Although this is a blog about time management and productivity, I’m also a big advocate of planning for white space. This is, essentially, a time when you don’t schedule anything, don’t do any work, and just let your mind wander so that your brain can have some rest and you also develop new creative ideas for what you’re working on.
I’m always very intentional about not doing any work in the evening and just doing activities that relax me, cultivate my hobbies, or just allow myself to get bored. I really believe that rest is productive, and today I want to share with you 20 things that you can do at night when bored.
20 things to do at night when you’re bored
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Do you ever find yourself in the evening, after work, wondering how you can spend a few hours before going to bed?
Do you, most of the time, end up spending the evening scrolling on social media just out of boredom?
You’re not alone in this! Whilst there’s nothing wrong with spending some time on socials just to update yourself on what’s going on out there, I don’t recommend spending hours on it just because you have nothing else to do.
When I talk about planning for white space, I mean that you don’t schedule any work, but you also don’t waste your entire time on social media.
In our day and age, we don’t even know what it feels like to be bored, because we always have something to entertain us just a “scroll” away.
I learned to find beauty in the boredom, in fact, I now look forward to having “nothing” to do, and then feeling inspired and doing something that turns out to be a great idea!
Here are a few activities I recommend that you can do instead of scrolling on social media when you’re bored.
Re-arrange your room
This can prove to be a very therapeutic activity, especially when done in the evening.
It can be very small things such as moving your bed to a different side of your room or changing the location of your bookshelf.
Just play some music whilst you’re at it, and enjoy the feeling of having a brand new room, without spending a penny!
Declutter your closet
This turns out to be not only therapeutic but also very productive. There’s nothing that stresses me out more than a cluttered closet.
As a woman, I love having lots of different things to wear. I’m not a massive shopper, in fact, I probably only shop twice or three times a year. However, I shop in bulk for the season, and over time it can become difficult to store all my clothes.
So I periodically challenge myself to take an audit of my wardrobe, set aside the items that I want to give away, and then create more space for the items I currently have.
I like to do this when I feel a bit bored and I have a few hours to spare at night.
Do some baking
Hands down one of my favourite things to do! I absolutely love baking, and especially if there are times when I think I’m feeling quite bored, I have a look through my pantry and quickly come up with something to bake.
The good news about it is that you’ll have a sweet treat to enjoy just before you go to bed.
Journal
I wouldn’t say that I do this activity only when I’m bored at night, but if sometimes I miss my regular journaling sessions, then the nighttime is the perfect time for it!
That’s because nobody is chasing you, you don’t have to engage with anyone and can just spend some good time putting your thoughts on paper.
I’ve written a whole post about journaling, so check it out here!
Have some quiet time
When you feel bored at night, instead of filling your white space with social media, try having some quiet time.
I like to spend this time praying and reading the Bible, and I always have a great sense of peace and rest.
Especially as we all live in such a busy, hectic world, having time to wind down is extremely important for our wellbeing.
Read a book
Do you remember the good old books? Well, if you’re feeling bored at night, that’s the perfect chance to grab a book and read a few pages… or chapters!
I personally prefer to read fiction books at night time, because after a long day my brain is typically quite tired and a fiction book is easy to follow.
However, I’m also a huge fan of personal development books, and if you’re interested in this, you can check out some of my favourites here.
Online courses
What better way to spend the night when bored than by learning something new!
These days there’s literally an online course for everything, so whatever your passions and skills are, you’ll find something that will be useful for you.
My favourite way to buy online courses is to look out for a bundle, so you typically spend around $100 but will get so many courses related to the topic you’re interested in.
Of course, if I find a course that’s really good and I want to get my hands on it, I’ll buy it individually and start learning as soon as I can.
Have a pamper session
Give me all the pampering sessions! This is one of my favourite ways to spend the evening when I’m feeling a bit bored.
It typically happens on a Friday or Sunday night if I haven’t made any plans with my partner. I’ll usually spend some time watching tv, but then I start getting bored so I fill out the bath, put on a face mask, do a body scrub, and I soon feel like a new person!
If you’re interested in finding out more about my self-care routine, read this post.
Check in with your goals
One of the things that many people don’t like to admit, is the fact that they don’t check in with their goals.
Everyone loves to brainstorm and set new goals, but not many people like to track their progress.
