How do you battle boredom?

[WarKitty]

I'm hitting the point where I'm bored and want to get out of the house more, but I'm not sure what to do. Here's my issues:

- I can't really afford to spend money on what's simply hobbies. I need every penny of that right now.
- I can't commit to volunteering - if I felt I could commit to something like that, it would be something I could earn money at.
- Organized physical activity is not my thing.
- Anything with loud music is also not my thing, unless the goal is to give me a headache.

I could, in theory, sit around the house playing video games and reading all day, but that's not really a good idea. And I'm kind of getting bored with crafts, to be honest - I really want something that's not me sitting by myself.

[NontheistCleric]

Of course, this is personal preference, but when I feel bored and I don't want to be in the house I usually just go on long journeys to nowhere in particular. I usually have some excuse like returning a book to a faraway library or something like that but to be completely honest it's secondary.

The journeys allow me to explore new places, which is something I enjoy, and since I live in a city I find it really interesting to see those little snippets of others' lives that are visible when you pass by. For some reason I also seem to encounter a lot of clueless people who need help figuring how to use automated ticket machines at train stations. Always fun.

I don't know how much that corresponds to your own ideas of what is not boredom, but it's all I have to offer in response to the question in the thread title.

[WarKitty]

Of course, this is personal preference, but when I feel bored and I don't want to be in the house I usually just go on long journeys to nowhere in particular. I usually have some excuse like returning a book to a faraway library or something like that but to be completely honest it's secondary.

The journeys allow me to explore new places, which is something I enjoy, and since I live in a city I find it really interesting to see those little snippets of others' lives that are visible when you pass by. For some reason I also seem to encounter a lot of clueless people who need help figuring how to use automated ticket machines at train stations. Always fun.

I don't know how much that corresponds to your own ideas of what is not boredom, but it's all I have to offer in response to the question in the thread title.

It sounds interesting but I'm not sure how practical it is given where I live. The city I'm in isn't really a walking city - the actual downtown area is very small, maybe 2 or 3 streets. Everything else is very spread out.

[Palanan]

How about going for a bike ride? If where you live is spread out, then there may be bicycle trails, or at least extensive neighborhoods where you can go for a spin.

I love cycling and do my best to get out when I can. It’s healthy and fun, and I find that I can get work done on stories and background by just letting my mind wander as I ride. I usually carry a pen so I can jot down notes as concepts come to me.

This also lets me get in some impromptu birding, and in the evenings I’ll often see a fox or two down certain side streets, not to mention listening to frogs and cicadas, which I love. Cycling puts me outside where I can be part of the world.

[pendell]

I'm hitting the point where I'm bored and want to get out of the house more, but I'm not sure what to do. Here's my issues:

- I can't really afford to spend money on what's simply hobbies. I need every penny of that right now.
- I can't commit to volunteering - if I felt I could commit to something like that, it would be something I could earn money at.
- Organized physical activity is not my thing.
- Anything with loud music is also not my thing, unless the goal is to give me a headache.

I could, in theory, sit around the house playing video games and reading all day, but that's not really a good idea. And I'm kind of getting bored with crafts, to be honest - I really want something that's not me sitting by myself.

Have you considered some of the crowdsourced science projects at zooniverse (https://www.zooniverse.org/)? There are a bunch of different projects to tackle from your computer. Discover extrasolar planets. Transcribe Greek texts. Track and identify giraffes.

There's something interesting for everyone, and since it's all volunteer, there's no need to commit to anything. Just sign in, do something, then sign out. It's perfect for a person with little time and resources. If I was retired or unable to work, I'd definitely be putting in time on something like this.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[WarKitty]

I think something that gets me off my rear and out of the house would be preferred? But those tend to cost money.

[Palanan]

Bicycling. :smallsmile:

Technically still sitting down (unless you’re in a recumbent) but definitely out of the house, breathing fresh air and engaged in some solid exercise—which doesn’t even feel like exercise.

[pendell]

I think something that gets me off my rear and out of the house would be preferred? But those tend to cost money.

Walking , then? Just explore your neighborhood. That's also something I do.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[WarKitty]

Walking , then? Just explore your neighborhood. That's also something I do.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

Possible, but to be honest there's only so much I can take of staring at suburbia, so something a little more repeatable would be nice.

[Palanan]

Is there a park near you? Some place with trails you could walk?

You don't seem to like the bicycling idea, since you haven't responded to that, but maybe you'd prefer a woodsy trail rather than suburbia. I certainly do.

[WarKitty]

Is there a park near you? Some place with trails you could walk?

You don't seem to like the bicycling idea, since you haven't responded to that, but maybe you'd prefer a woodsy trail rather than suburbia. I certainly do.

I totally didn't notice your previous post. Bicycling might be worth it. But I think I'm looking for something more...occupying? Physical activity for me after about 15-20min tends to be "I am so incredibly bored and it's miserable out, I want to do something else now."

[JeenLeen]

I think it takes some mental discipline (or just practice... er, getting into the habit might be a better phrasing), but walking or bicycling coupled with some sort of meditation could be good. If you're religious, prayer or divine/theological contemplation could be good. If not, just something you enjoy thinking about. Taking myself as an example, I might think about a ruleset for a new tabletop RPG I'd like to do, or how to set up an internally consistent metaphysics for a certain setting. It's easy to get bored, but I think one can entertain oneself that way with practice.

I've also heard some people enjoy 'people watching', which I gather is going to a park or sitting at a diner and watching the folk who go by. I get that it's not meant to be creepy, but it sounds boring to me and like it'd be easy to offend someone or seem like a creep, or just be a temptation to get judgmental about folk. BUT I'm sure there's good ways to do it, since I hear folk enjoy it.

If you can find a park or streets that are relatively unoccupied most of the time, reading a book while walking is an option. (I enjoyed doing this while walking around the college campus, back when I was in college.) Just make sure you look up when crossing the street :smallbiggrin:

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by WarKitty
Bicycling might be worth it. But I think I'm looking for something more...occupying? Physical activity for me after about 15-20min tends to be "I am so incredibly bored and it's miserable out, I want to do something else now."

Well, headphones with a good book-on-tape could help with that, if you’re cycling on a trail where you don’t have to worry about traffic.

I’ve never done that myself, since I can work on scenarios in my mind while I ride, and in general being outside in the world never bores me. What I also love about cycling is that if there’s a challenging section, and I return to it week after week, I can feel myself becoming stronger and more capable of managing it. That’s a good feeling in itself.

[2D8HP]

Bicycle to a library, bookstore, or a cafe.

The last two you have to spend some money occasionally, every so often though to not get ejected.

Bicycling may get expensive, especially if you research ways to spend your money, but it can be really cheap, with research devoted to keeping it inexpensive.

To mix it up a bit, bring a tennis racket, and some balls, and bike to a park with a wall.

Also, have you considered professional dog-walking?

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by 2D8HP
To mix it up a bit, bring a tennis racket, and some balls, and bike to a park with a wall.

This is a great idea. Some trails also have exercise stations, so you can bicycle a few minutes between them and do a different exercise at each one.


Originally Posted by JeenLeen
I've also heard some people enjoy 'people watching', which I gather is going to a park or sitting at a diner and watching the folk who go by.

Enjoying the scenery is part of the fun. :smalltongue:

[Tyndmyr]

Going to museums and exhibits can be quite a lot of fun, and I find that most people in an urban area haven't really exhausted everything around them. Often free, or at least, inexpensive admission. Also a bit of walking around and folks to socialize with if it's your thing.

[AMFV]

I'm hitting the point where I'm bored and want to get out of the house more, but I'm not sure what to do. Here's my issues:

- I can't really afford to spend money on what's simply hobbies. I need every penny of that right now.

Well there are plenty of hobbies that don't require a large investment of money beyond a small initial investment. Take fishing for example, it's under (in most places) a hundred dollars for both your license, a cheap rod, and some spinners. I mean there's very few hobbies that have literally no cost associated, if you're counting gas costs or what-not, unless you're talking things that involve sitting around the house and those tend to be not the best choices.



- I can't commit to volunteering - if I felt I could commit to something like that, it would be something I could earn money at.

Well for most people who do volunteering it's more about the enjoyment they get out of it than the potential loss of money or time. To be honest, I wouldn't recommend that as a cure for boredom though, that's more of a social fun-time thing.



- Organized physical activity is not my thing.

You could try disorganized physical activity, like hiking or running or just lifting heavy things, depending on what you're looking for. I mean that's again something that you could do for relatively cheap.


I totally didn't notice your previous post. Bicycling might be worth it. But I think I'm looking for something more...occupying? Physical activity for me after about 15-20min tends to be "I am so incredibly bored and it's miserable out, I want to do something else now."

