100 things to do when you are bored

What can I do when I am bored?

Pick one idea that changes either your place, your company or what your hands are doing. Boredom usually lifts once you are moving, making or learning, rather than scrolling. The quickest wins are a walk somewhere new, a small creative task, or calling a friend.

If you read the list and still cannot choose, that is normal: too many options can be as dull as none. Tap the button below to load everything into the what to do wheel, remove anything you cannot do today, and spin.

Things to do at home when you are bored

You do not need to go anywhere to shake off a dull afternoon. Pick something that uses your hands or your brain rather than another screen.

• Rearrange your bookshelf by colour – it takes an hour and makes the room feel new.
• Start a jigsaw puzzle – leave it on a tray so you can come back to it.
• Bake cookies from scratch – a basic dough needs only butter, sugar, flour and an egg.
• Watch a documentary on a new topic – choose a subject you know nothing about.
• Move the furniture around – a new layout can make a small room work better.
• Make a playlist for every mood – morning, rainy day, cleaning, road trip.
• Try a new stretching routine – fifteen minutes on the floor with a follow-along video.
• Do a crossword or sudoku – newspapers and puzzle books still beat most apps.
• Write to an old friend – a proper message or letter, not just a like.
• Make a time capsule – write about today and seal it away for five years.
• Have a film marathon – pick a trilogy you have never finished.
• Read in the bath – a chapter of a novel and no phone nearby.
• Cook something from another country – use whatever is in the cupboard as a starting point.

Things to do outside

A change of scenery is the quickest cure for boredom. Most of these need nothing more than shoes and a coat.

• Walk a route you have never taken – turn left where you usually turn right.
• Go for a bike ride – plan a loop that ends somewhere with a view.
• Find the oldest tree nearby – local parks and churchyards often have ancient trees.
• Try birdwatching – see how many species you can spot in half an hour.
• Do a litter pick on your street – gloves and a bag; neighbours notice.
• Go for a gentle run – or join a free community timed run on a weekend morning.
• Browse a local market – try one food you have never tasted.
• Fly a kite – a breezy day on an open field is all you need.
• Lie down and watch clouds – name the shapes, then look up what the cloud types are called.
• Ride a bus to the end of the line – explore wherever it drops you, then ride back.
• Visit a charity shop – set yourself a challenge, such as the strangest book for under a pound.
• Nature scavenger hunt – a feather, a pine cone, something red, something smooth.
• Sketch a local landmark – sit on a bench and draw what is in front of you.

Things to do with friends

Boredom with friends is usually just indecision. Pick any of these and the evening sorts itself out.

• Host a game night – card games, board games or party games everyone knows.
• Potluck dinner – each person brings one dish; nobody does all the work.
• Karaoke night – lyric videos on the TV are enough.
• Would you rather marathon – take turns asking and defending your answers.
• Film night with a spun pick – everyone adds one film to a wheel and nobody argues.
• Build a group playlist – each person adds three songs and explains one.
• Start a book club – short books keep the first few meetings easy.
• Play charades – no equipment, endless laughs.
• Host a quiz night – each friend writes one round on a topic they love.
• Friendly bake-off – same recipe, different results, one judge.
• Kick-about or frisbee in the park – bring snacks and stay for the evening.
• Clothes swap – bring what you no longer wear, leave with something new.
• Spin the wheel party games – dares, challenges and questions picked at random.

Creative things to do

Making something turns an empty afternoon into something you can show for it. None of these need special skills.

• Draw from a random prompt – let a prompt choose the subject so you just start.
• Write a 500-word short story – start with the line “Nobody expected the door to open.”
• Learn origami – a crane or a jumping frog from a single sheet.
• Make a comic strip – four panels about something that happened this week.
• Paint pebbles – leave them somewhere for others to find.
• Start a journal – one page a day, no rules about what goes in it.
• Knit or crochet a first project – a simple scarf or a coaster.
• Make a stop-motion animation – toys, a phone and a free app.
• Write a song – even three chords and a chorus count.
• Try calligraphy – a brush pen and a practice sheet are enough.
• Make a magazine collage – cut out colours and words to make a mood board.
• Design your own board game – draw the board on card and use buttons as counters.

