Things Worth Trying When You Are Bored

simple, meaningful things that make you feel more alive

We have never had more things to do. And somehow, everything feels boring.

The moment there’s a gap… waiting in line, sitting alone, eating lunch, lying in bed, we reach for our phones to fill it. We call boredom good now. We romanticize it. Post about it. Make aesthetic reels about “slow living.”

But actually being bored? We can’t stand it.

With so much entertainment right at your fingertips, it’s almost impossible to get bored in the modern world. You pick up your phone to check WhatsApp. One reel becomes ten. Ten becomes an hour. An hour becomes four. Then you feel tired. Anxious. Empty. So you scroll some more.

And one day you look up and wonder: “Why doesn’t anything excite me anymore?”

If you know that feeling, here are a few things worth trying:

- Explore old tech as a hobby

Before smartphones became a multipurpose tool, there was old tech. Alarm clocks for alarm. MP3 players/iPod for music. A calculator for calculating. A camera for taking pictures. Wrist watches. Radios. Pens and paper. Books. Magazines. The ability to spell (iykyk). There was a time when every gadget had a single purpose. Sure, it’s more convenient now. I won’t deny that. But it has taken away the fun. It’s too bland. You don’t have to get everything. But you can try some. Like I use pen and paper for writing. I have a polaroid camera for capturing some special moments and keeping them in a real album. I have never used a smartwatch, I love my classic Seiko watch.

Old tech may not make your life easy, but it will certainly make it more exciting. For me, that's made life much more interesting. Old tech has life. It lives and grows with you. And it’s something your can pass on to the next generation.

- Get high on Art (art high)

This one is a bit nuanced. I invented this word, ‘art high’. Couldn’t think of what else to call it. It’s like I find something interesting in a book or on the web that fires my curiosity. And then… I get obsessed about it for days. Sometimes even weeks.

Like a couple of months ago, it was mechanical watches. I jumped into rabbit holes. Reddit threads, books, podcasts about watches. I was just blown away by the craft of making a mechanical watch. A watch isn’t just a watch anymore. It’s engineering, history, craftsmanship, materials, obsession, aesthetics, and hundreds of tiny decisions made by people you’ve never met.

I call this an “art high.” You discover something ordinary and realize there is an entire universe hiding inside it.

Before watches, it was cameras. Before that it was fountain pens. And before that it was coffee. Before that it was paintings. It’s the simple ordinary things. And I love diving deep and learning everything until my curiosity is satisfied. And then… I move to the next thing.

- Deep thinking walks

This is one of my favorites. I pick up one thing. Not two. Not three. Just one. One simple topic. Could be about philosophy, psychology, a tweet you read that completely changed how you saw the world. And then, you go for a long walk with it. You connect it with what you already know and apply it to your own life or your friends lives. See it from different perspectives. Like this morning I spent an hour walking with what you are reading right now. The goal is to deepen your thinking. It not only improves your concentration, but makes you more capable of focusing on one thing.

- Long-term journaling

This one can keep you focused for hours. It’s simple. You make a 5-year or 10-year plan. What do you want to do or achieve in the next 5 or 10 years? What are the actions you need to take to get there? And more importantly what kind of person you need to become? And then you reflect on the mental patterns are stopping you. It helps you to study yourself. It will show you the resistance points. Your mind will try to sabotage the plan. Do not get influenced by it. The whole goal is to see your life objectively like you’re planning it for a client. And then, carefully removing the obstacles standing in your path.

- Explore a completely new place

Have you noticed when you go to a new place, time seems to slow down? It’s because your mind is more alert. More in the present. I keep one day every month for visiting a new place. Either with a friend or alone. I call it the adventure day. A library. A museum. An art gallery. A stand-up comedy show. A concert. Circus. A temple. Some historical place. A monastery. A tech meet-up. A book fair. A long drive to an unexplored cafe. Trek in the mountains.

These little adventures make life so much more alive. You’re going to love this one. Try it.

- Curate playlists

Don’t just listen to whatever the algorithms serve you. Algorithms don’t have a taste. But you do. Music is sacred. It’s something that touches your soul. Curate your own music. You can use old tech like MP3 players or a vinyl record player if you’re classic old school. If that’s too complicated, you can simply create playlists in Spotify or YouTube Music. I use YouTube Music. And I have playlists of my favorite music based on genres and moods. Like I mainly listen to rock, classical, lo-fi, and some country music. But if it’s raining, then I go to my moods playlist. Whimsical, nostalgic, high-vibe, calm, chill, peace, focus. Music has life. And it can change your whole day and vibe in a few minutes.

- Read fiction

The old saying goes, if you are bored, pick up a book. But there’s a problem. Which book? Where do I start? Can’t read more than 10 minutes without getting distracted. I feel you. These problems are real. If you haven’t read in a long time, focus can be an issue. The solution is to not read viral books recommended by influencers. They’re doing it for likes, not to actually help you.

Don’t begin with a 900-page philosophical masterpiece. Give yourself a reason to turn the next page. Start with thrillers (or mysteries). The good thing about thrillers is they keep you hooked, turning pages. I started with Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Stephen King thrillers, and Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon series before moving on to deeper ones like Russian and European literature. Reading should feel like fun, not work.

And one more thing… do not romanticize physical books. Read it on your phone, on a Kindle, or whatever feels most easy and frictionless. The goal is reading, not hoarding.

Here are a few books you can try:

• Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke, if you want wonder

• Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein, if you want something sci-fi

• Pet Sematary by Stephen King, if you want something dark

• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, if you want something addictive

• The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, if you want a long adventure (Currently reading)

- Go on a coffee date with yourself

When was the last time you took yourself out? Like just for fun. I guess it’s been a long time. Do it today. Take a long shower. Put on something you feel good in. Get ready. And go to a nice coffee place. You can read a book there. Or journal. Serendipity works in mysterious ways. You may meet someone new. Discuss the book you are reading. Have a great conversation. A casual conversation with a stranger can spark a lifelong friendship (or romance). Or you can just chill alone and enjoy your own peace and quiet. Either way, it’s a win-win. If you’re bored, go explore.

- Do nothing

The best way…. do nothing. Just sitting in your home, chilling alone, and doing nothing. Drink tea in silence. Stare at a wall. Look out the window. Just sit in silence listening to your breath. No TV. No books. No scrolling. No entertainment. Just exist without worrying about "what to do next". Relax in your own energy.

We have normalized overconsumption. You feel tired and overwhelmed and anxious because your brain never gets a break. Boredom is the cure. This is what actually calms your mind and nourishes your soul. The ordinary. The little things.

So… that’s about it.

Life goes on. With or without doing these things. But I believe trying some of these things can make life feel way more alive than staring at a screen.

So the next time you’re bored, don’t reach for your phone. Go for a walk. Pick up a strange book. Take yourself somewhere you’ve never been. Follow a rabbit hole. Or sit there and do absolutely nothing.

See what happens.

Have a great Sunday.

– Karun

PS: A lot of these ideas eventually found their way into Depth Over Noise, my book about attention, curiosity, and living with less noise. It's free if you'd like to read it. You can get here.

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