What Can I Do If I’m Feeling Bored With Life? Strategies To Add Excitement
Whether you work a repetitive job, have children, or follow various career paths, a routine might make daily life feel unexciting and lead to chronic boredom. However, a routine doesn't necessarily have to make life dull. By embracing creativity and finding new ways to enjoy your free time, there's a clear path to make your day-to-day life more exciting. Not everyone will experience boredom the same way, but we'll walk you through how to overcome boredom using these unique approaches, making every moment a fun one.
Daily activities can be broken down into primary and secondary routines. Primary routines are those that are biologically necessary, including:
Eating
Personal hygiene
Secondary routines might include career paths, social activities, exercise, and hobbies. By varying your secondary routines, you may effectively make your life seem more exciting and, therefore, less prone to a persistent sense of boredom.
Though this change might sound easy in theory, it can be more challenging to achieve in practice. Many people find themselves tired after a day of work and unenthusiastic about altering routines. Instant gratification may be tempting, but there are proven benefits of stepping outside of your comfort zone. Trying new things, like joining a new group or making new friends, may lead to a sense of uncertainty, vulnerability, and self-consciousness, but they can also enrich your personal life.
Benefits of changing your routine
The following studies demonstrate the potential benefits of changing up a routine, for young people and adults alike:
- Taking breaks while you work has been shown to improve mental stamina and reduce fatigue, giving you more energy to pursue fun activities you are interested in.
- Listening to a new songor exploring a new idea can improve your focus, concentration, and memory. Trying new things has the potential to broaden your horizons and help you learn something new.
- Embracing new experiences can release dopamine, helping you feel happier and more energized in your own life.
- Leaving your comfort zone may help you learn new skills, develop self-confidence, and realize the world of possibilities that await you.
12 ways to reduce boredom in your daily life
If you consistently find that you’re bored with your life, there are several ways you can try to break the cycle:
1. Set aside time and money
Changing up your routine may take conscious effort and possibly some money. You might decide to forego one (or a few) of your usual activities to try something new instead. For example, if you typically jog every day, you could consider alternating a jogging session for a meditation class or a music lesson. Consider setting aside an hour each week to engage in a new experience or a romantic relationship.
2. Find humor in daily life
Laughter therapy can reduce stress and anxiety and promote a higher quality of life. You might want to try going to a comedy club, listening to a funny podcast while commuting to work, or reading comic strips to find more humor in your daily life. Embrace the present moment and let yourself wonder at the little joys around you.
3. Discover what eats up your time
Some tasks, like washing dishes or going to work, may be essential. However, others, like checking your email and social media accounts multiple times daily, may not be essential. By tracking what you spend time on each day, you may understand where time is lost. For example, reducing unproductive time before and after work may free up your time to engage in more activities you enjoy.
4. Find a new style
Making small changes, like dying your hair a different shade or wearing an outfit you do not typically wear, may be enough to mix up your routine. Wearing outfits that you like may contribute to higher self-confidence and positively impact your future.
5. Be a host
Challenging yourself to host a dinner party at your house may help you get outside your comfort zone. You could invite friends or family and confide in a friend you've invited about why you've stepped out of your comfort zone. They may be able to provide moral support for you throughout the evening.
6. Redecorate your space
Marie Kondo, the organizing consultant, often says, "Discard everything that does not spark joy." The things that occupy space in your home may require your time and attention to dust, clean, and maintain. Attaching emotional meaning to objects is common, but decluttering can free up your time and help you break out of your routines.
7. Reconnect with friends
Reconnecting with a childhood friend or a friend you haven't spoken to in a few months may help build stronger relationships. If you feel nervous about taking an art class on your own, asking a friend if they would like to try it with you may help you build confidence. Additionally, reaching out to friends can provide support for those dealing with mental illness and may alleviate feelings of isolation.
8. Start journaling
Routinely writing or drawing may help you reflect on your feelings and experiences. You could try writing about your experience with boredom. For example, you could reflect on how long you have been feeling bored or how you feel more excited about life after trying a new activity. A few minutes of journaling after work can help you decompress. Studies show that expressive writing, like journaling, benefits your mental health.
9. Take night classes
When you feel bored, you may want to learn something new. Night or online classes may allow you to meet new people and acquire new knowledge in topics that interest you. If you'd like a valuable skill to use at home, you might take a sewing, cooking, or cleaning class.
10. Mix up your exercise routine
If you typically walk on a treadmill for exercise, you could consider walking outside or trying an at-home high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workout. Changing your exercise routine may make your workout more exciting and improve your physical health. If you join a group exercise class, you may also benefit from increased social interactions and the formation of new friendships.
11. Start your day differently
If you feel hesitant about making many changes at once, you might try making one or two minor modifications at a time. For example, instead of waking up at 7 am, you may try waking up at 6 am and going for a morning walk. Minor changes may be easier to commit to and follow through with over time.