Learn something new when you are bored

Boredom is often your brain asking for something new. These small skills can be picked up in an afternoon.

• Learn ten words in a new language – greetings, numbers and “thank you”.
• Watch a free online lecture – many universities publish recorded lectures.
• Learn to juggle – start with two rolled-up socks, then three.
• Memorise world capitals – quiz yourself continent by continent.
• Learn a card trick – one good trick is enough to impress for years.
• Practise touch typing – free typing lessons online build speed quickly.
• Build a simple webpage – a few lines of HTML in a text editor.
• Identify five constellations – start with the easiest: the Plough and Orion.
• Learn the sign language alphabet – try British Sign Language or American Sign Language.
• Follow an encyclopedia rabbit hole – start with a random article and click onwards.
• Solve a Rubik’s cube – beginner methods need only a handful of moves.
• Learn five useful knots – reef knot, bowline, clove hitch, figure-eight, sheet bend.

Things to do when bored for kids

Ideas for parents and carers when “I’m bored” echoes round the house. Most use things you already have.

• Build a den – chairs, sheets and cushions make a fort in minutes.
• Treasure hunt – hide clues around the house that lead to a small prize.
• Make playdough – flour, salt, water, oil and food colouring.
• Paper aeroplane contest – test whose flies furthest down the hallway.
• Indoor obstacle course – crawl under the table, hop over cushions.
• Put on a puppet show – socks with drawn-on faces work perfectly.
• Baking soda volcano – a classic kitchen science experiment.
• Pavement chalk art – draw a hopscotch grid or a giant mural.
• Freeze dance party – stop when the music stops.
• Lego building challenge – build a bridge that holds a book.
• Plant seeds in cups – cress grows fast enough to keep interest.
• Dress-up fashion show – a runway down the hall and a family audience.
• Make a bird feeder – a pine cone rolled in seeds and hung outside.

Productive things to do when bored

Sometimes the best cure is finishing the job you have been avoiding. Small, visible jobs feel most satisfying.

• Declutter one drawer – just one; stop when it is done.
• Plan next week’s meals – and write the shopping list while you are at it.
• Clear out your phone photos – delete duplicates and blurry shots.
• Update your CV – add recent achievements while you remember them.
• Fix the thing you keep ignoring – the wobbly handle, the squeaky door.
• Deep-clean the fridge – check dates and wipe every shelf.
• Bag up clothes to donate – anything you have not worn in a year.
• Make a simple budget – list income, bills and what is left.
• Tidy your email inbox – unsubscribe from five newsletters you never read.
• Batch-cook freezer meals – future you will be grateful.
• Back up your files – photos and documents to a drive or cloud storage.
• Learn to sew on a button – a basic skill that saves clothes from the bin.

Free things to do when bored

No money needed. These cost nothing beyond a little time.

• Visit the library – borrow books, films and sometimes board games.
• Take a self-guided walking tour – many towns publish free heritage trails.
• Start a podcast series – pick one with a story that runs across episodes.
• Go stargazing – let your eyes adjust for twenty minutes away from lights.
• Volunteer locally – community gardens and food banks welcome help.
• Call a relative – ask them about a story from their childhood.
• Have a picnic – with whatever is already in the kitchen.
• Swap books with neighbours – or use a street book box if there is one.
• Visit a free museum – many public galleries and museums have free entry.
• Follow a free workout video – thirty minutes, no equipment needed.
• Write a gratitude list – ten small things that went right this week.
• People-watch in a park – invent back stories for the passers-by.

Tips for beating boredom for good

• Make a personal shortlist. Copy ten ideas you liked into the wheel with Edit as text and save the share link. Next time you are bored, open it and spin.
• Split by energy. Keep one wheel for low-energy ideas (films, puzzles, reading) and one for active ones.
• Set a small time limit. Commit to twenty minutes on whatever the wheel picks. You can stop after that, but you usually will not want to.
• Mix in something useful. Adding a few productive jobs to your fun list means some spins leave the house tidier.

For artistic afternoons, our list of drawing ideas has 100 prompts. If you want to get your heart rate up, the workout wheel picks the exercise. When friends are round, the spin the wheel party games guide and our would you rather questions keep things lively.