As I finished my final football season, I knew that there was going to be a major issue. Football was 3 hours after school everyday; it took up a lot of time. During that time I wish I had more free time, but now that I do have this free time, I have a problem of being constantly bored. There is virtually nothing to do around Emerson, let alone Bergen County. I hear a lot of teens talking about this problem, so I researched the best things to do when bored.
In my time researching, I looked through thousands of things to do on websites. I picked the top 15 things that can work for anyone.
-Making a Vlog-
Making a vlog is actually fun. You just record yourself doing interesting things that people would want to sit and watch you do. Now the vlog can’t be anything boring, it has to be interesting. Go on adventures, talk about tips and tricks for certain things, and be entertaining. The only annoying part is editing the video afterwards.
-Listening to Music-
We all love listening to music and jamming out. Nothing can go wrong when you are listening to your favorite music and just worrying about what song you want to listen to next. Make a playlist for each mood you feel. Personally, I have a Rap, 80s, Rock, Country, and chill music playlist for each mood I’m in, depending on the day.
-Doodle, Color, or Draw on Some Paper-
Everyone loves to doodle in class when they’re bored. But have you actually just sat down and doodled in your freetime? This is actually very cathartic and who knows- you could actually be really artistic. Draw scenes, come up with plans for an invention that will make you millions of dollars, sketch out your future house, etc. Let your imagination do the drawing.
-Look Through Old Photos and Videos-
This struck strings in my heart a little. Looking at old photos and videos could bring you back to those good old times you had, whatever you were doing. Make albums of great times and bad times, etc. Be connected back to the memories of the photos you’ve taken.
-Take a Long Shower-
Not that everyone doesn’t do this already, but taking long showers really passes time. Do what you usually do but just longer and take your time. You’re in no rush since you’re bored! Throw on a little music and now you’re tackling two things off the list.
-Exercise-
It’s a new year, new you. Shed off those holiday dinners you had and get in shape. Everyone wants a good looking body and are bored most of the time. Go out, run, lift, get some fresh air! Exercise is great for health and passes time by when you’re bored. It’s a win win situation. What are you waiting for?!
-Closet Clean-out-
Yes, this could be a little annoying, but in the long run it passes time and gives you a clean, organized room. You could find things you’ve been missing for years, trust me. Yeah I’m talking to you; clean that one chair that has all your laundry piled up on it; we all do it, you’re not alone. Everything is organized in one place and now you beat boredom and a mess of a room.
-Clean up your Emails-
This one is going to be rough, I get it. Before doing this, I had 2,005 emails unread in my Gmail. This is a reliever when you start fresh and know every email coming in now. This also protects you from a typical English teacher checking your essays or something, then noticing how many emails you have and making a comment. It happens. Every. Single. Time.
-Never Used Birthday/Christmas Gifts-
This could be a hit or miss for some people. Personally I’ve had plenty of Christmas gifts I’ve never used, just sitting under my desk. For example, my Dad (I mean Santa) got me a rocket kit that I never got to use for Christmas. I now have a bunch of free time and experience with rockets that I will be launching very soon. Check out if you have anything just sitting around that you’ve never opened.
-Make a Bucket List-
This could be pretty fun, trust me. Write down things you want to do before you die: places you want to go, vacations, activities you want to do, etc. For my rough draft of a bucket list, I found I really want to travel and go to tropical places. Additionally, adrenaline inducing activities such skydiving are always at the top of bucket lists.
-Learn How to Do Origami-
This one was the best activity to do in my opinion. I learned how to do origami with money. I learned how to make dollar t-shirts, swords, hearts, elephants. It was a lot of fun and people actually found it interesting when I did the origami. Look up tutorials on YouTube. It was really easy to learn.
-Learn Magic-
Origami was cool, but magic tricks with cards, ARE YOU KIDDING ME? This was also really amazing to learn. Simply looking up magic tricks with cards on YouTube will show you thousands of really easy tricks to do. This peaks the interest of a lot of people and you’ll be viewed as an interesting, mysterious, magical person all at the same time.
-Go Geocaching-
This is actually pretty interesting. By signing up on the geocaching website, you have access to a map where it shows you caches planted by people around your area. Go to the spots and find the treasure. It’s pretty fun.
-Watch a Ted Talk-
Ted Talks are very informative and you can learn things you’ve never known before. There are thousands of videos available that talk about everything and anything. Search what you want to be informed on and you’ll be beating boredom while learning something new.
-Get a Massage-
For the finale: get a massage. We all deserve a nice professional massage from the local masseuse. This is a reliever and you feel great afterwards.

Overall I hope you all find these coping mechanisms to boredom useful and helpful. Affordable, fun, and time consuming methods, sounds like a good time to me.