The answer to that is increased intensity, more intense shorter things, that can leave you drained and feeling good. That's probably what I would aim for.

[JeenLeen]

Going to museums and exhibits can be quite a lot of fun, and I find that most people in an urban area haven't really exhausted everything around them. Often free, or at least, inexpensive admission. Also a bit of walking around and folks to socialize with if it's your thing.

That reminds me: some weekly newspapers/magazines are distributed around my city, for free, each week that have a list of free stuff going on. I think it's also on a handful of websites. Try to find your city's online newspaper and see if they have a place where folk can list free events. Some of them might be well worth your time and interesting. If your city is fairly small, it might be that a lot is in walking distance (save money on gas). Many often provide some snacks, too.

On that note, if you are tight on money and don't mind being a mooch, there's probably a few events going on around town at least most evenings, at which you could get enough appetizers or snacks to count as a meal. Walking there and back gives you exercise, and you save money on a meal. (If there is a local college, this is probably especially true. Though depending on your age it might seem creepy if you show up at college events.)

[WarKitty]

The answer to that is increased intensity, more intense shorter things, that can leave you drained and feeling good. That's probably what I would aim for.

I honestly never got that out of physical activity. For me it goes straight from "I am so bored" to "I feel so drained and miserable and I want to die."

My city is one of those places that has a little tiny actual "city" area and lots and lots of suburban sprawl.

[Florian]

I think something that gets me off my rear and out of the house would be preferred? But those tend to cost money.

Things that worked for me in my "poor student days":

- Find out when free museum days, open vernisages, poetry slams or band contest happen.
- Get up early, be at the local golf club before it opens up, pick up some training balls laying around, use the driving range and concourse for free. (*)
- Get involved with a political party. (*)
- Learn to code and participate in Hackatons or the local Linux club. (*)
- Relocate to a park with free WiFi access. Still somewhat boring, but good for your tan.

(*) Has a social aspect and can also help with contacts for later.

[fire_insideout]

Geocaching (https://www.geocaching.com/play) is a (IMO) pretty nice way of getting out and exploring. It has a nice adventurous feeling to it and people often leave caches at places they find interesting.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by WarKitty
My city is one of those places that has a little tiny actual "city" area and lots and lots of suburban sprawl.

Are you in the U.S.? And if so, which state or region? Something else occurred to me, but it would help to know generally what area you’re in.


Originally Posted by Florian
- Find out when free museum days, open vernisages, poetry slams or band contest happen.

…What’s a vernisage?

Did you mean vernissage?


Originally Posted by fire_insideout
Geocaching is a (IMO) pretty nice way of getting out and exploring.

I find geocaches fairly often, and I’m not even looking for them. :smalltongue:

[Florian]

…What’s a vernisage?

Did you mean vernissage?

Yes. Autocorrect did´n kick in.

And I forgot to mention:
- Find out which companies have their annual shareholder meeting in your area and buy one share each. Can actually be quite entertaining and provides top-notch catering.

[Astrella]

Try looking for local groups that do boardgames or such maybe?

[Mauve Shirt]

Bike to the library. Library library library. Countless books and videos and sometimes video games, Internet if you feel like the Internet, and it's all free.

[AMFV]

I honestly never got that out of physical activity. For me it goes straight from "I am so bored" to "I feel so drained and miserable and I want to die."

My city is one of those places that has a little tiny actual "city" area and lots and lots of suburban sprawl.

Well you have to find a variety of exercise you enjoy. And the hardest part is accepting that it's going to suck for the first little bit. Like six weeks of it being miserable no matter what you're doing. So you should find something that you think is cool, force yourself to do it, and by the end of six weeks to two months you'll be enjoying it, and you can go from there.

[WarKitty]

Well you have to find a variety of exercise you enjoy. And the hardest part is accepting that it's going to suck for the first little bit. Like six weeks of it being miserable no matter what you're doing. So you should find something that you think is cool, force yourself to do it, and by the end of six weeks to two months you'll be enjoying it, and you can go from there.

I guess I feel like if I have to force myself to enjoy something in the hopes of enjoying it in six weeks to two months, that kind of misses the point?

[AMFV]

I guess I feel like if I have to force myself to enjoy something in the hopes of enjoying it in six weeks to two months, that kind of misses the point?

Not really. There are a lot of things worth doing that are frustrating or not super-fun when you start out. And you make yourself in enjoy them, and then you do. Some of my favorite hobbies were that way. You start out not having fun, and then you have more fun than you would have thought possible. The only hobbies that aren't that way tend to have really low entry cost and be less rewarding in the long run.

[2D8HP]

:durkon: "Lotsa things.... worth doin'... are na painless."

[gooddragon1]

Mod games like skyrim and replay them.
Play f2p online games (planetside 2, tf2, etc)
Make new homebrew for d&d 3.5.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by AMFV
The only hobbies that aren't that way tend to have really low entry cost and be less rewarding in the long run.

Absolutely this.


Originally Posted by WarKitty
I guess I feel like if I have to force myself to enjoy something in the hopes of enjoying it in six weeks to two months, that kind of misses the point?

Think of it as building up. And sometimes you have to try a few before you find one that clicks.

I needed some encouragement from my parents before I was comfortable riding a bike. Took to it naturally, loved it ever since. My first week of mountain biking, at ten thousand feet in the Colorado Rockies, was a little rough on the quadriceps, but I built up to it.

A couple years ago I bought a kayak, and that definitely took some building up. Yes, it was a grind the first few times, and I was thoroughly wiped out—but I was on the water, and that was worthwhile on its own. I built up to the point that I could paddle ten miles at a stretch. Sometimes it felt tedious, but as a certain blue fish might say, “just keep paddling, just keep paddling….”

Since I love herons, kayaking gives me the chance to watch herons, and sometimes get fairly close to them--such as the three juvenile green herons I came across a couple of weeks ago. They had all the sleek understated beauty of adults, combined with the awkward klutziness of immatures. Plus the goofy yellow feet.

[Lacco]

While I would love to suggest my hobbies, I'll approach this from a different view. Let's build on what you actually like to do.

So please, WarKitty, tell us what you like (aside from obvious War and Kitties).

What are your current hobbies?

Are there any things you always wanted to do? Things you think that might be fun for you?

What are the acceptable physical activities for you? (e.g. for me the only ones are walking, fencing and dancing)

Do you like to be entertained or do you make your own entertainment?

Do you like observing, creating (e.g. writing/painting), exploring, collecting or interacting?

Do you like organizing events, participating on their organization or just prefer to be the "visitor"?

Even the acceptable genres would be good start (e.g. for my set of hobbies with your basic premise "I want to get out more often" I found a sparring partner to fence with - outside, making me walk a bit - and attempted to start a De Profundis game...unsuccessfully :smallsmile:).

So... what do you like? We can then build on it, expand, gamify - and provide better information.

*Disclaimer: Maybe some of you already know what WarKitty likes. I don't.

[Algeh]

The library system where I live also has "cultural passes" you can reserve and check out to get free admission to some of the local museums. If yours does as well, that can be a free/cheap way to see some museums, including some obscure/specialized ones you may not previously have been aware of (I went to a rock and mineral museum that way a few years back).

When I was underemployed and needed to get out of the house, I used to walk someplace and read. At the time, McDonalds used to sell coffee for a dollar and was about a half hour walk from where I lived. I'd walk over, spend a dollar on coffee to justify camping at a table, read for about an hour, and walk home. (I'd do this in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday when there were plenty of empty tables. I don't recommend doing this during a busy time of day.)

Your local library and/or community center might also have events you can attend. My old neighborhood had a neighborhood art/community center that had a free gallery to walk through with different exhibitors each month as well. Where I live now has an evening a week when they close the main street to cars and have vendors and live music during the summer, and most places I've lived have had something of that sort either once a month or once a summer.

[WarKitty]

Physical activities are in kind of a weird position right now. I used to enjoy biking or roller-blading, but I'm not really sure where one does those things now, and I feel like I'm too old to enjoy a roller skating rink or skate park now. I enjoy most things that would be considered "culture." I'm a fairly good crafter as well, although I tend to have an aversion to kits.

Oh yeah, apparently I'm switching to the night shift now. So that's going to throw a wrench in everything.

[Xyril]

Physical activities are in kind of a weird position right now. I used to enjoy biking or roller-blading, but I'm not really sure where one does those things now, and I feel like I'm too old to enjoy a roller skating rink or skate park now. I enjoy most things that would be considered "culture." I'm a fairly good crafter as well, although I tend to have an aversion to kits.

