Everyone has one of those days when you don't feel like doing anything at all. You have nothing to do and everything people suggest you do seems like nothing at all. Then you go somewhere and still you don't enjoy yourself. Boredom is a really annoying state of being, so that needs to change. That's why in this blog you will read tips against boredom.
Boredom: What is it?
Everyone is sometimes bored, but how best to describe this vague feeling. Boredom is actually the loss of interest in what you are/were doing or persons around you.
If you're thinking: where did the term "I'm bored to death" come from. Well, if you are bored a lot, you are more likely to die than if you are not bored often or never[1]. Most of those who participated in a study on whether boredom led to earlier death died of cardiovascular disease.
You are more likely to be bored if you are a woman, at a younger age, if you have a more inactive lifestyle, you don't work much and if you feel you have poor health.
What to do when bored
You would think that boredom means only bad news, but that is not the case. Research in which people had to do a boring task or one that might bring boredom shows that when they then have to use their creativity it functions better[2].
So boredom on occasion is not a bad thing, but it becomes problematic if you are chronically bored. Initially, you can look at the factors that contribute to boredom. If you have an inactive lifestyle you can start exercising a little more, and if you don't work much you can see if there is something you can start doing, such as blogging, poetry, painting, vlogging or just finding a job with more hours.
You can also look at what beliefs are holding you back from doing something and why you reject certain activities even before you give them a chance to solve your boredom.
Tips against boredom
Are you bored every day or every other day. Then it's definitely a good idea to do something against your boredom. That's why I have some useful tips for you.
Tip #1: If you're on your own.
Of course, if you are alone, you are slightly more likely to be bored. Being alone and being bored go hand in hand for some people. Especially when all your friends and family members are occupied.
The key then is to challenge yourself. Indeed, boredom occurs when you do not feel challenged or when what you are doing does not feel meaningful to you[3]. Therefore, try to make what you are going to do something that challenges you (finally cleaning up that room) or something that has meaning, such as volunteering.
Tip #2: If you're at home...
If you are at home and you are bored you can of course tell yourself to go out, but sometimes this is not possible. Again, it is important to challenge yourself or give yourself meaning.
Learning something will make you less bored at home. For example, pick up a musical instrument and try to master playing it on YouTube. You can learn a lot with YouTube anyway, even if it has nothing to do with music.
Tip 3: Boredom games
Of course, there are all kinds of games you can do if you are bored. It's not for nothing that gaming[4] can be so incredibly addictive for people who don't have a job or who otherwise have a fairly small social life.
Then try challenging yourself with games such as sudoku or knowledge games when you and your friends are bored, such as with the 30-second party game.
Tip 4: Gifted and bored
Are you gifted? Then you are less likely to be challenged at school or sometimes even at work, and you may become bored more quickly. Because boredom can disappear when you challenge yourself or when what you do has meaning, look at your giftedness in a different way.
If you have already finished your homework or work, who among your classmates or colleagues still needs help? By helping other people with your gifted knowledge, you can stop boredom that way.
Tip 5: Boredom with your partner
The crush is over and you now know your partner inside out. As a result, you may feel that everything has become predictable and become bored with your partner. This feeling may even be mutual.
If this bothers you, make a list of activities you can do together that are challenging or meaningful to you.
By undertaking joint missions, that feeling of boredom is quickly gone and you just reconnect with each other in a fun way.
Tip #6: Boredom on your vacation
When you've already seen the whole world you can get bored at some point. Studies of elderly people going on vacation show that when they participate in group activities it is good for their well-being while on vacation.
The group activity itself does not even have to be of good quality[5].
So find something you can do with a group at your vacation spot. Such as a tourist tour of the place, horseback riding in a group or enjoy rowing or something similar. With the higher social interaction, you already have less time to be bored.
Tip 7: Boredom at work
Unfortunately, not only does burnout occur at work, but also boreout. Work no longer offers any challenge at all and it feels useless. How do you get on with this?
Initially, you can ask your supervisor for additional tasks that are more challenging for you.
If there aren't any, you can show initiative. Which colleagues can you help? Is there something at work that is not being addressed or that you can create an improvement plan for? By working on this you can be meaningful, help your colleagues and show your hidden talents to managers.
Tip 8: Boredom without money
Sometimes it seems like you need money to do something fun, but do you? For example, do you need money to volunteer? Do you need money to go hiking or running? Do you need money to play with the neighbor's cat or dog? Or do you need money if you join one of those clothing exchange events?
How hypnosis helps against boredom
These 8 tips can help you against boredom, but if you find that you can't implement them. That something is stopping you from getting in your legs, it's time to check if there isn't a deeper problem behind your boredom.
For example, do you feel weird about volunteering? Are you afraid of what people will think of you if you pick up a hobby on your own? Do you get insecure about getting active or trying to help colleagues? Then hypnosis can help you come out of your shell and fight boredom.
Hypnosis helps by affecting unconscious thoughts and beliefs that cause you to stay bored sitting or lying on the couch.
Initially, you engage in a conversation with the hypnosis expert about your boredom and why you find it difficult to perform a certain activity that may secretly save you from your boredom.
If you can't quite answer that why question, regression can help determine why boredom is apparently preferable to doing something challenging or meaningful. This is because regression takes you back to that moment when your subconscious decided this. In doing so, you can look at it with more emotional distance to see if this belief makes as much sense as you have always thought. This allows you to change your mind quickly, making you less likely to get bored.
Another way to put yourself into action is to improve your imagination. In fact, people often need to see how something goes before they do it. If you find this difficult, a hypnosis expert can help you with this during a guided visualization. In that visualization you feel, for example, how you successfully help people or perform a challenging task, which increases the chance that you will actually get started.
Hypnosis has all kinds of techniques to remove internal blockages that keep you trapped in your home and in social isolation or whatever the reason for boredom is. This makes you feel freer and able to do more things you feel like doing.
Want to know exactly how hypnosis provides this? Then come to a hypnosis playshop or enroll in one of our trainings.
[1] https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/39/2/370/684049
[2] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10400419.2014.901073
[3] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11031-011-9234-9
[4] https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/g4h.2012.0026
[5] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1096348002026002006
