(If this is not the right sub-forum for this post please move it.)
So I'm currently in a break from my Master’s degree before I choose a thesis topic and start going hard on that. I work a part-time job (~8h per week), and besides my studies I have no big obligations. I am bored out of my mind.
Disclaimer: I suffer from depression and anxiety issue and I’m still sorting my medication, so it is possible my boredom with everything is a symptom of the diseases, not of my lifestyle. Anyway, I decided to ask this forum for ideas on how to break out of my boredom without spending much money. To pass the time I’ve been mostly: reading about software and privacy, and also playing shooter videogames. Another thing that is important to note is that I’m currently living in a small town, so it’s not practical for me to go to meetups to meet and talk to strangers (sometimes that kindles my excitement, even though I’m kind socially anxious).
I have found that outdoor recreation (skiing, biking, walking, hiking) full up my time, improve my mood, and maintain my fitness. Bonus if it’s sunny with blue skies! One can do this stuff alone or with others. If wanting to engage with others yet having no available company, listen to a podcast.
I would say if a significant portion of your hobbies are about reading (taking information in), consider adding something which is different in one or more significant aspects - for instance, something where your body is engaged but your brain is not, or something where you output information (are creative) instead of taking information in.
I mean you have to be working on/towards something but the options are virtually limitless! One nice thing about Flow is that you can potentially be happy trying any new field as long as you match the difficulty level to your skill level. For example, I knew nothing about brick masonry but recently had to patch a hole in a chimney. The chimney was still structurally sound and it didn't need to look pretty so it was a perfect beginner's task. It was also a very short task so it did not seem intimidating at all even though it was the first time I was mixing mortar, buttering a brick, etc. The end result was sloppy but at least as good as I expected it to be, so I got a lot of satisfaction out of it and I certainly wasn't bored.
I guess there are fewer opportunities for small random tasks like this if you don't own a house, but there certainly must be opportunities in your small town to volunteer, meet new people and work towards some sort of goal together. Otherwise there are plenty of cheap hobbies out there. Again the key is don't try to take on too big of a task. Just start with the tiniest goal and momentum will take over. It's that first step of getting off your butt and starting something new that's the hardest, as long as you don't pick something too difficult.
Walking is a good low cost activity. You will need good shoes. New Balance shoes are good for walking and pretty reasonable in price. Walking is healthy and therapeutic to the mind. I just got back from a 5 mile walk through the dunes on Lake Michigan. I did have to drive 4 miles to get to the park, but that allowed me to hike in a natural area in stead of an urban setting near my home.
I have a budget of $100 per month for fun stuff. Usually I take the cash and hide it away in savings to build up a bigger amount.
Sometimes I get into gear tripping mode, thinking that if only I could buy *****, then all of my dreams could come true. A strategy that I learned on this forum is to research and find the best item on Amazon, then add it to a wish list. That seems to satisfy my need to collect neato things without having to own them. If I ever need them, I can order them and have them in a day.
Sometimes I get frustrated that I can't do things due to not enough money. I would like to hike the Appalachian Trail, but that costs too much. Plus I am sort of a caretaker for someone and can't leave for months at a time. When I look at the options available to me, I can find trails with free camping closer to home which I can hike for the price of gas to drive there and food, which I would buy anyway. So I start out frustrated but when I look at my options, I was wearing the ruby slippers the whole time.
I like to build things. I consider myself to be an inventor. I often design things that I can't afford to build. Sometimes building a model is better than building the real thing.
I like to research things. The other day I was reading about Babylonian mathematics. They used a base 60 system and no one knows why. Even the Romans wrote about theories why the Babylonians used a base 60 system and they didn't know for sure. Some say that the base 60 system came from astronomical observations and that the sun moves 720 solar diameters through the day. 720 = 12 * 60. Perhaps I should learn to read cuneiform to dig further down this rabbit hole.