Oh yeah, apparently I'm switching to the night shift now. So that's going to throw a wrench in everything.

Depending on how you're changing your sleep schedule, the night shift could turn out to be a boon. There are lots of public places that get quite crowded after school or business hours, and on weekends, that you might find much nicer during the morning. Also, there might be public parks (of the more "state park" than "skate park" variety) with paved trails that permit skating, but have more for you to enjoy than simply going to the park or the sake of skating. Some states have made a push to create an interconnected system of bike trails and parks that often stretch well into the suburbs. They don't always have paved trails, but many have substantial sections that do and often allow roller blades, skateboards, scooters, hover boards, inflatable human hamster balls, and whatever the current hipster mode of transportation is.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by WarKitty
I used to enjoy biking or roller-blading, but I'm not really sure where one does those things now....

Not sure I quite follow this part. I would expect that where you live has some sort of bike trails; that would be a place to start.

And if you used to enjoy biking...then give it another try.

--No, no. Do. Or do not. There is no try.

Where's a green Yoda smiley when you need one?

[AMFV]

Physical activities are in kind of a weird position right now. I used to enjoy biking or roller-blading, but I'm not really sure where one does those things now, and I feel like I'm too old to enjoy a roller skating rink or skate park now. I enjoy most things that would be considered "culture." I'm a fairly good crafter as well, although I tend to have an aversion to kits.

Oh yeah, apparently I'm switching to the night shift now. So that's going to throw a wrench in everything.

As somebody who does pretty serious physical activities, the first step is to realize that you're going to look silly, then become okay with it. If you're the oldest person at the skate park... who cares? That's awesome, and eventually if you work at it, you'll be showing up all those kids, then you'll be the awesome old lady at the skate park.

As far as biking, I'm sure there's areas where you can bike, and then it's just a matter of making yourself do it. But don't worry that you're going to look silly, cause you are, physical fitness always looks silly some of the time. I mean look up a video of Floyd Mayweather training, he looks ridiculous pretty much the whole time, but he's okay with it. The same goes for most other training, the end result doesn't look silly, but a lot of it in the middle and beginning is going to look absolutely ridiculous.

[WarKitty]

Not sure I quite follow this part. I would expect that where you live has some sort of bike trails; that would be a place to start.

And if you used to enjoy biking...then give it another try.

--No, no. Do. Or do not. There is no try.

That was more the roller blading comment. Although I never liked trail biking as much.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by WarKitty
Although I never liked trail biking as much.

Getting out of the house, by definition, involves stepping outside your comfort zone.

If you give it a try, you might just discover you like it.

[WarKitty]

Getting out of the house, by definition, involves stepping outside your comfort zone.

If you give it a try, you might just discover you like it.

It does? I mean, there's lots of things I can do to get out of the house that don't involve stepping outside of my comfort zone, it's just that most of them either cost money or don't exist around here.

I'm just not a fan of lots of exercise outside in general. It's hot and nasty, you either put up with itching from mosquito bites or itching from bugspray in the summer. You feel dirty and disgusting afterwards but you still have to drive home. Plus you have to put up with the kind of young male yahoos who think you exercising in public is "so hot."

[tensai_oni]

So, let me sum up the whole thread.

OP: What can I do outside for fun? I don't want to do sports.

Everyone: Sports! Do sports! Why don't you want to do sports? I'm sure you'll love sports, you don't want to do sports only because you didn't do enough of them!

Is everyone so offended that different people enjoy different things and OP doesn't like what they do? Or is it so hard to stick to provided guidelines?



--No, no. Do. Or do not. There is no try.

Worst advice in the thread. It implies you can't just try something out to see if you like it or not, that the only way to do something is to 100% dedicate yourself to it.

Real life doesn't work on Star Wars quotes.

[Chen]

Well you're the one who said you want to get out of the house. If you don't want any type of heavy physical activity that's fine. Find an audiobook/podcast, put on a headset and just take a walk. Or bike ride. Or roller blade. If you're on night shift soon, streets during the day in the suburbs should be practically empty making this type of thing fairly easy to do.

Going to the local community center could also have some sort of activities going on that you can participate in. This clearly depends on entirely on what you like to do. Crafts and the like should be somewhat common though. The FLGS should have some sort of activities as well I'd imagine. There could be church activities as well (religious and non-religious kinds).

Also consider very much putting some money aside, even a very small amount, each paycheck. Leave that amount so that you CAN spend it to do something different that would cost money as a treat every now and then. Even if its only every couple of months, it can help to have a bit of a "reward" going and the practical cost could be almost negligible when you look at the big picture. Clearly we don't know if you're saving up for something or literally spending all your income on essentials, so yeah that last point can be taken with a grain of salt.

[Florian]

So, let me sum up the whole thread.

Which you don´t. Warkitty here presents herself (?) as a lethargic person who can´t stand boredom, but also can´t get herself motivated into action and will find an excuse to not do something, be it money, infrastructure or other human beings. That is curious, because escaping boredom normally should be motivation enough.
My home culture coined the term "Weltschmerz" for this kind of behavior and the circular reasoning that comes from it and as trite as it might sound "just do it" is often the answer.

[kyoryu]

That was more the roller blading comment. Although I never liked trail biking as much.

Parks are usually a good place.

[JeenLeen]

What about learning a cheap musical instrument?

From what you said, money is tight, so I reckon something like a guitar is out. At least, when I bought a cheap one a few years back to try to learn it, it was about $100 for a decent starter kit (not utterly trash but not good guitar, picks, etc.). But maybe something like the harmonica? My daughter got one recently as a present. I tried it using the musical guide it came with, and it's pretty cool. Not hard, but some real skill and training to use it well. (I could almost play stuff like Itsy Bitsy Spider after about five minutes.) I reckon you could order one online for about 10 bucks, if that. From a quick look on Amazon, prices seem to range from 6-20 dollars.

You can probably find lessons on Youtube for free.

[WarKitty]

Which you don´t. Warkitty here presents herself (?) as a lethargic person who can´t stand boredom, but also can´t get herself motivated into action and will find an excuse to not do something, be it money, infrastructure or other human beings. That is curious, because escaping boredom normally should be motivation enough.
My home culture coined the term "Weltschmerz" for this kind of behavior and the circular reasoning that comes from it and as trite as it might sound "just do it" is often the answer.

It's not that escaping boredom isn't motivation, it's that I'm not motivated to do "try it for a couple of months and maybe you'll like it." And that's generally what a lot of physical activity falls into for me - it would be a category of "do something you don't enjoy and maybe you'll turn out to like it." There's some health stuff going on there too, where I'm not incapable of doing a lot of physical activity, but it's likely to often be significantly more draining for me to do it than it would be for a normal healthy person.

And I'm in a stupid little high-cost suburban area where nothing's walkable and everything is designed for high-earning professionals.

---------------------------------------------

The one thing with night shift is most everyone says you have to keep your sleep schedule very consistent, and make sure you're sleeping 8h at a stretch. It's unwise to try to split into 2 naps, or to shift your schedule on your days off.

[Bounty Hunter]

Local Board Gaming Meetup Events.

[Florian]

@Warkitty:

The gist so far is that "fun" is an acquired taste and it takes time and energy to acquire and maintain it.
There´s no sure-fire way for that and even having a natural aptitude at it will not guarantee having "fun" at something. That´s life and not even the best tips can spare you trying out the things that were offered and see for yourself. No way around it.

(As an example, I think absolutely no-one enjoyed their first sip of beer. Once you acquire the taste, tho, a new world opens up and that´s were we get good Beer Sommeliers and Craft Brewers from)

[kyoryu]

Music isn't bad, actually. Depending on what you're trying to play, you can pretty well always find a way to start with minimal investment, and there's so much info on YouTube these days that the amount of free learning is basically endless.

If you choose to go the guitar route, lemme know and I can point you in some directions.

Besides, I really wanna see you go full Doof-Warrior.

[FreddyNoNose]

I'm hitting the point where I'm bored and want to get out of the house more, but I'm not sure what to do. Here's my issues:

- I can't really afford to spend money on what's simply hobbies. I need every penny of that right now.
- I can't commit to volunteering - if I felt I could commit to something like that, it would be something I could earn money at.
- Organized physical activity is not my thing.
- Anything with loud music is also not my thing, unless the goal is to give me a headache.

I could, in theory, sit around the house playing video games and reading all day, but that's not really a good idea. And I'm kind of getting bored with crafts, to be honest - I really want something that's not me sitting by myself.

Mindfulness. Simply don't allow yourself to become bored. There more things to do than time/money/etc that nobody should ever be bored. Even sitting in a chair without other stimulation, alone with your mind if you will, you should be able to prevent being bored.

