Bored AF? Lonely As Hell? Here Are 13 Things To Do Besides Your Bad Habit

1. Pamper — Gender doesn’t matter here. Treat yo self, boo! Get your nails done, get a massage, put on a face mask, take a bubble bath surrounded by candles and Chopin.

2. Workout — Do some yoga stretches or take a class, bike around your neighborhood, do a pilates YouTube video, take a walk outside, dance, swim in the ocean or community pool, go on a short hike. Get that blood pumping.

3. Read — Head to the library, take out that book you’ve been meaning to read that’s just been a prop on your bookshelf, find a trending political topic online and form an educated opinion, read a self-improvement book. There are so many words out there. Find them. Think about them. Let ‘em marinate in your bones.

4. Listen — Discover new (or forgotten) music (and maybe even make a new playlist for yourself or for someone else), download a new audiobook, listen to a podcast, call up friends or family and hear them out. Get quiet and listen to yourself breathing and the beating of your own magnificent heart. Hear the sounds around you, like those birds or leaves rustling.

5. Meditate —Just try it for even 5 minutes and work up to 30 minutes each day. Or take 10 slow breaths. It’s free and you can do it anywhere as often as you want. Plus there’s hella good, free apps out there now like Insight Timer to help you learn what works best for you.

6. Write — With pen and paper or your keyboard, write out a short story (there’s loads of writing prompts online), journal about your feelings or the day you’ve had or a significant moment in your life, try your hand at a kid’s story, write a letter to a pen pal or snail mail a just-because card to someone.

7. Clean — Get your house/apartment/room in order. Do laundry, change your bed sheets. Sweep the floor. Declutter, purge old stuff, clean out emails, unsubscribe from all those useless listservs and delete old files on your computer. Delete old contacts and texts and photos and screenshots on your phone.

8. Work — Snag a part-time gig as a dog walker, a movie extra, babysit, tutor, become a barista, whatever. Something like this is good for extra cash to go towards a new hobby, but also to learn a new skill (and build tolerance and patience with others).

9. Hobby — Get yourself a new hobby! Maybe your local rec center or library has some cheap classes in person or online. Try photography, make a scrapbook, join an adult sports league, find meetups, search for city events, garden, start a blog, bake, research a country or city and plan a trip there, learn a new language, volunteer in your community.

10. Talk — Call your momma, your family, your friends. Maybe even strike up a convo with your neighbor. If you’re down and out, call a hotline, or find a therapist and get it off your chest.

11. Get out — Change up your scenery. Find a coffee shop, a rooftop, a garden, a museum. Take the subway or bus somewhere and see where the day takes you.

12. Play — Be a kid again and take a break from social media. Buy some crayons, colored pencils or markers and a coloring book (a children’s one with fat lines; those adult ones are way too stressful). Doodle. Finger paint. Make a hopscotch with sidewalk chalk. Swing on the swing set. Go down the slide. Jump rope. Take off your shoes and run barefoot in the grass. Fly a kite. Lay down and look up at the clouds and imagine what shapes they could be. Run through the sprinklers. Play dress up.

13. Watch — Okay, maybe a lazy last resort, but if it keeps you from worse things, sit on down with some Netflix, Hulu, or Youtube. There’s a plethora of cool shows, movies, Ted Talks, DIYers, ballet performances, and music videos to keep you busy.