That’s the least exciting part but is as important as the goal-setting part, especially if you’re serious about achieving success in any area of your life.
So if you happen to be bored at night and do not know what to do, checking in with your goals may be a productive use of your time.
Plan the next day/week
I absolutely love the feeling of a new week, the empty pages on my planner and all the things that I can plan.
I also find it therapeutic because if I don’t plan my weeks in advance, I can easily be very stressed out about the day to day and that’s not a good sign for me.
So if you don’t know what to do in the evening, I suggest you spend some time planning your next day or week.
Sort out your finances
This is not so fun, but it’s very rewarding, and whether we like it or not, it’s a big part of adulting.
I normally go through my budget twice a month; once to set the budget at the beginning of the month, and once to review it at the end.
Each week though, I also keep an eye on my investments to see how they’re performing, and I make sure I check how much money is left in my account so I avoid overspending.
I’m very strict about planning my finances, and you can read more about it here.
Do some colouring in
Another very therapeutic activity that requires very little mental energy is colouring in.
I have a few adult colouring books and also some Bible verses flashcards. I really like doing this when I’m bored because it helps me to unwind, but still keep myself occupied instead of grabbing my phone and scrolling through social media.
Clean
This is definitely not a fun activity for me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m obsessed about everything being clean all the time, I just don’t like doing the cleaning.
So when I find myself being bored and not knowing how to occupy some of my time, I know that cleaning is a good option because it keeps me busy and also helps me to get the job done so I don’t have to worry about it for a bit.
Tidy your laptop
This is decluttering 101 because I know that sometimes our laptops can become a hot mess.
If you’re feeling bored at night, one of the best ways to spend your time is by decluttering your laptop. Clean up your folders, tidy up the desktop, do a backup of your time, and clean your inbox.
It will be a very long job but by the end of it, the satisfaction will be priceless!
Learn a language
One of the reasons many people start learning a new language is because they’re bored, and by doing this they think they’re making good use of their time, which is quite good in my opinion.
I’ve always loved languages – I currently speak 5 including my island’s language.
There was a season when I tried to learn Russian and Arabic, but because I didn’t have as much time to commit and they’re quite difficult languages, I had to stop.
However, a great place to start is by using Duolingo.
Start a side hustle
Some of the greatest businesses were born as small, side projects.
If you have time in the evenings and you tend to feel quite bored after a while, the best way to spend your time is by starting a side hustle.
Whether that’s for the short or long term, you can find something that will work for you.
Some side hustle ideas are:
- Start a blog
- Start flipping items online
- Do tutoring lessons online
- Sell your unwanted house items
- Become a freelancer
- Do online surveys
Have a movie night
A good old movie night is always one of the best ways to fight boredom.
I’m normally a big fan of action movies, but I also quite like a comedy, and sometimes even watching a documentary.
With every sort of streaming platform available to us, there’s really something for everyone out there.
Start crocheting
I haven’t tried this activity personally but one of my friends did, and she said she found it quite therapeutic.
The reason that she started that is because she didn’t want to spend all her evenings on the couch watching tv, or lying in her bed scrolling through Instagram.
So if you are bored and want to find something to do, crocheting may be an interesting option.
Go through your memory box
What a fun activity this is! It can also be quite bittersweet but one of the best things to do for sure.
I’ve been keeping a memory box since I was a little girl and I started keeping my first journals – probably around age 6.
Since then, my journal collection has grown, and over the years I started adding tickets, photos, gifts, and anything that I’d want to keep and remember over the years.
Not everything is a “good” memory, but I still decided to keep some items to remind myself of the journey of my life.
If you do keep something similar and find yourself being bored at night, going through your memory box will be a bittersweet and emotional moment.
Listen to a podcast
Last but not least, a good old podcast can always do the trick when you’re bored.
There’s a podcast out there about literally everything, and it can be a good way for you to use your time, so you don’t spend your evening scrolling, and you also learn something new along the way.
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What to do at night when bored – Final thoughts
As you can see, my idea of productivity isn’t to always fill your time with work and “productive” tasks. Sometimes, being productive means that you enjoy some white space and decide how to occupy your time based on how you’re feeling at that moment.
If you happen to be bored at night, you’ll have plenty of things to do to keep yourself active but without overworking yourself.