[Lacco]

Suburban area?

Start a DeProfundis game.

(if you do, count me in)




Physical activities are in kind of a weird position right now. I used to enjoy biking or roller-blading, but I'm not really sure where one does those things now, and I feel like I'm too old to enjoy a roller skating rink or skate park now. I enjoy most things that would be considered "culture." I'm a fairly good crafter as well, although I tend to have an aversion to kits.

Oh yeah, apparently I'm switching to the night shift now. So that's going to throw a wrench in everything.

Are there any pleasant areas where you can go roller-blading/skating (e.g. here everyone visits either the park, goes to the forests or skates around the reservoir)?

Or do you mind roller-blading/biking somewhere?

Also:
- culture - check local performances; ideally open-air ones; do a route around all points of interest (e.g. statues) around the city & take photos;
- crafting - are there any yard sales? Flea markets? Farmer markets? On a bike it's much easier to reach them. Or just take a bus.

You did not answer whether you are against organizing events... so: why not organize something?

Another question: are you ok with taking up a new hobby? Or do you want some way how to get "inspired" regarding your hobbies?
Or would you prefer just some crazy ideas - what to do "today"?

If the latter... did you try Wreck This Journal?

[WarKitty]

@Warkitty:

The gist so far is that "fun" is an acquired taste and it takes time and energy to acquire and maintain it.
There´s no sure-fire way for that and even having a natural aptitude at it will not guarantee having "fun" at something. That´s life and not even the best tips can spare you trying out the things that were offered and see for yourself. No way around it.

(As an example, I think absolutely no-one enjoyed their first sip of beer. Once you acquire the taste, tho, a new world opens up and that´s were we get good Beer Sommeliers and Craft Brewers from)

I definitely enjoyed my first sip of beer. Liquor too. :smallbiggrin:

In all seriousness, I think a lot of the resistance to physical activity is that my health is kind of a mess. Physical activity is complicated when your health can be fussy, and I think it makes it a lot more likely that I'll be seriously miserable afterwards.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by WarKitty
I'm hitting the point where I'm bored and want to get out of the house more….

First sentence in the OP, so that’s what I was working from. If health issues are a factor, it would have been very helpful to mention them up front.


Originally Posted by tensai_oni
Everyone: Sports! Do sports! Why don't you want to do sports?

…Is everyone so offended that different people enjoy different things and OP doesn't like what they do?

There have been plenty of non-sport suggestions in this thread too, so you’re not being accurate here.

And I’m not sure why you’re taking umbrage at those of us who are trying our best to be patient and offer as many alternatives as we can think of. From my perspective, it’s a little frustrating when everything we suggest seems to be dismissed one way or the other, and without much apparent interest in actually trying anything.


Originally Posted by WarKitty
Plus you have to put up with the kind of young male yahoos who think you exercising in public is "so hot."

This I could understand would be unpleasant, if these are the sort of yahoos who tend to be loud and intrusive, or worse.

That said—and not excusing their behavior—but you did post a photo of yourself in another thread, a year or two ago, and the fact is you’d certainly turn some heads. If that sort of attention makes you uncomfortable, then yes, I can see why you’d be reluctant to exercise in public.


Originally Posted by WarKitty
In all seriousness, I think a lot of the resistance to physical activity is that my health is kind of a mess. Physical activity is complicated when your health can be fussy, and I think it makes it a lot more likely that I'll be seriously miserable afterwards.

So here’s one more option, which can be accomplished while walking very slowly or even sitting in one spot for as long as you like. Takes you outside, engages the mind and makes you more aware of some of the world’s loveliest creatures.

This is birding, for which you actually don’t need binoculars, despite the popular image. Check out a couple of field guides from your library (I prefer Stokes) and start paying attention to what’s around you. Listen as well as watch; you'll become more aware of all the life around you.

It becomes more engaging when you start reporting your sightings and checking out what other folks have seen. The place to do this is eBird, and using Catoctin Mountain (http://ebird.org/ebird/hotspot/L457389) as an example, you can see how active the community is. It’s also weirdly competitive, which in moderation is a lot of fun.

Also, I recommend a hummingbird feeder, which shouldn’t cost but a few dollars at Wal-Mart. Just now I’m letting a pan of hummingbird water cool off enough to refill my feeder. Hummingbirds are a delight, and a hummingbird feeder is almost certain to bring in one or more customers.

[Bartmanhomer]

I just use my imagination to fight boredom. :biggrin:

[WarKitty]

First sentence in the OP, so that’s what I was working from. If health issues are a factor, it would have been very helpful to mention them up front.

A lot of the problem I have with threads like these is issues that might be a problem don't typically occur to me until someone mentions something that they would cause a problem with. I don't typically think of regular physical activity as something you do for fun outside of organized sports, so it's not going to occur to me to mention why it might not work up front. It's very hard for me to come up with all the relevant information for what is and isn't possible until I already have a bunch of suggestions that I can sort through.

[Palanan]

So, here's a summary of the thread responses so far.

(I would've put these into a swanky table, but that apparently involves an excruciating amount of formatting.)



TwoLegsArmchair - meandering journeys

Palanan - bicycling, birding, park trails

pendell - crowdsourced science projects, neighborhood walking

JeenLeen - meditation, walking while reading, free local events, musical instrument

2D8HP - bicycling, dog-walking, tennis practice

Tyndmyr - walking, museums

AMFV - fishing, hiking, running, lifting

Florian - free local events, golfing, coding, shareholder mooching

fire_insideout - geocaching

Astrella - boardgame groups

Mauve Shirt - bicycling, library

gooddragon1 - video games, 3.5 homebrew

Algeh - local museums, walking, community center

Xyril - state park

tensai_oni - [no suggestions, just criticized everyone else]

Chen - audiobook, community center, gaming store

kyoryu - parks

Bounty Hunter - board gaming

FreddyNoNose - mindfulness

lacco36 - DeProfundis game, rollerblading, local culture

Bartmanhomer - imagination


Only five or six of these are actually sports, and many more involve libraries, museums, parks, community centers, gaming groups, and other aspects of local culture.

It's tempting to say, "If you can't find something from this list then you're not really trying." But this can be a tricky medium to work in. Often enough I'll ask for ideas in a thread, and people will hammer me for not being specific—when the whole point of the thread was to elicit ideas I wouldn't have thought of myself, and thus can't be specific about.

So I don't want to be overly critical when you may not know yourself exactly what it is you're looking for. And yet, this really is a wide range of options we've given you here. We get that vigorous physical activity isn't going to work for you, or at least it's not something you want to pursue right now. That still leaves a lot of other options—and yet we still can't seem to find that sweet spot of activity for you. I'm not sure where to go from here.

.

[Scarlet Knight]

Do you have a camera? Sometimes when you have one instead of a phone, you look at things differently when you walk through your normal day. People, pets, scenery. Next thing you know, you've got photography as a hobby.

[2D8HP]

...I'm switching to the night shift now. So that's going to throw a wrench in everything.



.... one thing with night shift is most everyone says you have to keep your sleep schedule very consistent, and make sure you're sleeping 8h at a stretch. It's unwise to try to split into 2 naps, or to shift your schedule on your days off.


Binocular astronomy!

Cheapest if you join a club and "mouch"

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-clubs-organizations/

http://www.go-astronomy.com/astro-club-search.htm



....I'm in a stupid little high-cost suburban area where nothing's walkable and everything is designed for high-earning professionals...


Because of that (and other things you've mentioned in other threads), it really does sound like you need to move, which sadly is far easier said then done.

Best wishes to you.

This time you're going through won't be forever for you

[WarKitty]

So, here's a summary of the thread responses so far.

(I would've put these into a swanky table, but that apparently involves an excruciating amount of formatting.)



TwoLegsArmchair - meandering journeys

Palanan - bicycling, birding, park trails

pendell - crowdsourced science projects, neighborhood walking

JeenLeen - meditation, walking while reading, free local events, musical instrument

2D8HP - bicycling, dog-walking, tennis practice

Tyndmyr - walking, museums

AMFV - fishing, hiking, running, lifting

Florian - free local events, golfing, coding, shareholder mooching

fire_insideout - geocaching

Astrella - boardgame groups

Mauve Shirt - bicycling, library

gooddragon1 - video games, 3.5 homebrew

Algeh - local museums, walking, community center

Xyril - state park

tensai_oni - [no suggestions, just criticized everyone else]

Chen - audiobook, community center, gaming store

kyoryu - parks

Bounty Hunter - board gaming

FreddyNoNose - mindfulness

lacco36 - DeProfundis game, rollerblading, local culture

Bartmanhomer - imagination


Only five or six of these are actually sports, and many more involve libraries, museums, parks, community centers, gaming groups, and other aspects of local culture.

