Zero judgment right here—all of us are victims of senseless scrolling. It’s virtually muscle reminiscence at this level. It begins with pulling out your smartphone and sometimes ends with perusing social media till you’ve misplaced all sense of time and area. Nevertheless, we’re not right here to bore you—we all know firsthand that there’s no lack of issues to do in your telephone. Whereas it’s not our go-to for occupying boredom, loads of telephone actions may be productive, academic, and possibly even enjoyable.
Featured picture by Riley Reed.
One thing Enjoyable
1. Name your mother. You’ll get some much-needed mama consolation and love, and he or she’ll be completely thrilled to listen to from you. Everybody advantages from a check-in, particularly when it’s spontaneous—it’ll make her day.
2. Textual content an previous pal from school (or highschool, or camp, and so on.). Shoot them a bit observe to say hello and allow them to know you’re enthusiastic about them.
3. Play a recreation of Wordscapes. Fireplace up some mind cells and increase your vocabulary when you’re at it with this word-based puzzle recreation.
4. Test your horoscope. When you haven’t but, then it’s time to get on the Co-Star or The Sample bandwagon. Get the inside track in your beginning chart, every day horoscopes, and see how appropriate you might be with pals and lovers alike.
5. Plan your subsequent (actual or imaginary) trip. Take a peek round HotelTonight and Airbnb and plan your subsequent getaway, even when it’s simply in your head for now. Choose the situation of your desires and save any cool spots that catch your eye for future adventures.
6. Add cute photographs to the one you love’s contact data. That manner, everytime you get a textual content or telephone name, your favourite image of them pops up. It’ll make you smile each time, I promise!
7. Make a Spotify playlist. Choose an event or temper (cocktail celebration, bathtime jams, rainy-day feels) and set about creating essentially the most iconic playlist you’ll be able to probably think about. Undergo your library, take a look at instructed songs, and get impressed. Don’t neglect to share it with family members so everybody can benefit from the fruits of your labor.
8. Play Wordle. As a result of everybody’s doing it, too—and half the enjoyable is evaluating your first-word technique with different devoted gamers.
9. Discover Google Maps. Downloading Google Maps is such a enjoyable solution to discover locations internationally you’ve at all times wished to (and possibly plan to) go to. Or, you’ll be able to merely plan out a visit someplace native. You’ll by no means know what you may uncover!
10. Make a imaginative and prescient board. Who doesn’t love romanticizing their future? Get misplaced in your desires by making a dream board on any graphic design app.
11. Make a “wants” listing. I don’t condone impulsive procuring, however I do suggest making a listing of every little thing you’ve been wanting in order that if you really feel like treating your self, you’ll be able to spend on what issues. Half the time, I don’t actually need no matter I used to be so desperately wanting as soon as upon a time.
One thing to Get Organized
12. Undergo your photostream and delete photographs you don’t want. The 45 photos you took whereas making an attempt to seize a tulip fluttering within the breeze? Chances are high you don’t want fairly that many. Liberate some area in your telephone and within the cloud by downsizing your assortment.
13. Replace your contacts. Have you ever ever gone by your contact listing and puzzled how half of those folks acquired in there? It’s unlikely you’ll want to talk with “Joe—Philly Dog Walker 2003” anytime quickly, so be at liberty to delete him and comparable listings.
14. Have interaction your internal chef. Looking out round for step-by-step recipes (pictures included) and even how-to video tutorials could make meals appear much less of a problem. You’ll choose up loads of spectacular cooking expertise and even study to arrange your procuring listing. Heading to the grocery retailer in a frenzied, stressed-out flurry isn’t enjoyable.
15. Curate your podcast subscriptions. I’m the type one that hears a couple of new podcast and instantly subscribes—truthfully, earlier than I even hearken to an episode. Most of us have a core 5 podcasts we hearken to persistently. To make extra space for locating newly dropped episodes, take a while to evaluate your subscriptions and delete any of people who now not communicate to you.
18. Streamline your work and life with Notion. Get on board with the “that girl” app of the second you’ve seen throughout Insta and TikTok. Notion supplies you with 1000’s of free, pre-built templates so you’ll be able to manage each a part of your life and make progress on initiatives, targets, hobbies, and all the various to-do’s that inevitably pile up.
19. Plan your grocery listing. It is a nice solution to finances for the week in your free time. I like to buy on the web site for my grocery retailer to ensure I’m additional cautious about what I’m spending.
21. Create a shared calendar. When you and your companion or pals have jam-packed schedules, making a shared calendar could make it simpler to schedule a second to spend time collectively with none stress.
22. Uninstall apps you don’t use. Clearing out your telephone is one other solution to de-clutter and manage your (digital) area. When you don’t use it greater than twice per week, do away with it!
23. Replace your notifications and alarms. Updating pointless notifications from apps and alarms, you don’t/do want is a solution to keep targeted and decrease your stress ranges. Fixed notifications are identified to set off anxiousness, so eliminating the surplus in your free time is an ideal solution to begin dwelling stress-free.
One thing Enjoyable
24. Do that 15-minute stretch class from Alo Strikes. Mud off the cobwebs and transfer your physique with a mild stretch class. You are able to do it just about wherever in the event you’re shameless, or put it aside for if you’re residence and want to combine it up between Zooms.
25. Follow Breathwork. Everyone knows easy methods to breathe—proper? Seems, practising correct, calming respiratory methods can cut back stress and anxiousness and make it simpler to get the standard sleep all of us want (sure, please!).
