What do you do when you’re bored?
When I was a kid, I would play with my dolls the second I was bored. I’d head over to my box full of dolls, place them in different areas of the room, and give them all different jobs and personalities. The blonde Barbie with a blue dress would be the pretty scientist with the nice house, and the brunette would be the famous singer that would go undercover to walk around the town.
I would create different plots and twists with my dolls for several hours a day.
I would also pick up a book.
The second I was bored and decided to stop complaining about it, I would grab a book and read until I was exhausted. I spent hours reading books from the Magic Treehouse, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Who Was, and Fancy Nancy series.
Reading these books during my free time would expand my vocabulary, inspire my imagination and fully immerse me into the worlds these books described. I imagined myself wandering in Ancient Egypt with Jack and Annie from The Magic Treehouse or dressing in Fancy Nancy’s extravagant clothes.
The moments I was bored as a kid allowed me to think outside the box and find something to entertain myself. I created my own board game with my brother and went outside to make potions with the rocks and grass.
If I were to ever use technology, it would be to play Just Dance for hours or build houses in Minecraft. Being bored led to the creation of some of my best childhood memories because it relied heavily on my imagination and creativity. But where’s my creativity now?
Of course, I wouldn’t play with dolls or re-read the entire Magic Treehouse series to entertain myself as a college girl in her 20s—but one day, I realized that the creative spirit I cherished in my childhood is no longer in my life as much as I would like it to be.
Whenever I’m bored, I play a movie on my laptop, watch a YouTube video on whatever piqued my interest or, most likely, I go on my phone for a few hours watching brain-numbing TikToks. My lack of mental stimulation is no longer being fixed by creative solutions as I merely fix it with a long, but unfortunately entertaining, session of brain rot.
I realized this was a problem when I walked into a job interview and they asked me what my hobbies were. Then I realized that I don’t really have any hobbies: occasionally baking random recipes I find online, sometimes playing a few video games with friends, and picking up a book every once in a while.
If I’m not working or doing schoolwork, I’m going out with friends or doing something on my phone. There was no creativity being practiced in my life at all.
Coming to this realization was not the least bit thrilling. I realized that I need to find hobbies, or any creative outlet that would feed the creative spirit I know I have deep down.
I know I’m not the only one dealing with this sort of problem. When I talk to my friends, many of them have also expressed the same concern and disappointment. Instead of finding a new project to work on while they’re bored, they pick up their phones and scroll through reels until they have something else to do.
It’s not unusual, and digital addiction is a real thing that many young people struggle with. But, apart from the obvious health issues a screen addiction could bring, I also noticed the creative deficiency it creates.
Once I had this disappointing epiphany, I knew something had to change. I remembered how much I loved writing as a kid, so I decided to practice writing again.
Whether it was practicing poetry, coming up with stories, or simply just journaling, I just wanted to write.
This led me to joining different organizations in my school that would allow me to make writing a creative outlet in my life.
Now, I bring a notebook everywhere I go to write whenever I feel inspired or want to remember something that has the potential to inspire me to create something new.
I’ve also picked up baking again, and now I like to invent new recipes or add new ingredients every time I redo the same one.
I’ve also become much more disciplined with reading. After making it a habit to read at least 20 pages of a book each day, I’ve been able to finish books much quicker than when I was on my phone all the time.
This journey of trying to be creative again has made me realize that… I think we’re forgetting how to be bored.
I won’t pretend I am fully free from my phone’s captivating grip. I found the things that make me happy and creative, but I still spend a few hours on my phone every week. Sometimes, all I want to do is scroll reels while I’m in bed.
But at the very least, I can confidently say that the creative person inside my brain finally has some occupation. And the next time someone asks me what my hobbies are, I’ll have an honest answer.