Too much screen time can cause depression and dissatisfaction. The cure is physical activity, walking or bicycling work well.
Try cultivating a combination of the arts:
1. Singing
2. Playing a musical instrument
3. Dancing
4. A combination of singing, using musical instruments and dancing
5. Writing and drawing
6.The Art of Tattooing
7.Adorning an idol with flowers
8. The art of spreading flowers on a bed or on the ground
9. Coloring fabrics, nail and body with colors from plants
10. Fixing colored glass tiles on floor
11.The art of making a bed
12.Producing music by striking glasses of water
13. The art of storing water in reservoirs
14. The art of picture making and decorating
15. Making rosaries, necklaces, garlands
16. Tying turbans
17. Stage playing
18. The art of making ear ornaments
19. The art of making perfumes
20. Proper care of jewels, decorations and ornaments
21. Magic (sorcery)
22. Manual skills
23. Cooking (culinary skills)
24. Making combination drinks and flavored drinks i.e.– lemonades, sherbet etc
25. Tailoring and sewing
26. Making handicrafts e.g.– parrots, flowers etc. from thread
27. Skilsl to solve riddles, puzzles and covert speeches
28. The skill of Antakshari (a singing game were one must start with the letter with which other person’s song ended)
29. The skill of imitating natural sounds
30. Reading, chanting and intoning
31. Mastering tongue twisters
32. Skills at martial arts (the skills to use sword, stick, bow and arrow)
33. Skill to reach logical conclusions based on given facts
34. Carpentry
35. Architecture
36. Knowledge about gold, silver and gems
37. Chemistry (knowledge of properties of materials)
38. The art of coloring jewels or beads
39. Knowledge of mines
40. Gardening
41.The art of cock fighting (getting cocks, quail or rams to fight and make the fowl/animal victorious)
42.Teaching parrots or starlings to talk
43.Applying perfumes on body and hair
44. Understanding of code language
45. Spoonerism (purposefully interchanging position of letters of words while speaking)
46. Knowledge of languages
47. Knowledge of making flower chariots
48. Knowledge of making mystical graphics, spells and charms and ways to avoid spells
49.Mental exercises
50. Composing poems
51. Knowledge of dictionaries and vocabulary
52. The art of impersonation
53. Impersonation of materials i.e.– make common things appear fine rare substances (make cotton appear to be silk)
54. Knowledge of gambling
55. Using mantras (enchantments) to take away others’ possession
56.Skills in sports and games
57.The art of social conduct, paying respect and sending compliments
58. Knowledge of war, arms and army deployment
59. Knowledge of gymnastics
60. The skills of knowing a person’s real character from his conduct
61. The skill of reading and composing verses
62. The skills of enjoying arithmetic puzzles
63. Making artificial flowers
64. Making images with clay
65. Origami
66. Embroidery, knitting, crochet, quilting, etc traditional western fabric arts
67. Clothes mending
68. Furniture repair/upcycling
69. Whittling things from wood
70. Tarot and other "fortune telling"
@fb I find myself oddly intrigued by number 55 in your list can you direct me to some resources lmao
71. Plant breeding
72. Copyright mining
73. Making tiny insect like robots
74. Studying soil micro-organisms
75. Creating highly accurate dollhouses based on former residences
76. Garden train construction
77. Sauna construction
78. Large scale sculpture celebrating the nude male form
79. Year of all the projects in 1930s Boy Scout manual
80. Snail farming
81. Stump inoculation
82. Cozy mystery writing
83. Innovative vending machine design
84. Invent a board game
85. Deconstruct a dumpster
86. Rock hunting
It is said that boredom comes from lack of energy, not lack of things to do. Find a way to cultivate and conserve your energy and you will find yourself dragged out of boredom. Exercise and meditation are great things for this, as is "just do something challenging, however small" to build the momentum.
I find myself in boredom/drained quite often this last few months and I put it down primarily to have slipped out of my exercise and meditation routine
