What to Do When You Are Bored at Home Alone & Can’t Stand it

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Whether you are stuck inside on a rainy day, a weekend with nothing to do, or unexpectedly quarantined (ahem, hello 2020), you need some ideas to fight the boredom.

I’ve been stuck inside for the last week and, although I’m a definite introvert, at some point the boredom gets out of hand. Here’s some ideas I’ve gathered for passing your time (and mine).

Here are 140+ ideas for how to spend your time at home, Plus Some extras if you’re stuck for a while!

Learn How to…

1. The Art of Gardening
2. Pick a Lock
3. Train an animal to do tricks
4. Code or build a website
5. Speak a new language
6. Master a Rubik Cube
7. Memorize and Sing We Didn’t Start the Fire (bet you can’t!)
8. Whistle with Your Fingers
9. Speak Klingon
10. Do a Convincing Moon Walk
11. Build a paper airplane that actually flies
12. Balance a spoon on your nose
13. Do a card trick that freaks your friends out!
14. Do the floss
15. Do a cool French Braid, Dutch Braid, or Fish Tail Hairstyle
16. Learn this awesome dance routine
17. Save Money with Couponing

Do Some Creating

1. Paint a self portrait
2. Draw a scene from your favorite book
3. Create a Collage with Your Hopes and Dreams
4. Sew a new skirt
5. Create a Blog!
6. Write a song, poem, or a short story
7. Create fan fiction!
8. Draw a comic strip
9. Practice Calligraphy
10. Make a Youtube Video
11. Re-purpose some old furniture into something totally new
12. Finger knit a new scarf
13. Crochet a blanket
14. Try your Hand at Some New Recipes
15. Try some adult Coloring pages
16. Redecorate a lamp shade
17. Make Some Edible Peanut Butter Play Dough
18. Have some fun with old t-shirts
19. Make a Doll House with Cardboard

Clean and Organize

1. Clean out your car (Yep, I need to do that…)
2. Reorganize your house in a way that helps you keep it that way!
3. Purge your wardrobe (most of us probably need to like now)
4. Plan and start that home reno project you’ve been thinking about
5. Clean out your junk draw/storage room

9 Products You NEED if you Really Hate Cleaning

Get Physical

1. Do a body weight routine
2. Try youtube yoga
3. Learn to Belly Dance
4. Practice your handstands
5. Do some Zumba!
6. Learn ballroom dance
7. Try Tai Chi
8. Learn another martial art

The Best Ways to Use Exercise for Your Mental Health Symptoms

Play a Mobile Game

1. Woody Puzzle
2. Design Home
3. Catan Universe
4. Poker Heat
5. Draw Something Game
6. Colorfy: Adult Coloring Book
7. Trivia 360
8. Words with Friends
9. Left vs Righ: Brain Games for Brain Training
10. Sudoku
11. Scrabble
12. Ink inc
13. Catch the thief 3D
14. Life Simulator 3
15. Just Riddles

Do Some Self Care

1. Take a bath
2. Paint your nails
3. Do a face mask
4. Deep Condition Your Hair
5. Do some stretching
6. Listen to your favorite song with a cup of your favorite drink
7. Read a good book
8. Do some Journaling
9. Make, then burn, a scented candle
10. Watch something funny (my go to is Impractical Jokers)
11. Text a Therapist
12. Use These Support Strategies if You Aren’t Feeling Okay
13. Practice Mindfulness

My Favorite Mindfulness Exercises:

Favorites on Youtube:

1. Reduce Anxiety and Clear the Mental Clutter
2. Strengthen Focus Lion Mind Meditation
3. Loving Kindness Meditation
4. Self Compassion Meditation with Tara Brach
5. Guided Meditation: Walk in the Forest for Stress Relief

Favorite Meditation Apps:

1. Stop, Breathe & Think
2. Headspace
3. Sanvello
4. Happify
5. Calm
6. Insight Timer
7. Mindfulness Coach
8. Serenity: Guided Meditation & Mindfulness
9. Let’s Meditate

Play with Your Pets

1. Teach your dog a new trick
2. Play a game with your dog
3. Do a photo shoot of your furry friend!
4. Do Yoga with Your Dog
5. Create an agility course for you and your pet
6. Hide a treat and let your pup try to find it
7. Teach your dog to help you clean up the house
8. Play tug of war
9. Snuggle together under the covers
10. Play indoor fetch

Stream a New Movie or Show

My Favorites on Hulu:

1. White Collar
2. Brooklyn Nine-Nine
3. Burn Notice
4. How I Met Your Mother
5. Lie to Me
6. Numb3ers
7. Malcolm in the Middle
8. Mythbusters
9. Scrubs
10. Community

