101 Things To Do, When There is Nothing to Do

How often do you feel like there’s nothing that you can do? Well, I do often. I end up surfing the net or watching TV. My favorite pass times are Whatsapp, social media, and Youtube.

When my son is around, I play with him or tell him a story. We play pretend games a lot.

When he’s not around, and I am not working I fall victim to endless videos that Facebook serves, one after the another. Finally when I come to my senses, usually a big chunk of time has passed.

I feel frustrated and start thinking about what else I could have done.

I often feel lost and lazy.

I watch the clock ticking by.

Absolutely nothing to do!

However, some other times when I am buried to my neck working or just about to sleep, my thoughts veer into a series of things that I needed to get done. But where’s the time?

This is an irony – when you have time, you seem to get little idea about using it the best way. And when you can’t do anything else than what you’re already doing – you seem to find a host of other things to do!

Yesterday afternoon my son asked me what he could do.

I thought most of us face the same irony. When we have time we get clueless.

I wrote down 20 things that he could do, on a whiteboard and hung them on the wall.

Now, he can go through the list and pick things based on his mood.

Here is a similar attempt for the adults. Before you start with this list –

Create a running to-do list (honey-to-do-list). You can use your phone, paper whiteboard, or anything. The idea is to write them down. 

Whenever you have time, first, go through your list and finish them. If you still have some time to kill, follow the list below.

101 things to do, when there is nothing to do

1)   Earn some money

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2)    Jot down some new ideas which can be about your growth or about any new project you can do at your home, a new side hustle, a book to read, or a new game to play with your child.

3)    Internet is a huge source of knowledge. You can surf to gain knowledge about things. You can be up to date with current affairs.

4)    Play with your kids, and spend quality time with them. As a parent, the best gift you can give to them is your undivided attention.

5)    Write a thank-you note to someone who helped you. Send it via email, SMS, or letter. Maybe a thank you note for your spouse, just because they are together with you.

6)   Youtube is the best place to learn a new skill. You can get a tutorial on almost anything; From making your drone to fixing your toilet flush – you can find A-Z how-to videos on YouTube.

7)   If you’re a blogger, get online and check how many people have responded to your blog. If you’re not, check your last social media post.

8)   Open a new bank account online and earn a promotional bonus. Sometimes banks pay a large amount of money when you open a new checking/savings account with them and keep a minimum deposit for a few months. This is easy money!

9)   Play your favorite music album and relax with the music. A satisfied soul can be very productive later on. If you’re in a mood, why not little exercise, yoga, or even, meditation?

10) Tune in to a food channel and cook the same dish they are showing on TV. At least give it a try!

11)  Write something. Writing takes a lot of time. Whenever you write time flows faster. Try it and see yourself.

12)  Read a book, and try to finish a chapter. Or read the newspaper. Your goal is to read. When you read your brain cells get a workout.

13)  Post an interesting event or a joke on your Facebook feed. Better, you take a picture of plants, people, and flowers with your phone and post them online. Then wait for the reactions and comments. This gives you a feeling of connection with other people.

14)  Improve your finances – Talk to someone, your advisor, your colleague, or friends. Talk about investment, market conditions, economy, companies to invest in, etc.

15)  Consider taking some time out to walk with your family. A walk together improves family bonding.

16)  Take a test of things you’re learning or you are good at or worst at. Consider taking an online IQ test to gauge your level. Search online for tests and answer questions. This is another excellent brain exercise.

17)  Take online marketing paid surveys and earn some extra cash.

18) Dial up an old friend you haven’t spoken to for years. Make a physical call. 

19) You can stretch your back to prevent lower back pain.

20)  Are you reading this when you’re waiting for an appointment or meeting to start? Well you have a short time to kill now, right? Check the emails you received since morning. Re-read them and reply to emails you set aside to reply to later.

21)  Check out the results of your favorite team on the internet.

22)  Write the next chapter of your novel and think of how to make it the best in the market after publishing.

23)  Plant some trees in the backyard and give them names.

24)  Feed birds that come perching in a nearby tree

25)  Get the trash out! Clean the indoor garbage bins.

26)  Start cooking something you love and haven’t eaten for a while.

27)  Solve a crossword puzzle. There are many free online sources around.

28)  Practice some simple yoga routines. You can also try meditation.

29)  Talk to your neighbor, if you happen to see them around.

30)  Pray together with your family, and visit a church or a temple.

31)  Is it daytime, and you are at home? Look down the window, does the lawn need a mow? Are there weeds growing? Do the plants need watering? Does a plant look unhealthy or overgrown?

32)  Make as many paper planes and fly them. This will be fun for the kids.

33)  Are you alone? Go to a movie theater and watch a movie alone with jumbo popcorn to munch on. This will form a forever memory.

34)  Have a chat with your friend/wife on the new methods of improving your communication and time efficiency

35)  Look around, do you see things that are not clean, not properly arranged? Go fix it. Wipe a surface down, vacuum the floors, arrange cabinets, and arrange the kitchenware or bookshelves. 

36)  Read about your employer on the internet and get the market perspective about them. This helps you be prepared for things to come. You can also surprise your colleagues with your knowledge afterward.

37)  Clip your nails, and groom yourself. 