It's tempting to say, "If you can't find something from this list then you're not really trying." But this can be a tricky medium to work in. Often enough I'll ask for ideas in a thread, and people will hammer me for not being specific—when the whole point of the thread was to elicit ideas I wouldn't have thought of myself, and thus can't be specific about.

So I don't want to be overly critical when you may not know yourself exactly what it is you're looking for. And yet, this really is a wide range of options we've given you here. We get that vigorous physical activity isn't going to work for you, or at least it's not something you want to pursue right now. That still leaves a lot of other options—and yet we still can't seem to find that sweet spot of activity for you. I'm not sure where to go from here.

.

Fair enough. The main catch here is going to be switching to night shifts - the majority of my free time is going to be in the middle of the night now (which is something I did not know when I made this thread). I'm likely not going to be getting up until 5 or 6 pm. So one is going to have to deal with the fact that most things aren't open. Also that I'm probably not likely to want to be out by myself at night. That's probably going to be difficult to work around.

[Lacco]

Fair enough. The main catch here is going to be switching to night shifts - the majority of my free time is going to be in the middle of the night now (which is something I did not know when I made this thread). I'm likely not going to be getting up until 5 or 6 pm. So one is going to have to deal with the fact that most things aren't open. Also that I'm probably not likely to want to be out by myself at night. That's probably going to be difficult to work around.

Valid complaint.

Solution: take a friend, do a pair/group activity in the evenings. A regular beer-meeting with couple of friends?

[WarKitty]

Valid complaint.

Solution: take a friend, do a pair/group activity in the evenings. A regular beer-meeting with couple of friends?

Where do I find one of those?

[Lacco]

Where do I find one of those?

Well, I could give you few pointers, but I'm not sure if they would come in handy - after all, I'm a male coming from country where the equivalent of "Hey, wanna grab beer after work?" and talking about stuff is the easiest way how to get acquainted with people and is viewed as socially acceptable (the worst you can expect is "No, thanks" or "You payin'?" as responses). Dunno if it would work (still, if you give it a try, let me know how did it work out).

Also talking about your hobbies is a good thing - people who are interested in the stuff will ask questions and maybe even join in on the fun.

And friends are...well, usually acquaitances that you spend lot of time with.

But a question is: what would be the most help?

[Florian]

Where do I find one of those?

Is this a serious question?

[Bohandas]

I can't really afford to spend money on what's simply hobbies. I need every penny of that right now.

There's ways of getting things for free

[Bohandas]

Anyway, what I usually do is hang around on forums like this

[kyoryu]

So, here's a summary of the thread responses so far.

I also suggested playing music!

[denthor]

Try babysitting

[2D8HP]

Valid complaint.

Solution: take a friend, do a pair/group activity in the evenings. A regular beer-meeting with couple of friends?



Where do I find one of those?


WarKitty,

Whatever you were doing that got you involved with people doing:


...at our annual beat-each-other-with-cardboard-and-duct-tape event..:



It's an annual college event the day before spring semester finals. Everyone makes armor and weapons out of cardboardand duct tape. You divide into teams based on residence and whack at each other for about an hour.

That was my third year outfit. I originally had planned to have scales over the whole top part but that just wasn't working. The armor was surprisingly effective however, although I discovered I needed armguards.


...do that again.

[warty goblin]

Lesse, cheap things that can be done easily anywhere.


Actually free:
I get a lot of pleasure observing plant and animal life in whatever random scraps of vaguely wild land are available. Since these are often small, this isn't necessarily a big time sink, but a brief stroll can be a nice way to eat some time. And being around plants (actual plants with some gumption, not lawns!) never fails to improve my mood. To that end, a bird feeder is cheap, as is bird seed, and having birds around is a lot of fun, particularly if you can set up something to do in their general vicinity. As Palanin said, hummingbirds are very fun to have around if there's any in that habitat, and since they eat sugar water they're really cheap to feed. Sure this can result in wasps, but wasps are fairly cool too, so long as you don't screw with 'em.

I can't think of very many hobbies that have literally zero start up costs, and aren't something weird like recreational math - and since I do that professionally I really can't see it as a hobby. Mileage may vary there though. There's also learning to program, which is something some people find fun and I find a tragic necessity of getting my work done, but if you like what amounts to a logic puzzle crossed with conceptual engineering crossed with learning a language to talk to the world's most annoyingly over-literal person in, it's worth checking out. Python is probably a good bet, since it's pretty straightforwards in terms of syntax, the language is free, and there's abundant free materials explaining it.

Somewhat Expensive Up Front, Cheap After That:
Running has a start-up cost for shoes and clothes that are comfortable to sweat a lot in, but the per-mile cost is very low. And after a couple months of terrible sucking, it starts to suck in a good way. The physical effects are nice, the mental effects are marvelous. If it wasn't for the cursed weakness of my mortal body, I'm not really sure I'd ever stop running, so take that as a recommendation.

If your current stable of crafts is boring, try new ones! My primary handwork is woodcarving, and assorted forms of metalwork in thin brass and copper.

Woodworking is fairly cheap to start out with. You need some decent knives, and some reasonably carvable wood. You can of course go with just bits you pick up, but it's hard to get a reasonably sized piece, it's often water damaged or something else, and ends up generally being very limiting in what you can do. Basswood is a good carving wood, since it's light, relatively soft, and devoid of overly strong grain. I find balsa wood much less workable, since it's so soft anything but a super-sharp tool can easily crush or tear the wood, instead of cutting smoothly. Then you just need some ideas of what to carve, which can be basically anything you want. I do figures and leaves mostly now, but in the past have done spaceships, dogs, fish, different styles of figures, and any other oddments that cross my mind. As a bonus, you don't have to be good at drawing in order to be passable at carving; I'm much better at imagining something in 3D than I am at projecting that image to 2D.


Most of the metalwork I do is some variant of repousse (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repouss%C3%A9_and_chasing). Start up cost for this is a bit higher, since the tools can be rather expensive, though they're quite cheap to make. All you need is a hammer, something that works for an anvil, and a torch hot enough to get steel bright red. For thin metal barstock, some of the hotter plumbing blowtorches are sufficient if time consuming. You'll definitely need files, and probably tinships and/or a jewelers saw for cutting metal to shape. A few blocks of plasticine clay on a base of some kind works fairly well as a backing material to work into when shaping your design. I find this to be immensely enjoyable and rewarding work, and highly recommend it. It's easy to make really good looking stuff that nobody else has the foggiest idea how to pull off.

Not Expensive Up Front, Continuous Costs:
My recommendation here is a gun range. .22 LR ammo is cheap, and most gun ranges will rent you the rifle for not that much. Depending on where you are, range time can be pretty cheap as well. Shooting is a lot of fun, and like a lot of physical activity demands a lot of concentration and focus. Unlike exercise though, you don't end up all disgusting and sweaty and sore afterwords. Probably not a way to spend hours every day unless you get really into it, but a good way to eat up a chunk of Saturday afternoon.

[Florian]

The tip with the gun range really, really, depends on where you live and how national/regional firearms laws are.
Firearms are strictly regulated in germany and you have to jump thru numerous hoops to make them your hobby. As a kid growing up in rural bavaria, I joined the local "Hunters Lodge" to gain access to their gun range (and stave of the boredom of a small rural village). Only allowed weapons were those that go along with a full hunter license and training at the range also only covered those, so only certain shotguns, rifles, pistols and you had to bring your own, including ammo. (Interestingly enough, those tend to be really high-powered.)

When my parents moved to a metropolis, I tried to join a "Marksman Association", but my parents refused to pay the annual fees as well as buying the required sporting weapons.

So, decades later, I actually want to get back into the hobby but I shy away from getting the full hunter license, as the training for it is not only hard, but you have to partake in the annual boar and deer culling that is necessary, a thing that I think I can´t stand.

[2D8HP]

...Not Expensive Up Front, Continuous Costs:
My recommendation here is a gun range. .22 LR ammo is cheap, and most gun ranges will rent you the rifle for not that much.....


WarKitty, IIRC, you live in the U.S.A. somewhere "back East", so rules and circumstances may be different where you live, and with the big caveat that I haven't done any shooting since the 1990's, so things may have changed, but some thoughts:-


1) To get to a range, and transport the gun, you need a car, you don't go jogging with a rifle!

