everything to be bored at some periods in my schedules.

-Cook something new. I’ve been trying my hand at Romanian style dishes lately. Inspired by the pick my older sister made at me not long ago. And that will be my next big trip. I enjoy challenging myself to come up with tasty meals using just mushrooms, veges, and good meats.

-Work on my German. I want to live there one day, in maybe 10-15 years, but I figure it’s going to take me half that to become fluent. When I can finally let go of my part-time job, I’ll probably find an online mentorship to help expedite that. That’s the only way I see myself learning enough.

-Go all out on self care. I save a lot of my Lush and fancy products for these days- bubble bath, variety of different kinds of masks and conditioners, candles, chocolate, music, the whole mile. All except wine, my schedule is too constrained for that and I have a neurological disorder where I have to sleep and eat well to be prepared for everything I have to get done, or else there are risks or I cannot function well. For my spa time, I’ll get all into it and enjoy the process of going around to find items to plan out a perfect experience for myself. I enjoy treating my daughter to the same spa days.

-Play with my plants. I have over 200 specimens. Nearly every day I’m propagating, tending, or shopping for more. If my anxiety starts flaring up during the day, I’ll start thinking about them and what steps I need to make with them when I get home. It calms me down.

-I’m also slowly testing out another side business farming bioluminescent larvae, it’s going okay, it’s boring and the only fun part is the setup and process aspect of it. If I can succeed in keeping them alive and breeding for a few more weeks, I’ll can upsize my setup and also set-up for enzyme extraction- that will be fun later and keep me very occupied for a while.

-On the first 4 days of the work week, I have my daughter, so only work one job those days so that I can have time with her, I’ll work out at my work gym for an hour (maybe)/chat with my gym buddy and then go straight to pick her up. We’ll usually hit up a park for playing or walking trails. Sometimes I’ll take our fishing poles. I rarely get bored on the other days that I work back-to-back jobs and end up needing people to help me.

-I don’t watch tv unplanned or surf for things to watch. Though, I’ve been getting into Marvel and they are delivering at a good pace right now. So I might consume two or three hours a week there. I’ve really enjoyed Loki these last few weeks. I’m loving being able to debate and converse about Marvel with my coworkers and friends. I’m going to figure this all out.

-Social media. I only have a private Instagram that I started as a photo diary for just myself. Lately, I’ve been scrolling through it and I might have to stop this habit in it’s tracks. I don’t like wasting time there. I’ll cut it if I cannot discipline myself any more. I only intended to spend less than 5 minutes on it each day.

-Internet surfing. I had to cut this out a few years ago. I misused it and only allow myself to use PCs for work, school, a project, or loading new inventory on software. I task everything else from my phone. It’s a very unproductive way for me to spend time while bored.

-Challenges. Periodically, I search for open challenges online, hoping to find one that suits me. Cannot wait until the day that I can pour all of my energy into my own research. Nearly everything I do is really just biding my time until I can do this one thing.

-Arts and crafts. I occasionally paint, especially if I want to to add something unique to a space. I also paint furniture, objects, pots, dolls (for little one). Macrame art and plant holders. Huge stress relief for me and I’ll do this unplanned/when I have things to do. Decorating. I’ll see some nice flowers at the store, on the side side of the road, or someplace that I’m at and the urge to make a bouquet will come to me. I’m never bored on holidays and take the opportunity to go all out, creatively, to give my daughter the best experience.

-Swimming at my moms. I had initially planned to start training for open-water swim competitions a while back so that I would be ready come fall. I ended up getting sick from doing laps in storms too many days in a row, thinking it was a good conditioning opportunity and was quarantined for COVID. Got too busy, actually ended up getting COVID later, all sorts of crises thrown at me, and I’m thoroughly irritated with myself because this was one of my big goals for the year. Stress can throw me off. I’m horrible with staying on long-term goals. I also get impulsive and will do something else, so maybe I shouldn’t be giving any excuses here.