38)  Compete in mental mathematical calculations, especially multiplication with your partner or child.

39)  Get your child to recite and teach you one of the songs that were taught at school.

40)  Do you have a voice assistant at home, Google Home, or Alexa? You can do lots of talking. Weather, news, playing music, etc.

41)  Get into your competitor’s website and look at the new products they came up with.

42)  Compare the performance of your product with those of competitors.

43)  Tell a fiction story out of the blues and see how you can create and recite it at the same time

44)  Have coffee with your clients and listen to their views about your work.

45)  Take some time with one or several employees to establish whether the new management motivation is working.

46)  When it’s hopeless – Look and count vehicles passing by, through your window

47)  Especially when you’re desperate – Count the number of people you see, standing on your balcony

48)  Head down to a bubble bath for additional relaxation.

49)  Do you have a hobby? Find online forums about that hobby. Register, read, and contribute. You’ll learn a lot about your hobby and your interest would be renewed.

50)  Make tea or coffee and enjoy a lazy afternoon.

51)  Try painting using crayons. Consider competing with your child

52)  Remember and write the names of all your classmates in college. reunite with them. Call up. Send text.

53)  Play a mind game – how many states have you visited? How many countries? How many country capitals you can remember? What did you do at the same time last week? Last month?

54)  Take a stroll to wind up after a busy working schedule

55)  Think there are too many things at home and you don’t need those many? Pick them up for a Goodwill donation.

56)  Donate blood to the local health center

57)  Take a shower. Especially in hot countries without central air conditioning, people do take showers multiple times a day.

58)  Visit a local museum and be amazed.

59)  Make your family budget for the month. Or check your last month’s spending and see if there’s anything unusual there. 

60)  Consider visiting a dentist to have your teeth checked, or at least make an appointment for it.

61)  Take your pet for a checkup

62)  Visit an animal shelter with your children

63)  Check your latest credit score and credit report.

64)  Get your bank account statements and look at your cash flow. Is your finances cash flow positive?

65)  Move to the highest point of the tallest building using the elevator and get back to the ground floor

66)  Check your weight, if you gained some then write down a plan to get rid of the excess you gained.

67)   Are you an individual stockholder? research the companies you own shares of.

68)  Go window shopping to identify the more cost-effective shopping mall

69)  Drive to several animal health centers with a view of establishing the one with better facilities and services offered at lower rates

70)  Ride a bike in the neighborhood, if you go out with kids, excellent!

71)  Walk 2000 steps, at least. This one is my favorite. You can keep count by keeping your phone in your hand or with a smartwatch. 

72)  Do you have barbells and exercise weights at home? Get some exercise?

73)  Start learning a new language. There are many free online resources to get you started.

74)  Volunteer to assist a local school sports team. Be a coach. A coaching assistant.

75)  Is your passport, visa, global entry, TSA pre-check, club membership, etc. up to date? Check your documents.

76) Set up a Zoom meeting with your best friends. 

77)  Record a song with your family, and share it on social media.

78)  Do you own the same email account for years? Go back years and read emails you got on this day.

79)  Check the marketing offers you receive in the mail. Does anything look interesting? If they are, do more research online.

80)  Check the new online courses that one can take to build/improve your skills.

81)  Go out for a drive. Listen to music and relax. Pick some less crowded roads. Set your distance based on the time you have.

82)  Especially if you’re alone and your day was bad, cry out loud. This will help you get back positive energy. Kids do it all the time and come back stronger after every such crying episode.

83)  Check your last performance report. Check any negative feedback that you got recently from someone. Look back and try to be better.

84)  We have been publishing since 2011. Go to the archive and read the previous posts, you’ll not be disappointed!

85)  Try to learn a new aspect of computers. Search for phrases like “10 hidden tricks in Mac” or “10 keyboard shortcuts in Windows computer” on YouTube. You’ll be surprised by the result.

86)  Check the market trend for local and international products and services. This could inform you on how to design recommendations about your company’s products

87)  Plan for the next holiday. Start your research now.

88)  Write something, maybe a line of a poem, or a paragraph of a news story. Write diary. Write your goals for tomorrow. There are so many things to write about.

89)  Make some home crafts using clay. Compete who makes the best in the family.

90)  Remove your bedroom items and fumigate the room

91)  Remove the cobwebs from the house outside

92)  Clean the gutter all around the house

93)  Make paper toys with your child.

94)  You and your children, together make a fictional story.

95)  Do you play an instrument? You know what I am trying to say…

96)  Play with your pet

97)  Discuss politics with your friends. Time flies when a group of people talk about politics.

98)  Take some time out and think about work effectiveness in the next five years. Are you lagging behind others? Are you motivated enough? What are the reasons? Starting noting down for further analysis.

99)  Men love fishing, even if you’re a woman, you can try a hand at fishing. Take the fishing gear, buy some bait, and start fishing.

100)  Ask your child to write the names of all the classmates. Then add a couple of sentences for each of them. Then add their hobbies, positive aspects, etc.

101)   Start drinking! If you have nothing to do, then why don’t you relax with a wine or a beer? You’ll not feel you have nothing to do.

What did I miss? What do you like to do when you have nothing to do?