2) In the San Francisco bay area (in the '90's), the ranges that rented firearms for use at the range, required two people to rent together (to prevent suicides at the range), so if this is something you want to do without a companion, you need your own gun, Back then $100 for a cheap rifle, another $10 for a lot of .22 LR bullets (more than you'll fire in a day), plus &15 for some good hearing protection, so maybe double that now? Range fee's and bullets are mostly the only ongoing costs, and as has been said before .22 LR is cheap.
Other types of bullets, and guns other than "22's" may get very expensive though.

3) When I first fired a 22 rifle, the recoil was so low and the sound was so quiet (relative to the rest of the range) that I had to get a look at the paper target, to make sure that I was firing any bullets at all, which brings me to another thought, other guns are very loud (and if there 19th century replica "black powder" weapons, smoky as well).
Your own 22 won't seem that bad, but if someone is firing another louder gain near you, it can be headache inducing if you can't stand loud noises (you said you didn't like loud music), and if the range is crowded with say folks firing 44 magnums, it gets extremely loud. Much more pleasant is to "plink" tin cans out in the country somewhere, but that involves more gasoline and time.

4) Archery is cooler (it just is) but more physical.

And that's another idea, where I live, they are fewer archery ranges than gun ranges, but the Public ones are cheaper (they're ones in Golden Gate, and Tilden Parks), but a bow and arrows will be more expensive.

A guitar is cheaper than a bow, or rifle, but takes up more space, because it's wider, a clarinet or a harmonica take up less space, and all take up less space than a bicycle.

Really for me, if I have free time of my own (a rarity), I'm seldom bored for long. A walk, bicycle ride, books, or this Forum soon keep me occupied, if my time is my own, but since most of my time is work or family duties, not much of my time is my own.

Boredom is what happens while I'm waiting, because I'm having to do something (safety meetings at work, standing in line, waiting for the water to drain out so I can repair something etc.).

From other posts on other threads, it seems like most of your time is at work and enduring a hostile environment at home.
Easier said than done, but maybe take out a bunch of loans, and go away to graduate school?

[WarKitty]

I'm just going to say that bringing guns into a house with multiple people with off-and-on depression is probably not wise?

Gym membership may be the best idea for late at night - I just can't think of much else that would be open, other than bars.

[Knaight]

So, let me sum up the whole thread.

OP: What can I do outside for fun? I don't want to do sports.

Everyone: Sports! Do sports! Why don't you want to do sports? I'm sure you'll love sports, you don't want to do sports only because you didn't do enough of them!

Is everyone so offended that different people enjoy different things and OP doesn't like what they do? Or is it so hard to stick to provided guidelines?

People have been talking about various forms of physical activity, but it's been a lot on biking, hiking, and rollerblading, not bike racing, cross country, and roller derby. That former set involves exactly no sports.

[Herobizkit]

You like crafting, playing video games and sitting?

How's your PC and internet connection?

You could easily start doing Creative or gaming livestreams via Twitch. If you invest enough time and are entertaining enough, you could even start making some bank. Don't expect hundreds of dollars to fall into your lap right away (unless you're a young, attractive woman - I've seen people drop literal hundreds of dollars on some lady streamers when they made 'partner' or 'affiliate'), but with a regular schedule and a niche that you enjoy (in Creative, fr'ex, I see people sing/play instruments, do cross-stitch and crochet, paint, and make cosplay outfits), you might be able to alleviate some boredom with some interactivity with viewers.

[OACSNY97]

WarKitty-
What about stenciling or fancy sponge painting? You mentioned redecorating and painting in a thread a couple of weeks ago so this might kill two birds with one stone.

Regarding the typical hobby I indulge in, knitting, it's possible to get used knitting needles (or crochet hooks) and odd yarn VERY cheaply at church rummage sales and garage sales in my area and lots of people are willing to pass on their hobbies if youtube videos aren't enough instruction.

Further, does you area have anything similar to this? https://www.mvmag.net/ It's a free magazine that gets mailed out to basically everybody in the county every other month with restaurant reviews and event calendars. A lot of the events are either very cheap or free if you're looking for inexpensive culture.

Lastly, does your area run to public gardens? They're one of my favorite places to go for a light stroll and beauty appreciation.

:)

[AMFV]

I'm just going to say that bringing guns into a house with multiple people with off-and-on depression is probably not wise?

Gym membership may be the best idea for late at night - I just can't think of much else that would be open, other than bars.

Well when I worked night shift I would try to have my schedule set so I'd go to work then straight to bed then wake up earlier. That way I'd be up during the day.

Also I think for the guns they were suggesting renting them at the store rather than purchasing your own. That's usually not too terrible expensive although shooting isn't for everyone so no reason to try it if you aren't into the idea.

[Rebles]

If you have too much time:

Get work
Then get kids
Then start writing stories or music or anything or watch the entire backlog of the wwe
If you still have too much time -> then tell me HOW

[Jay R]

Possible, but to be honest there's only so much I can take of staring at suburbia, so something a little more repeatable would be nice.

Is this a guess, or have you tried it? Most neighborhoods I've lived in have creeks, or woods, or fields, or parks, or sports fields nearby. There are lots of things to look at, including birds, plants, kids, and other things. You can find people at parks to talk to.

Walk past stores, and see what they're selling. Walk through parking lots, dodging inattentive drivers.

Walk to the library. Walk to the store (when not planning to buy too much).

These days I'm enjoying biking to Fair Park and watching the preparations for the State Fair next month.,

You will never know what any activity - including walking - will lead to without actually doing it several times.

[WarKitty]

Is this a guess, or have you tried it? Most neighborhoods I've lived in have creeks, or woods, or fields, or parks, or sports fields nearby. There are lots of things to look at, including birds, plants, kids, and other things. You can find people at parks to talk to.

Walk past stores, and see what they're selling. Walk through parking lots, dodging inattentive drivers.

Walk to the library. Walk to the store (when not planning to buy too much).

These days I'm enjoying biking to Fair Park and watching the preparations for the State Fair next month.,

You will never know what any activity - including walking - will lead to without actually doing it several times.

Sadly, it looks like the shift switch is going to mean going out walking is out. It's just not a good idea.

[Jay R]

Sadly, it looks like the shift switch is going to mean going out walking is out. It's just not a good idea.

The get up earlier and walk before working. With twelve or so hours of sunlight and an eight hour workday, you can find some daylight for walking. I've taken walks at my lunch hour.

[WarKitty]

The get up earlier and walk before working. With twelve or so hours of sunlight and an eight hour workday, you can find some daylight for walking. I've taken walks at my lunch hour.

10h workday and most likely the first few hours after I get up are not going to be free (since that's when I'm going to be having to do stuff). Really I'm only going to have at most 3h of daylight available to me for which I'm awake, and that's when I'm going to have to be doing anything that might make noise or anything out that needs to be done.

My lunch hour is currently set at 3:30am.

[blunk]

multiple people with off-and-on depressionYeah, I was going to say that you sound less like you're battling boredom and more like you're battling depression. Takes one to know one, right?

Honestly? I think you're just going to have to accept being bored and unmotivated as best you can, for now. Time will pass; something will draw you, or maybe somebody will push you into something. Personally, I found myself drawn to Methodist services, then to picking up trash with somebody I met there, then to walking in the state park by myself and picking up trash there. Maybe that will lead into something else, who knows?

But even this modest development took years. Hopefully it moves faster for you... but I don't think you can push it, much.

Good luck. Wish I had a magic wand I could wave for you.

[Chen]

10h workday and most likely the first few hours after I get up are not going to be free (since that's when I'm going to be having to do stuff). Really I'm only going to have at most 3h of daylight available to me for which I'm awake, and that's when I'm going to have to be doing anything that might make noise or anything out that needs to be done.

My lunch hour is currently set at 3:30am.

Could you not sleep in the evening? Basically mimic the day schedule of :

-Wake up
-Get ready for work ("breakfast")
-Work
-Do stuff at home
-Go to bed

That would leave the "doing stuff at home thing" in the daylight after you get off work and the go to bed would cut some of the afternoon and then evening off. You'd wake up for "breakfast" (supper) in the late evening and then go to work.

[WarKitty]

Could you not sleep in the evening? Basically mimic the day schedule of :

-Wake up
-Get ready for work ("breakfast")
-Work
-Do stuff at home
-Go to bed

That would leave the "doing stuff at home thing" in the daylight after you get off work and the go to bed would cut some of the afternoon and then evening off. You'd wake up for "breakfast" (supper) in the late evening and then go to work.

I mean, the problem's the same either way - you only have a few actual daylight hours, and because of the way things work most of the stuff you have to get done is going to need to be done in those daylight hours.

Of what activities are available around here, too, you're going to get much much more available in the evening hours.

