How to Make The Best Out of a Boring Day
WYSLTWRT: Childish Gambino “Flight of the Navigator”
Sometimes I have a lot of problems going to sleep at night. My mind is buzzing about the day that I just lived, and worried about the day I will live the next. I’ve made it my routine to plan out my next day mentally in bed. Having a plan lessens the stress and subsequently helps me relax into sleep.
I have this weird phobia of wasting time. If a day goes by and I haven’t been productive, it scares the living crap out of me and I totally freak out. Unexpected nap? Life. Over. So planning my day avoids those times of limbo that I sometimes experience in these dog days of summer.
So, what do I mean when I say to plan the day? Here’s a rough outline.
1. Work!
I have summer reading for AP English III. You probably have summer reading for whatever classes you have in the fall. If you’re an adult, there’s always a bill to be payed, a paper to be filed, an email to be answered. Make half an hour to an hour’s progress on anything that has an official deadline. This doesn’t include housework. I’ll get to that. I like to do this step first because I can get the procrastination demon and kick him in the butt right from the beginning. So for me, this step means reading/annotating for a while, then going up and checking my email, checking stats on PM, writing a new post on PM (aka I’m working right now), finding affiliate programs for the blog, and marketing what I need to market after that. That means posting on Instagram so people see that I have a new post up, or putting more clothes up for sale on my Poshmark, etc. Work.
2. Catch Up
Do you follow any blogs or YouTubers? I know I do. I always set aside time to check my favorites: The Man Repeller, Eat Your Kimchi, Clothes Encounters, Hey Claire, AnnaLee And Jesse, etc. making sure I’m up to date on what’s going on with them.
3. Tidy Up
This is super boring and lame and no one wants to do this, but it needs to be done. If you literally have NOTHING else to do, clean your room or something. Idk.
4. Contact
My best friend is away at a camp where they don’t have their phones for three weeks, so I set aside some time to write her a letter yesterday. If you have a loved one that has been away for a while or you haven’t spoken to, just write them a letter. It doesn’t take long, and everyone loves to get letters. It’s one of my favorite things.
5. Get Out
This could mean going to the nearest mall and calling up your closest friends or going out for a quick run around the neighborhood. The house can get extremely stuffy at times, so you need to get out and get some fresh air. Sometimes, when you’ve been kept in one isolated area for so long, even running into a stranger is a welcome encounter. Just get back in touch with the outside world.
6. Research
There’s that thing that you’ve been meaning to look more into about that camp, right? Looking for a car (I am btw)? Want to figure out what to have for dinner? Research it! This isn’t aimless farting around on the internet. This is having a goal and being able to print out your findings. Learn something new.
7. Make Food
I cooked dinner all by myself last night, it was so exciting! I literally did everything, and it felt really fulfilling–like, “yeah, I could live on my own if I had to!” kind of thing. It’s so exciting to find out that you can survive.
8. Dress Up
I’ve recently gotten in the habit of actually getting dressed even thought I have nothing to do that day. Dresses are actually really comfortable when you’re just running around the house! Anyway, getting in actual clothes combats the lethargy that accompanies boredom so often. So not being in those really comfy pajamas may be the one thing that gets you off your butt.
9. Practice Something
Whether it be a musical instrument, a sport, etc., just get in an hour of progress with your trade of choice. I once went to this musician’s seminar that said that you should get “one day better” meaning that you should strive to learn even the smallest thing new or get better at one certain skill so that you progress every day.
10. Do Something For the Fun Of It
I said not to waste your day by not planning it. But if you set a side a special amount of time for lounging around, well. That’s completely fine. I usually watch a movie with my parents in the evening when we can. Yesterday we made s’mores after we had my dinner. Just fun things with the people around you are all you need to turn an eventless day into a memorable one.
In the end, you choose how to spend your day. And if you want to spend all of it sleeping, be my guest. That’s just not something I can do, so I follow these guidelines.
Follow the Facebook page on the right, follow my Twitter and Tumblr @ProjectMaganda, Instagram, Pinterest, Poshmark, and anything else @ErinKaelie.
Apply to see my TEDxYouth @Franklin talk on September 27th at the Factory here.
Thanks for reading! Hopefully this post helped somebody out a little bit. New outfits next up!
Much love,
Erin