26. Shade one thing enjoyable utilizing the grownup coloring e-book app Shade Remedy. This oddly soothing app is a straightforward, entertaining solution to cross the time. It’s a artistic and interesting app that’s continually updating its pictures and shade palette choices, so that you’ll by no means run out of whimsical designs to get pleasure from.
27. Make a seasonal Pinterest meals board. Is it simply me, or is there one thing deeply enjoyable about scrolling by recipes and choosing out a weekly menu? Curate a brand new board with attractive recipes to attempt within the upcoming season. It’ll kill time now and offer you one thing to stay up for later.
28. Do that free 10-minute meditation from Headspace. Rapidly middle your self and focus your respiratory with a brief meditation. You’ll be amazed at how grounded and refreshed you’ll really feel in such a small period of time.
29. Assist your psychological well being. Actual makes high quality psychological healthcare accessible to these of us searching for out remedy however who’re annoyed with exorbitant costs and hard-to-find therapists. You’ll dive into 8-week, therapist-guided applications that target one psychological well being subject at a time. It provides you area and help to know your self higher, construct stronger communication expertise, and develop in each space of your life.
30. Journal your ideas. Both in your notes app or another journaling app you get pleasure from, writing your ideas down is a straightforward solution to get rid of stress and keep grounded as a substitute of dropping your self in social media apps.
One thing Mildly Instructional
31. Brush up in your geography expertise (or artwork historical past or overseas language) with Brainscape. Flashcards for adults, want we are saying extra?
32. Dive deep into studying on Skillshare. With 1000’s of courses to select from in actually each single career-building, private growth-promoting class (knitting! jewellery making! pictures!), Skillshare makes it potential to turn into an professional (or avid beginner) in any realm you’d like.
33. Hearken to an academic podcast collection. I extremely suggest the Princess Diana episodes of You’re Unsuitable About. This five-part podcast collection provides listeners an in-depth view of Diana’s life. It respects her reminiscence whereas remaining neutral, traditionally correct, and, better of all, deeply entertaining.
34. Learn an essay from Joan Didion’s The White Album. This basic essay assortment by no means will get previous, even when a few of Didion’s previous observations can now stand up to present process a little bit of considerate, analytical criticism. The sensible author weaves her private experiences throughout the bigger nationwide problems with the late Sixties. It’s a must-read for bookworms.
35. Remedy the New York Instances Crossword Puzzle. Make the most of your subscription and put that thoughts to work with this basic crossword puzzle. In case you have entry to the crossword, then you may also play the NYT’s different video games, like Letter Field and Spelling Bee. It’s so price it.
36. Play a recreation of chess. Brush up in your chess expertise with this free app. Chess will maintain you occupied for loads of time, and in the event you don’t know easy methods to play, it’s an awesome pastime to study!
37. Set up your Goodreads. That is, fingers down, one in every of my favourite apps. Not solely are you able to discover a whole lot of 1000’s of books and fall in love with new-to-you genres, however it additionally provides you the prospect to attach with readers around the globe and share your sincere literary ideas. The extra you evaluate books you’ve learn, the higher and extra aligned the suggestions you obtain can be. So spend a bit time reflecting in your faves and share!
38. Learn (and pay attention!) your coronary heart out on Libby. Libby helps you to take a look at library books, audiobooks, magazines, and extra out of your native library. It retains all of your loans, notes, bookmarks, and studying progress in a single place—plus, you should utilize it offline. So the following time you end up caught on a aircraft with out Wi-Fi, you recognize what to do.
39. Study a brand new language. When you’re eager to brush up in your French or lastly make progress in your aim of turning into fluent in Spanish, there’s no higher solution to do it than with Duolingo. It makes studying a brand new language straightforward with mini, bite-sized classes you are able to do wherever—even in the event you solely have 5 minutes to spare.
40. Watch a TED speak. In the case of productive issues, studying a couple of new subject is one in every of my favourite methods to maintain my mind on fireplace. TED Talks at all times present me with insightful experiences or new views.
One thing With Different Individuals
41. Play a bunch recreation. I fondly keep in mind ready in strains on the amusement park taking part in video games like “Heads Up!” (much like charades) with my pals rising up. Group video games may be an effective way to make use of telephones to attach with pals and make recollections.
42. Have a digital blissful hour. With the pandemic introduced digital hangouts. In case you have long-distance besties or household that lives far-off, internet hosting a contented hour over Zoom is a way more productive solution to keep related than having transient chats over textual content.
43. Teleparty! Much like a digital blissful hour, Teleparty permits you and your folks to concurrently watch reveals accessible on streaming networks collectively and focus on them in real-time by way of chatroom. When you’re dying to binge-watch the newest TV collection as a bunch, give the browser extension a attempt.
44. Make a joint picture album. Staying related with recollections utilizing a joint picture album (accessible on iPhone or Google Images) is an easy solution to sustain with the lives of family and friends who could not stay shut by. A shared picture album additionally takes up much less storage than sending 50+ photos of your new pet over textual content.
45. Share tunes on Spotify. Spotify SharePlay now means that you can join with different Spotify customers and play music in real-time that’s chosen by multiple particular person. Plus, SharePlay can be utilized in-person or over FaceTime. No extra preventing over who’s on aux!
This put up was final up to date on March 7, 2025, to incorporate new insights.