My Favorites on Netflix:

1. The Office
2. New Girl
3. Arrested Development
4. Parks and Recreation
5. The Good Place
6. That 70’s Show
7. The IT Crowd
8. Girlmore Girls
9. Unbreakable Kimmh Schmidt
10. Merlin

My Favorites on Amazon Prime:

1. Psych
2. B.S.!
3. Monk
4. Kitchen Nightmares
5. All the Harry Potter Movies
6. The Lethal Weapon Movies
7. The Newsroom
8. Curb Your Enthusiasm

Take a Class

Some Cool Classes on Udemy:

1. The Ultimate Course for Learning How to Draw
2. Learn the Basics to Breakdance in 12 hours!
3. Learn to Develop a Mobile App
4. Train Your Dog in 30 Days
5. Learn all Things Creative Writings
6. Learn to Salsa Dance in 5 hours!
7. Learn to Speak Sign Language
8. How to Grow a Vegetable Garden for Beginners
9. Learn to Fishtail and Dutch Braid Your Hair

Do Some Volunteer Work Online

1. Check out various opportunities for volunteer work with many different organizations here.
2. Or check out these 25 awesome volunteer ideas you can do from home!

Make Money Online

Making a little extra money can go a long way when you are stuck at home. There are a lot of scams out there, but here are a few resources that are totally legit:

1. 50 Legit Ways to Make Money Online
2. 24 More Ways to Make Money Online
3. 27 Side Jobs You Can Do at Home that Pay Well

Find Something to Laugh At

1. Explore the #socialdistancingpickuplines thread on twitter
2. Watch Impractical Jokers
3. Watch comedy videos from Youtube
4. 11 Things that Will Make You Laugh
5. 20 Hilarious Youtube Videos to Get You Started

If You’re Going to Be Stuck for a While…

Make a Schedule for Yourself

We humans need some kind of structure. When we spend all day every day watching tv or playing video games, it can eventually mess with us. Doing it a day every once in a while isn’t a big deal–but if you’re stuck inside for a while, it will mess with you at some point.

Start with a basic structure– keep your regular bed time, identify a few goals you’d like to accomplish for the day, and build in leisure time instead of letting it have free reign. It’s important for your mental health.

Keep Up with Your Hygiene

When you are stuck inside for days (or weeks) at a time, it’s tempting to stay in your PJs all day, forget to brush your teeth and just lounge. But the longer we don’t take care of these basic physical needs, the bigger the impact it takes on our mental health.

It may seem like a small, pointless thing to do but getting dressed (you can still dress comfy!), brushing your hair, etc… can help you feel human and less like a caged animal.

Make Sure To Get Your Social Interaction

If you can’t get your social needs met in person, get it online. Email, video chat, text, talk on the phone. Whatever it takes. Being completely alone for too long will take a toll on your mental health. It turns out socialization is a really important part of being mentally healthy.

So chat a friend over a cup of coffee, host an online part with a group, whatever it takes to stay connected. You’ll need it.

Get Some Sunlight

Stuck at home shouldn’t mean no outdoor time. When we don’t get sunlight, it can make our mental health muuuuuuuuch worse. The vitamin D is an important part of well being. So make sure you spend some time in the sun even if you are cooped up in the house.

Do Something that Makes You Feel Productive

Whether it’s cleaning your house, doing a project that you’ve been meaning to get to, or volunteering online, you need to do something that makes you feel productive. That feeling is actually really important for our mental health.

People often don’t realize that. Need help getting productive? Check out this post.

Do Your Food Ordering Online

I’ve been using Instacart and Doordash for a while now and definitely since I’ve been stuck inside for the last week. It’s a huge help to have food delivered.

Use Instacart for grocery delivery and Doordash for your take out cravings.

Get Some Online Mental Health Support

If you already have a therapist, see if they can do a teletherapy session so you can get your mental health support while stuck at home.

If you don’t have a therapist, there are some online options these days. Here’s a free trial for therapy with Betterhelp.

IF you’re stuck at home alone and bored, try some of these suggestions. Hopefully 140+ is enough to get your through!

What are you doing/trying when you’re stuck at home? Drop me a comment! Let’s add to the 140+

Tia Cantrell Clinical Mental Health Therapist

Tia is a Licensed Professional Counselor, ADHD Woman, and the Brain behind the Little Miss Lionheart Blog. She's a Harry Potter Nerd, Dog Mom, and Coffee Connoisseur with a passion for helping. She lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband and 2 crazy dogs.

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Clinical Mental Health ADHD