-Fishing and hiking with free time. Well, I did a lot of that last year, but have been unable to do very much this year. I would usually date guys primarily just for the adventures, but cut that out this year. If I had the time, I would do this more when bored. I have a running list of all the places I’ve hiked and fished in the last couple of years.

-This Sunday I’m also terribly bored and have already done a lot of the above. And I’m still bored, bored, bored.

I think it’s very important, at least for me, to be aware of what I’m doing when bored. I have wasted too much time in the past doing things that were either detrimental in a way or not productive at all. I also have to watch my impulses when bored, because I will start something I don’t finish. I’ve gotten so sick of myself in the past that I’m super careful about what I put my time into nowadays. I have to be intentional and cut things that I really enjoy in order to get things done and focus. Hunker down. Snip snip. If it’s therapeutic or relaxing, productive or meaningful, then I’ll partake- if I actually have the time. Sometimes, after a prolonged period of adulting stress, I get stupid and do something that I probably shouldn’t have when bored. Like, soap-opera worthy stunts.

 

[wukunlin]

Walk my dog

 

[Hornbein]

Sleep.

 

[Klystron]

Sleep.

Ah, sleep with vivid dreams. The body restores while the mind escapes.

By day I live in a desert under Sol in the heat.
At night I swim Europa's ocean warmed by Jovian currents in the quiet, the deep.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I hop on PF :)

 

[George Jones]

Bring up NHL hockey or Premier League soccer to my 15-year-old daughter. She is so passionate and enthusisatic about these that it is difficult to be bored when in conversation with her, as I also am a fan.

 

[ergospherical]

uhh, I might have a minor drug problem

[for legal reasons that's a joke ]

 

[kyphysics]

I feel quite bored now even though I have got a lot of things to do. How do you kill your time or make yourself less bored when you have the same feeling?

Netflix
YouTube

Although, I'm enjoying the Olympics right now.

Maybe walk too. Used to swim, but have a messed up rotator cuff, so that is out of the question.

 

[sysprog]

I feel quite bored now even though I have got a lot of things to do. How do you kill your time or make yourself less bored when you have the same feeling?

I write code (and watch old Perry Mason episodes (or something) while doing so) and read (and post on) worthwhile sites such as PF .

 

[Ophiolite]

Diversity is the solution. I choose one of the following.

• Dip into one of my favourite fiction works.
• Binge on a few episodes of favourite TV comedy (e.g. Black Adder, Big Bang, Red Dwarf)
• Eat chocolate
• Take a rolled up newspaper and pound it to shreds on a table top. It is difficult be bored when the adrenalin is flowing.
• Write 1000 words on something . . . anything.
• Do some weeding or lawn cutting

 

[PeroK]

When I'm bored I enjoy the perverse, decadent pleasure of doing nothing when I know I ought to be doing something.

 

[Haborix]

Diversity is the solution. I choose one of the following.

• Dip into one of my favourite fiction works.
• Binge on a few episodes of favourite TV comedy (e.g. Black Adder, Big Bang, Red Dwarf)
• Eat chocolate
• Take a rolled up newspaper and pound it to shreds on a table top. It is difficult be bored when the adrenalin is flowing.
• Write 1000 words on something . . . anything.
• Do some weeding or lawn cutting

One of these things is not like the other... What inspired you to even think to brute force shred a newspaper like that?

 

[cmb]

The question sounds ambiguous.

Does it mean;
What do you do 'after' the moment when you get bored?
or
What do you do 'leading up' the moment when you get bored?

It's OK to get bored, too much expectation these days to stay busy all the time. I think developing an imagination is a function of getting bored. Too little boredom = lack of imagination.

But the real problem is if the answer to both of those questions above is the same, then one might enter a recursive self-sustaining state of boredom. I get bored watching dull films, only to find that too often I watch dull films once I get bored... All of a sudden, I have spent the day on the sofa! ...

 

[strangerep]

Right now, I don't get bored because I can go sit on the balcony and gaze at THIS.


Sadly, I have to go home at the end of next week.

 

[rsk]

Right now, I don't get bored because I can go sit on the balcony and gaze at THIS.


Sadly, I have to go home at the end of next week.

