Crushing, depressing boredom. Suggestions?
Asked by
Nullo (
22009
)
February 13th, 2011
Three days of holding down the fort, just myself and the dog, have convinced me that I should cultivate some more social activities. Most of my friends are still in school, or work, or both (making it hard to plan activities in the short-term), so I think that I might need to make more friends.
I work, but I get two days a week off and they, and my hours, move around too much for any sort of regular activity – they plot the schedule out to three weeks, and that’s it.
The depression isn’t anything major – just a side-effect of the boredom- but it is annoying.
Suggestions?
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19 Answers
Take the pup out for a walk… to a dog park, downtown, wherever. Dogs attract people like nothing else! Plus, the exercise will be great for you
Maybe join a group that has similar interests or hobbies as you?
I consider choosing friends a pretty important task. I can see myself skipping cities in my future.. I suppose I should consider how I would ever create a great social group from scratch again. I figure I would start with my personal interests. I’d just get involved in the things I liked most in as social a way possible. Look for people who can take me deeper into the things I’m intrigued by and who I can probably give back to in some way. I’d try to find the ones who are interested in helping me improve on whatever it is I want to get better at.
You could try preparing for this exam.
I first saw it circulating in hard copy (in a slightly different version; someone has “improved” this) sometime in the 1970’s, when it was billed as a Mensa test. Took two seconds to find it on the web using the search terms “remove your own appendix” and “create life.”
Not that I’m taking your problem lightly, @Nullo. Thought this might make you smile and relieve your boredom for a minute. But there’s also the notion that some of your glorious free time might be put to use in service of some grand accomplishment. Isn’t there anything you aspire to and anything you could do to further that aspiration?
How about www.meetup.com ?
They have an incredible range of special interest groups for everything under the sun from the spiritual to the profane and everything conceivable in between.
And you can even start your own. I was really surprised by the variety.
One can decide to go to most meetings listed on the spur of the moment
Volunteer? There are so many organisations you can do some voluntary work for. We have an organisation that lists all the volunteering opportunities in different areas. The information usually says whether you have to be there at regular hours or not.
Get a book, may I suggest “The Spellman Files,” then find a park bench. The rest is easy to figure out. ;-)
@nullo, my wife and I do game night. I’ve been struck by how isolated we become. We play anything from charades to apples to apples. I know when I end up by myself I have to fight just staying in, but sometimes I get myself to the library and read there just to get myself out of that rut. Do you live in a rural or urban area?
How about becoming a host for a foreign student so you can meet once a week for a couple of hours? When I was a student in Lawrence, Kansas more than 20 years ago I just did that. We are still in touch writing each other at Christmas. See
http://www.volunteermatch.org/search/opp293140.jsp
“HOST AN INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE STUDENT!
Hosting can be an enriching experience for the entire family that will last a lifetime.
By opening your home and heart to a student from overseas, your family will gain a new global perspective, many memories, and – quite possibly – a new family member!”
You can also use this website doing something else
http://www.volunteermatch.org
Just enter your ZIP code.
I agree with @Buttonstc and @Mz_Lizzy – boredom is a privilege others don’t have. Devote some of your time to those others.
I was bored doing nothing during the weekday nights except coming home and cooking dinner for the family. So when I got an email a few weeks ago about www.pawmettolifelines.com and their need for volunteers to help out with abandoned and neglected animals in their no-kill shelter, I figured the very least I could do is give them a few hours a week to walk the dogs, clean water bowls, fold laundry, help with the paperwork on adoptions, stroke kitties, or whatever else they need from me. I explained right away that I could NOT foster any animals in my home. I have a ten year-old Shih Tzu that has been the only baby for her whole life and I could not introduce another animal in the house, but I can go to the shelter and give them a few hours of my time. So far, I have found it to be hugely rewarding, and I am far from bored on Tuesday evenings!! See who needs you and give them a little of your time. I’m betting YOU will be the biggest beneficiary of that time well spent!
You could volunteer at Planned Parenthood or maybe GLAAD?
@FutureMemory pardon me, but what’s PLanned Parenthood and GLAAD?
Try to tame a mountain lion. That’ll keep you busy.
@incendiary_dan No mountain lions around here – it’s either got to be a bear or a coyote. Or a boar, but I think that this neighborhood has enough in the way of pet pigs.
@queenie Or, they facilitate the termination of the unborn, and assault traditional values.
Start learning something new! Take up a couple of clases of something.
Aren’t you interested in a musical instrument? Well, there you have something.
But you can do other things too: Sports (not my cup of tea, but, oh well, you may like it!), reading clubs, photography lessons, chess.
There are a lot of things to do, and if you go and take classes, you’ll meet some new people!
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