[Chen]

Well I mean I figured we were talking about like a 30 - 45 min walk. If you're so busy that you can't fit that in, I can't see how boredom is an actual issue.

And wouldn't working the night shift give you MORE free time during daylight? I get up at 6 am and generally get home around 5:30 pm. In the summer sure there's some daylight left at the end of the day. But hell in winter I leave the house and get home in the dark. All the daylight hours I'm at work. In your case sure you'll need to use some daylight hours for sleep, but the rest of them are free for you.

[WarKitty]

Well I mean I figured we were talking about like a 30 - 45 min walk. If you're so busy that you can't fit that in, I can't see how boredom is an actual issue.

And wouldn't working the night shift give you MORE free time during daylight? I get up at 6 am and generally get home around 5:30 pm. In the summer sure there's some daylight left at the end of the day. But hell in winter I leave the house and get home in the dark. All the daylight hours I'm at work. In your case sure you'll need to use some daylight hours for sleep, but the rest of them are free for you.

I meant more that those daylight hours have to be busier because most of what you need to get done, has to get done during those few hours.

I live with other people, so anything that might make noise (including cooking and laundry) has to be done then. Businesses aren't generally open 24/7 around here, so if you need to go to a business you have to do it during those hours. Anything you do have that's a social activity has to take place during those hours - including family stuff.

I'd say I'm going to bed at 9am and getting up at 5pm. So I have until 8 or 9 to actually get stuff I need done, and then the rest of the night I have to figure out what to do with.

[Chen]

I'd say I'm going to bed at 9am and getting up at 5pm. So I have until 8 or 9 to actually get stuff I need done, and then the rest of the night I have to figure out what to do with.

Oh well I again assumed you'd be sleeping until maybe 1-1.5 hours before work, like people would do if they worked in the morning. So there wouldn't be much to figure out what to do the night with, since it would just be the time you'd normally use to shower, eat "breakfast" and go to work.

[WarKitty]

Oh well I again assumed you'd be sleeping until maybe 1-1.5 hours before work, like people would do if they worked in the morning. So there wouldn't be much to figure out what to do the night with, since it would just be the time you'd normally use to shower, eat "breakfast" and go to work.

It would be the same difference though - I'd have a couple hours in the morning, and anything social, plus any tasks like laundry or cooking or anything else that might make noise, plus anything where I have to go out to any sort of business, would have to be done in those few hours after work. Even on my days off, those few hours would be the only ones I really have for getting a lot of stuff done, and then I'd have an entire night to deal with.

[WarKitty]

Yeah, I was going to say that you sound less like you're battling boredom and more like you're battling depression. Takes one to know one, right?

Honestly? I think you're just going to have to accept being bored and unmotivated as best you can, for now. Time will pass; something will draw you, or maybe somebody will push you into something. Personally, I found myself drawn to Methodist services, then to picking up trash with somebody I met there, then to walking in the state park by myself and picking up trash there. Maybe that will lead into something else, who knows?

But even this modest development took years. Hopefully it moves faster for you... but I don't think you can push it, much.

Good luck. Wish I had a magic wand I could wave for you.

You're probably right. I'm overstressed and my job is really boring, and I feel like I should be doing something other than just sitting on the computer but can't get what.

[blunk]

You're probably right. I'm overstressed and my job is really boring, and I feel like I should be doing something other than just sitting on the computer but can't get what.Yeah, messing around on the computer is soul-draining. I found that stepping away and meditating or praying or thinking or whatever - just sitting in silence - was a much healthier use of time. The tricky part is that, generally, other people understand and respect wasting time on a computer more than they do "doing nothing", so you have to find the right times and places.

[Goodkill]

video game development is a cheap hobby, and if you're good you can make money.

[NontheistCleric]

video game development is a cheap hobby, and if you're good you can make money.

That's not a bad idea except for the fact that WarKitty just said they didn't want to sit in front of a computer. Which video game development would definitely entail.

[Zendy]

You could make a photo blog or instagram.

And then go out to take photos or places, events and people.

That's what I do, I even got hired to freelance for a tourism website.

[Charlie696]

Honestly boredom is the best time to start writing plot for a game. Or mass character creation. Its what I do when boredom strikes

[Red Leaf Games]

Time to dig out old projects that you never finished or would like to expand upon. Then when you find something commit to seeing it through until the end.

[Hazyshade]

I suffer from psychotic depression that makes it hard to concentrate on long-term projects, with the result that I'm quite bored a lot of the time. +1 Sympathy.

What do you have lots of, WarKitty? Not necessarily physical resources, could be mental resources too.

It feels like what we're trying to do right now is throw a dart at a random activity, and then you check it against your warehouse of resources and tell us why it can't be done, and from that we gain a little more information about what's not in your warehouse. If that were a real warehouse, at this point we would say okay, how about we get a list of what is there?

When you think to yourself that there must be something more interesting you could be doing, hold it, pause that thought - where is that coming from? Is it because you feel you have time that you're not making maximum use of? Is it because you have physical energy that wants to be released? Is it because your brain has spare creativity in it that's going to discharge and zap the nearest metal object if you don't make some use of it?

Most people have kind of a double-edged relationship with time. Their neurons report to them that they're bored, but if you gave them a chance to fast-forward by a few hours, they'd say "no, I need this time for... something". What's the thing that's stopping you pressing the fast-forward button (or the thing that makes you feel happy to discover it's only 9pm instead of 10pm and you have a whole extra hour)? Is the boredom you're feeling actually because you've got boring things to do rather than a lack of things to do, and therefore you appreciate having lots of time to do them because it means you don't have to start right now?

My Quora answer on getting out of Priority Gridlock. (https://www.quora.com/Ive-been-slacking-for-a-few-weeks-and-in-a-perpetual-state-of-procrastination-How-do-I-pick-myself-back-up/answer/Chris-Goodall-3?srid=4edE)

[NontheistCleric]

Most people have kind of a double-edged relationship with time. Their neurons report to them that they're bored, but if you gave them a chance to fast-forward by a few hours, they'd say "no, I need this time for... something". What's the thing that's stopping you pressing the fast-forward button (or the thing that makes you feel happy to discover it's only 9pm instead of 10pm and you have a whole extra hour)? Is the boredom you're feeling actually because you've got boring things to do rather than a lack of things to do, and therefore you appreciate having lots of time to do them because it means you don't have to start right now?

Perhaps they simply don't want to lose even a few hours of their already limited lifespan, even if it would relieve boredom. Not to mention that there's no guarantee that in a few hours they will not be bored, and there's the possibility that in those few hours they could find something to occupy themselves with.

[Maximum77]

1. Go on the internet. Read articles and watch videos
2. Listen to music
3. Watch TV (occasionally)
4. Masturbate
5. Go for a walk

[WarKitty]

1. Go on the internet. Read articles and watch videos
2. Listen to music
3. Watch TV (occasionally)
4. Masturbate
5. Go for a walk

I think the point here is to get away from screens. I'm looking at screens all night, I'm tired of them - but I can hardly go for a walk at 3am.

[Florian]

I think the point here is to get away from screens. I'm looking at screens all night, I'm tired of them - but I can hardly go for a walk at 3am.

That baffles me. I don´t hardly count myself on the "save" side of the spectrum any day of the week and there actually still are people I tend to give a wide berth out of precaution, but that has never stopped me from doing an extended "midnight stroll" any day of the week when the mood struck me.

[2D8HP]

....that has never stopped me from doing an extended "midnight stroll" any day of the week when the mood struck me.


I'm guessing that as a man in Germany you feel much safer going for a walk at night than WarKitty as a women in the USA does (yes I know that the USA is statistically safer than it was decades ago, but there's still a perception of danger).

[Florian]

I'm guessing that as a man in Germany you feel much safer going for a walk at night than WarKitty as a women in the USA does (yes I know that the USA is statistically safer than it was decades ago, but there's still a perception of danger).

What makes you think so? Living in one of the densest populated countries on earth, you don´t tend to harbor any illusions about personal safety: Bad things will happen.

[2D8HP]

What makes you think so? Living in one of the densest populated countries on earth, you don´t tend to harbor any illusions about personal safety: Bad things will happen.


True, "Bad things will happen" (or they won't) but Germans (like the Swiss, Japanese, and Norwegians) rightly or wrongly have a reputation of being extremely law-abiding, no Death Wish" or "Assault on Precinct 13" cultural fixation on crime that I'm aware of.

I'm not talking about the reality of danger, just perceptions.

[Florian]

True, "Bad things will happen" (or they won't) but Germans (like the Swiss, Japanese, and Norwegians) rightly or wrongly have a reputation of being extremely law-abiding, no Death Wish" or "Assault on Precinct 13" cultural fixation on crime that I'm aware of.

