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Whether you’re a student, part of the working force, or both, you must - like many of us - have been staying home for a while now, and boredom - thanks to Coronavirus - must have hit its highest levels. Well, you’re not alone, my friend, and there’s absolutely many good things you can do to overcome boredom. Let’s name a few:
According to the music streaming service Deezer research, most of us stop discovering new music around the age of 30, and tend listen to the same stuff over and over again. But there are ways to avoid this musical paralysis:
Try today Spotify and YouTube to ease and stunt exploration. Avoid endless variations of what you normally play by making unexpected choices to confuse the algorithms, and who knows? You may come across an incredible band, song or even a glamorous solo by a great star you’ve never heard of before.
Venturing beyond English and Arabic staples can throw up unknown pleasures, from Gallic pop to Afrofunk; widening exposure to K-pop may help you storm the US charts.
Learning to play is another gateway to musical adventures. Budding drummers may be exposed to Clyde “Funky Drummer” Stubblefield, while piano lessons can lead to tinkling along to Chopin – or Chas and Dave.
Many people out there have loathed opera until they saw ETO’s touring production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and reached a whole new understanding about it, so why shouldn’t you give it a try?
Now is the time to finally take on that Harry Potter movie marathon or any other series you’ve been keen to tackle ever since it dropped. Take it as an opportunity to unwind and relax as you unpack all the nuances you missed first time around. Harry Potter, for example, will set you back approximately 19 hours and 39 minutes (including the credits). But if you’re up for more of a challenge, a James Bond movie marathon will set you back two days, four hours and 56 minutes.
If you’re not much of a fan of the moving image, maybe building a library of written word is more up your alley. From Amazon to WHSmith and Booktopia, there are a plethora of places to buy e-books online. Have a book marathon or set goals on how many books you can read in a certain amount of time. The time is now, book worms.
Probably one of the nicest things that has come from this pandemic is the reminder to reach out to people we care about. So, instead of voice calling, why not make video calls with your loved ones? While you can always do FaceTime with your iPhone, Whatsap now even offers video chat between multiple people. Zoom video conference events are also great for more formalized hangouts.
Who says you can’t work out at home? You may worry that you do not have the equipment available at the gym, right? But that shouldn’t be a problem now since you can find many other ways to keep in shape, especially on YouTube, so don’t be lazy!
Doodling, painting, or sketch something is a great way to exercise your creativity. You need not be a professional painter to create an artwork. If you are bored or stressed, you can paint something to ease the mind, say experts. It need not be necessarily displayed in an art exhibition; you can also cultivate it just for passing time. This can also help you build a new skill, which can be great to do when you're bored.
• Drawing or doodling may also increase your intelligence. Research suggests that doodling can help keep you focused and listening by engaging your brain.
• You can also draw or paint your favorite book or movie character if you want to use your imagination.
Coronavirus won’t last forever, so why not be hopeful enough to plan ahead? When you find yourself bored, plan for upcoming trips and events. You can also make small plans. For example, maybe you and your friends have been talking about playing billiards. Make a Facebook event inviting everyone out.
If you enjoy cooking, buy a cookbook and make a new meal every day. Try cooking from a cuisine that is completely new to you, such as French or Thai.
Instead of only catching up with your news feed and the latest news, try making news friends, following new people, joining movies groups, and playing games on social. This can greatly help alleviate boredom and stress accompanied with your current situation.
What better time than when you’re bored to finally fashion a fabulous gallery wall or upcycle old candle jars for your living room? Repositioning your furniture – as well – will also help give your room an entirely refreshed look and feel.
Learning new hacks - no matter what they are for (work hacks, software hacks, kitchen hacks, cleaning hacks… etc.) - would also be a great way you overcome boredom and do something good while you’re free.
A good sleep – just like eating healthy and exercising – is extremely important for your health and well-being. While you sleep, your blood pressure goes down, giving your heart and blood vessels a bit of a rest. The less sleep you get, the longer your blood pressure stays up during a 24-hour cycle. High blood pressure can lead to heart disease, including stroke.
We hope we’ve managed to help you do something useful while being at home trying to figure out some good things to do.
Voila Team.