Before you can figure out the most appropriate ways to combat your boredom, you ought to examine the root causes of it.
Are you simply bored by the monotony of your life? Because you’re lonely? Because you don’t feel challenged?
Is your life boring because the people in your life bore you? Is there nothing in your future to get excited by?
Do you feel constrained by circumstances; unable to exert control over your life?
Have you got an untapped reservoir of energy and potential that needs an outlet?
Are you living an inauthentic life, trying to be someone that you’re not?
The more you can hone in on the cause(s) of your boredom with life, the more targeted you can be when you go out and engage with it.
Here are just a handful of things that you can try to alleviate your boredom.
1. Engage in volunteer or extracurricular work with an organization.
Volunteer work is an excellent way to branch out, meet new people, and contribute something positive to the world. There are many organizations that need everything from casual to skilled labor. You might even be able to put your professional skills and knowledge to work for a meaningful cause.
Another option is to join a professional organization related to your field. It helps not only to break up the boredom and monotony, but to network with new individuals who you may be able to develop professional relationships with.
2. Learn a new set of skills.
There are a lot of ways to go about developing a new set of skills. The internet is packed with videos and guides on how to get started in different activities.
You may also decide that going back to college to take some additional courses is a good idea. College coursework provides structure, guidance, and access to someone who is knowledgeable about the skill you are learning about. Online college can make it easier to attend classes if you have a busy life.
3. Develop new friendships in social settings.
Where do you find new friends? There may be local activities going on where you can meet other people from your area or hobby groups that feature regular meet ups.
Religious individuals may want to attend regular services or activities hosted by their place of worship. Local social media groups can be a good place to find activities or meet ups.
4. Travel to a place that you’ve never been.
Travel doesn’t need to be far off and remote to help bring some excitement to your life. It can be as simple as heading out of town to some function where you can have a good time and relax.
Maybe an out of town concert and a night in a hotel? A trek to a national park or other natural attraction? Or maybe save up some money and strike out a bit further afield for a bigger change of scenery. Even a day long road trip can be a nice break from one’s day-to-day life.
5. Look for a new job or change careers.
It’s not unusual for people to eventually get bored with their choice of job or career. They may even find that they made the wrong choice in what career to pursue and need to look at other options.
The choice to quit a job and/or change career paths is never a light one, but maybe necessary to find more happiness and peace in your life.
Some are simply too demanding of time or emotional energy. Others may not provide enough stimulation or give you the room to grow that you really want. If you’re not happy or satisfied with your career, it may be time to start looking for a change.
6. Get active and exercise.
Activity and exercise are so beneficial to one’s physical and mental health. Doctors are calling a sedentary lifestyle the new smoking in regard to health risks.
And with many jobs taking place behind a desk for a large part of the day, it’s no wonder that people are getting more depressed about their lives.
People need exercise to help boost feel good chemicals that your body produces when you engage in those activities. Start small and set some goals to get out and get active. And if you are already active, set some stronger goals – like finishing a marathon or improving your capabilities.
7. Create some art.
The artists of the world are often driven to create in some way or another. There are a lot of people who get derailed because of the opinions of others or because life simply denies them the appropriate time.
An artist who has stopped creating should consider getting back into it. Art helps to flex the creative mind and provides a sense of pride and accomplishment in one’s work.
Join a healthy community of artists who practice the same medium and work on improving and finishing your works. You don’t have to be great at it. Very few people are. The important thing is to embrace your art if it brings you happiness.
8. Spend more quality time with your loved ones and cut out toxic people.
It is a well-known fact that spending more quality time with your loved ones causes the mind to produce several feel good chemicals like endorphins.
It’s too easy to let one’s friendships and relationships slide with how busy life can be for everyone. One must try to keep those relationships intact by making an effort to stay in touch with their friends and family.
That often means going to gatherings and things you don’t necessarily feel like or want to go to. There’s a common thread of not wanting to be social or being too tired to participate, but if you fall into that pattern, life will leave you behind.
Attend things when you’re invited, or try to throw a party of your own if you don’t have much going on.
And do consider cutting toxic people out of your life if there are any. They are an intense drain on one’s happiness and peace of mind.
9. Find a purpose or a cause greater than yourself.
People like to belong. They also like to contribute to something bigger than themselves. Finding a purpose or cause to align yourself and your skills with, can provide a sense of pride and happiness in making a difference in the world.
That may sound easier said than done, but really there are a lot of movements and groups out there that are trying to make positive changes in the world that you can be a part of.
10. Set and pursue goals that will give you a sense of accomplishment.
Goal setting is an essential part of self-improvement and feeling as though one is accomplishing things in their life.
It’s easy to drift without aim or direction, but doing so deprives you of the ability to feel like you picked something you wanted to do and accomplish it, a feeling that can provide a nice hit of dopamine when you cross it off of your to-do list and gain momentum.
There are many approaches to goal setting, but generally one would want to set short, medium, and long-term goals for their life. They might be related to your health, career, personal life, or hobbies.
11. Stop doing things that don’t excite you or bring you joy.
Earlier we spoke about trying new things to find those which bring you happiness and meaning. But what about all the things you are doing right now that don’t deliver either of those feelings?
Consider stopping them. This doesn’t mean you can shirk all your current responsibilities. After all, if you have others who depend on you to provide for and/or care for them, you must fulfill those commitments.
But look at your life and at the things you do and ask yourself whether they really mean anything to you.
Perhaps you shop just for the sake of shopping. Or you watch the news every night just to fill the time. Or maybe you party hard every Friday night simply because all your friends do it and you’ve always done it.
If something no longer feels worthy of your time, don’t do it.
The best way
to find one is to just get out there and start doing things. You may find that the things you choose to do don’t necessarily lead you to excitement or happiness, but they may provide you with the knowledge, experience, or people you need to step onto another path.
Don’t let malaise or depression derail you. Get back out there and keep trying!