I'm not talking about the reality of danger, just perceptions.

It´s more complicated and probably way beyond the board rules to discuss this in detail. In short: No way to change anything like sexual assault.

[2D8HP]

It´s more complicated and probably way beyond the board rules to discuss this in detail. In short: No way to change anything like sexual assault.


A greater fear of sexual assault is the primary reason I speculate that WarKitty may feel less comfortable with walking at night, and IIRC she's mentioned in previous threads her weariness of being "cat-called".

But I'm just guessing, it may actually be that she lives in a less dense area and everything is either far away or closed, or it's just the lack of light.

Like you when I was a teenager and young adult I did a lot of restless "night-walking", but I lived in a pretty dense urban area.

[WarKitty]

A greater fear of sexual assault is the primary reason I speculate that WarKitty may feel less comfortable with walking at night, and IIRC she's mentioned in previous threads her weariness of being "cat-called".

But I'm just guessing, it may actually be that she lives in a less dense area and everything is either far away or closed, or it's just the lack of light.

Like you when I was a teenager and young adult I did a lot of restless "night-walking", but I lived in a pretty dense urban area.

Bit of both, yes. Given my area, there's no actual lighting at night, and almost everything closes at 9pm or so. So a middle of the night walk means let's walk around completely unlit roads with no people on them.

[Florian]

Bit of both, yes. Given my area, there's no actual lighting at night, and almost everything closes at 9pm or so. So a middle of the night walk means let's walk around completely unlit roads with no people on them.

Nothing against you personally, as we don´t know each other beyond some very casual conversation, I simply don´t get the "wariness"/"fear"/"anxiety" culture prominently exhibited in the last decade or so, especially in the US.

To try to explain: I´m living in a town called Oranienburg, which makes up the northern end of the greater Berlin area and is attached to the greater public transport system. This town had the living daylight bombed out of it in WW2, having hosted a major bomber production plant as well as the main research facility for a-bomb research, with the result that it´s basically scattered all over the map, with a lot of "dark" areas that have never been rebuild, more undetonated warheads scattered around the landscape than overall inhabitants and even some pieces of radioactive wasteland scattered in-between (General note: Bombing a nuke plant is not a good idea).

So like a lot of people living here and working over in Berlin and spending up to two hours each way in public transport, I´m pretty used to people getting drunk and aggressive while using the metro during their drive home, no public bus service when I get here, walking thru "dark parts" auf the city and passing by ruined structures that simply exploded more or less spontaneously (and also knowing that the local drug dealers and cigarette smugglers that you can normally find at the parking lot of any regular supermarket or mall have already called it a day and the local police is unable or, more precisely unwilling, to handle that topic).

So it´s a matter of perspective, expectations and acceptance.

[WarKitty]

Yeah, generally over here, pretty much everyone I've talked to would consider the idea of me going walking by myself in the middle of the night as absolutely out of the question. Plus if you are walking at that hour, people will assume you're up to no good, because no decent person would just go for a walk in the middle of the night.

[Algeh]

Yeah, generally over here, pretty much everyone I've talked to would consider the idea of me going walking by myself in the middle of the night as absolutely out of the question. Plus if you are walking at that hour, people will assume you're up to no good, because no decent person would just go for a walk in the middle of the night.

While I don't think we live in the same state, if I remember right you're in the PNW too. I've found that going for a walk in the middle of the night (which, in my case, generally meant between 10pm and 1am) is one of those things that varies really widely by where you're walking and how you present yourself (both the parts of how you present yourself that are under your control and those that are not).

As a white female in my early 30s, I used to go walking around my suburb late at night regularly for a few years. It was the only time that fit my schedule, and I was trying to get more exercise. I wore a reflective vest with blinking lights, blinking armbands, and carried a flashlight. I never had anything bad happen, the local police never stopped me to ask what I was doing, and I actually got to know some of my neighbors who were also out late (generally men who were smoking outside). Of course, my suburb has sidewalks and most of it has streetlights. I stopped when I got a knee injury followed by a new job with different hours.

My friend, who at the time was a Hispanic male in his late 30s/early 40s, never had anything bad happen out walking either but would get stopped by police regularly in his neighborhood when he was out walking in the middle of the night. I have no idea if it was a difference of neighborhoods (he lived in a different suburb), a difference of ethnicity, a difference of gender, the fact that he wouldn't make eye contact with people, or the fact that he didn't wear "look at me, I'm on a walk on purpose" lights like I did, but he certainly had a lot more of the "assume you're up to no good experience", which I never had happen to me. (I did have one neighbor assume I was part of some neighborhood watch group, which was kind of a difficult misunderstanding to untangle, but that's a different thing entirely.)

Anyway, you know where you live better than I do, but I had good luck with the middle of the night walks in my Portland suburb a few years ago so it's not necessarily totally out of the question everywhere.

[2D8HP]

3AM, and you can't make much noise because others in the house are asleep?

Off the top of my head:

Backyard astronomy, making visual art, meditation, and prayer.

[kyoryu]

3AM, and you can't make much noise because others in the house are asleep?

If it's 3:35AM (or maybe only 3:34AM) the answer is clearly "write a song".

[Bartmanhomer]

3AM, and you can't make much noise because others in the house are asleep?

Off the top of my head:

Backyard astronomy, making visual art, meditation, and prayer.

Oh boy 3AM. *ate a krabby patty.*

[Scarlet Knight]

Yeah, generally over here, pretty much everyone I've talked to would consider the idea of me going walking by myself in the middle of the night as absolutely out of the question. Plus if you are walking at that hour, people will assume you're up to no good, because no decent person would just go for a walk in the middle of the night.

Multi-step solution to relieve boredom.
1) learn sewing... make costume complete with cape & cowl.
2) learn ninjitsu very well...
3) Take 3 am walks.
4) Combine steps 1-3; then let evil fear YOU!

[AuthorGirl]

I don't know if you can make the commitment right now, but . . . a dog? I know you like kitties, but dogs need to be walked. You can go to the dog park and watch a creature being happy. You might even meet some people there.

And pets are great for alleviating the whole tired-to-the-bottom-of-your-soul thing that it seems like you're going through.

Anyway, that's my two copper pieces. Best wishes :smallsmile:

[WarKitty]

I don't know if you can make the commitment right now, but . . . a dog? I know you like kitties, but dogs need to be walked. You can go to the dog park and watch a creature being happy. You might even meet some people there.

And pets are great for alleviating the whole tired-to-the-bottom-of-your-soul thing that it seems like you're going through.

Anyway, that's my two copper pieces. Best wishes :smallsmile:

I mean, not while living with parents. Plus like, I still can't really go to the dog park at the hours I actually have, because it's closed...

[Aedilred]

I was going to go on at some length based on my experience with depression and finding time to do stuff about how to schedule your time to make/find time for hobbies, but after thinking about it for a few minutes I think we need to start more simply.

You're working ten hours per day, plus presumably travel time to and from work, on night shifts, you're living with your parents, and you don't have any money. Unless this is an absolutely necessary stepping stone to a career with better prospects, I think your first priority ought to be finding a better job.

When it comes to work, after a certain point essentially you end up with a tradeoff between time and money. At early stages in your career or when things are tight sometimes you have to compromise and take jobs with long hours but not much reward because it's better than nothing, but you don't want to be doing that for any longer than absolutely necessary.

Finding a new job takes time but if you have enough time on your hands to feel bored, you have enough time to search. Aim to apply for a job a week or something. It'll suck, but the payoff will hopefully be worth it in the long term.

If this is only a very temporary situation and in a year or so doing this will allow you to take a promotion or something which will pay a lot better or put you back on a better schedule, then disregard the above. But if this is the new normal with no prospect of change, I think getting out of it to something better is the first and most important step towards improving your quality of life - once that's sorted then it's time to start thinking about hobbies and the like.

[Ravens_cry]

Personally? I draw. I have a couple little spiral bound notebooks, cover is about the area of an index card, I take everywhere and a small assortment of pencils (HB ordinary, B art pencil and a mechanical pencil) and white eraser. And then, when an idea hits, I draw. :smallsmile:

[lunaticfringe]

I draw as well, the neat thing is you can walk away at anytime. I do abstract stuff with inks so it doesn't actually have to look like anything. It's more about the act.

Reading actual books.
Painting.
I used to kitbash/assemble/pant minis when I used to play 40k. I do mostly paper for my rpg games cause minis can get expensive. Worth looking into if you are into tt games.
My mom does those adult coloring book mandala thingies.
Hemp necklaces, bracelets, whatever
Beading