For a few years I lived in a flat with a beautiful view out over the port, with mountains in the distance beyond. Just gazing out at that view was enough.
I never watched TV in those times and never really got into the habit of watching it again, until the pandemic came along.

 

[Mondayman]

"I know I ain't doing much, Doing nothing means a lot to me"

When I'm not doing something I pretty much always have a guitar strapped around my neck, so I don't ever really get bored.

 

[StatGuy2000]

I am constantly busy with work, and am currently also busy preparing to move in the first week of September. So I don't have the time or luxury to be bored!

 

[BillTre]

I usually get sleepy before I get bored.
Usually, lots of things to do.

 

[sysprog]

I am constantly busy with work, and am currently also busy preparing to move in the first week of September. So I don't have the time or luxury to be bored!

1440 minutes in a day, and you can't carve out even 1 of them for boredom?
please, @StatGuy2000, luxuriate a little . . .

 

[Ophiolite]

One of these things is not like the other... What inspired you to even think to brute force shred a newspaper like that?

As to your comment, my underlying point was that relief of boredom requires novelty and that novelty needs to be quite different from whatever circumstances led to the boredom. Thus having a variety of solutions offers the best chance of finding one that works.

The newspaper shredding I ran cross in a management course. It was offered as a solution to completing some item of work that has proved retractable in some way. The concept is that by pumping up the adrenalin one is energised to get ones head down to tackle the item. I've found it practical. Discretion is required if you work in an open plan office. :)

Safety Advice: It is not without its risks. Demonstrating it to a class on one occasion I caught one of my knuckles on the edge of my target table, sustaining a deep cut and copious blood letting.

 

[cmb]

Safety Advice: It is not without its risks. Demonstrating it to a class on one occasion I caught one of my knuckles on the edge of my target table, sustaining a deep cut and copious blood letting.

Can we take it that, for most people, boredom would abate at that point, thus mission accomplished?

 

[tech99]

If you are a dreamer then you are like many scientists and it is your way of achieving. You are not a driven person - they achieve success in a different way. If you start to languish in inactivity, however, and cannot get started on anyone worthwhile task, my suggestion is to go for a walk somewhere green, in Nature.
This will kick start your brain to start you on a worthwhile path.

 

[sysprog]

Safety Advice: It is not without its risks. Demonstrating it to a class on one occasion I caught one of my knuckles on the edge of my target table, sustaining a deep cut and copious blood letting.

Can we take it that, for most people, boredom would abate at that point, thus mission accomplished?

That seems to me to be a rather ouchy way to accomplish that.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

I do often get bored when I am studying a lot of theory. The best way to remove the boredom is to do some experiments with Arduino, or develop my Android apps (some of which are already on Google Play). I am mostly involved in the latter. Sometimes, I read publications on HEP, especially in detector design and beam instrumentation. A good way to pass some time.

However, for the last two months, I have spent more time thinking about the uncertain future rather than doing anything creative in my spare time. We are passing through a difficult time, and it's always the same chain of thoughts that comes to my mind. My semester exams are going on now, and I don't have much time to get bored anyway.

Once my exams are over, I hope to re-indulge in the creative things that I used to do. I have already collected lots of (open-access) papers for reading, and also thought of some new features for my apps. Spending time behind Arduino is probably no longer possible due to tight financial constraints. Let's see how things turn out. Hope for the best.

 

[Leo Liu]

If you are a dreamer then you are like many scientists and it is your way of achieving. You are not a driven person - they achieve success in a different way. If you start to languish in inactivity, however, and cannot get started on anyone worthwhile task, my suggestion is to go for a walk somewhere green, in Nature.
This will kick start your brain to start you on a worthwhile path.

A nice suggestion. While I don't usually take strolls, I do go for a jog in a park near my home every other day and ride shared bicycles to do some of my errands.

 

[Stonestreecty]

I will clean my bedroom and do some washing, then eating

 

[jasonRF]

As a TV addict …. I guess no more needs to be said.

 

[Moes]

I was sick for the past week, PF was perfect for dealing with the boredom.