12. Create a to-do list
If you take time to think about ways you would like to try changing your routine, you can write them down as short-term and long-term goals. Making lists may give you the added satisfaction of being able to tick off your accomplishments as you try new things.
Seeking professional help for boredom
Many people experience boredom at some point in their lives, and it may not be intrinsically a bad thing. Boredom can improve creativity, and daydreaming can be a good outlet for escaping stress. However, finding that you’re bored with life persistently may put you into a rut. In such a case, boredom may actually be related to anxiety or depression, and you may find yourself turning to unhealthy coping mechanisms like alcohol misuse or social isolation.
You may wish to seek out the guidance of a professional therapist if you have symptoms of anxiety or depression, or want to talk with someone about strategies to reduce boredom and make positive changes in your life.
Online therapy might be a good fit for you if you are having difficulty finding the time to travel to a therapist's office or prefer to attend therapy sessions from the comfort of your home. Online therapy has been shown to be effective in treating depression. A literature review of 14 peer-reviewed articles found that people who have depression and sought treatment with online therapy saw a reduction in their depression symptoms, similar to those treated with traditional therapy.
Takeaway
Stepping away from your routine can be an effective way to challenge your feelings of boredom and change your life for the better.
If you are having trouble trying new activities or have attempted new activities but still feel bored, you might want to seek the guidance of an in-person therapist or an online therapist from a platform like BetterHelp.
A mental health professional may help you develop strategies to move outside your comfort zone and address boredom.
Is it normal to feel bored with life?
Is your life feeling boring, stuck, stagnant, or unexciting? If so, you’re not alone. Many people experience feelings of boredom with their life from time to time.
When you’re feeling dissatisfied with life, it may indicate that you’re not challenged enough at work or in your hobbies, that your relationships need some attention, that you don’t have enough free time to pursue your interests, or that you’re setting yourself up with unrealistic expectations based on how you believe other people live their lives. In some cases, feeling bored with life can also be a symptom of something more serious, like major depressive disorder.
Why boredom is so powerful in your life?
Boredom, though often uncomfortable, is important for helping you process memories, engage in creativity, and developing problem-solving skills. Evolutionarily, people have been selected for boredom, because it improves creativity and motivates us to do new things and avoid complacency.
Is it bad to be bored all the time?
While occasional boredom can be healthy, chronic boredom can be a symptom or risk-factor for mental disorders such as anxiety and depression. Though infrequent boredom can boost motivation and creativity, long-term boredom, on the contrary, can reduce motivation to alleviate the discomfort.
Does boredom increase with age?
On average, boredom propensity decreases as we reach young adulthood, and then often rises again in old age. Likely, boredom declines as we reach adulthood due to full brain development and increased autonomy, and then inclines again in old age due to reduced social interactions and cognitive decline.
What happens to your brain when you are bored?
Boredom is a signal sent from the brain to alert us that we want to do something more engaging. In a study where participants were monitored with an fMRI machine, researchers found that boredom triggered internal, wandering thoughts, while halting the activation of the anterior insular cortex (which activates when there are important external things to pay attention to).
What does boredom say about you?
Boredom may mean that the task you’re working on is not challenging enough or that you’re not finding meaning in it. In some instances—particularly when boredom is persistent and occurs when doing things that you previously found enjoyable—boredom may be a symptom of a serious mental health problem, like depression.
How to not be bored with life?
In some cases, boredom can be beneficial. However, if you’re experiencing frequent or chronic boredom, there are things you can do:
- Strengthen your social connections
- Set a new goal
- Take initiative with a challenging project at work
- Free up time for hobbies
- Tackle a home project, like cleaning out the garage or painting the kitchen cabinets
- Resist the temptation for short-term boredom avoidance, like scrolling on social media
If boredom is interfering with your ability to function in daily life or making things you previously enjoyed seem dull or uninteresting, it may be a good idea to talk with a licensed therapist.
What are the physical signs of boredom?
A person who is bored typically feels uncomfortable and disconnected from what they can offer the world. Physical signs of boredom may include fidgeting, doodling, eating, pulling or twirling hair, yawning, pacing, blank staring, lack of energy, or drifting eyes.
What do psychologists say about boredom?
According to psychologists, boredom can sometimes be positive, giving people the time to reflect, motivate them to make changes in life, or find creative solutions. However, frequent boredom can be both a predictor and a symptom of disorders like depression, so people experiencing boredom often may benefit from working with a therapist.
What emotion causes boredom?
Boredom can be triggered by a lack of sufficient interest, satisfaction, purpose, or stimulation in a task. Unlike relaxation, boredom occurs when someone has energy and wants to be engaged in something, but there isn’t anywhere to direct the energy.
- Previous Article
- Next Article