50 Productive Things To Do In Free Time At Home
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Aren’t you tired of wasting all your free time on entertainment? Wouldn’t you rather find a couple of productive things to do at home when you are bored? Things that improve your life and wellbeing in one way or another?
If you tend to spend a lot of time at home, try to use that time more efficiently! This doesn’t necessarily mean getting busy with countless chores and boring things to do around the house. On the contrary, there are plenty of interesting ways to be productive at home even when you are not working on studying!
Here are 50 fun and productive things you can do at home in your free time:
1. Organize your workplace
It’s much easier to be productive when your working area is clean and welcoming!
In fact, your workplace is one of the main factors that directly affect your productivity at home.
Get rid of the clutter, organize your desk, find a specific place for every item, and aim to keep it that way to minimize cleaning in the future.
Organize a corner for your video calls or filming your social media content. Depending on your field of expertise, create a workspace that inspires you and makes it easy to jump right into the flow.
2. Write a big to-do list
When you feel bored, it may seem you have nothing to do. However, this is almost never true!
From daily chores around the house to work-related or study-related tasks to catching up with friends to something you promised yourself or someone else… there are so many things to do that you continuously keep in your head! Write it all down to clear your head and never use “I forgot” as an excuse anymore.
I use simple to-do list sheets similar to these ones because I can keep them in front of me at all times and check things off. But you can use any notepad or app you prefer!
3. Learn a new creative skill
Boredom may be a signal from your brain that you have too much free time and it wants you to engage in something cool. Why not let your creative energy out by acquiring a new skill?
Two good platforms I know with courses for creative people are CreativeLive and Skillshare. There is also MasterClass that features classes from famous people but I always felt like it’s more about professional skills than just for casually learning something new and interesting (maybe I’m wrong).
CreativeLive charges per course while Skillshare and Masterclass are subscription-based. I personally prefer Skillshare because I can learn a ton of courses for literally 2 dollars per month! But different things work for different people so I’m sharing all the options I know and you choose for yourself.
The biggest category at CreativeLive is Photo & Video. You can dive into any photography genre, learn about lighting and filmmaking, find tutorials specific to your camera, or get familiar with a new piece of editing software. If that’s not your thing, they have plenty of music-related courses, design topics, creative crafts ideas, and all kinds of useful lifestyle skills to learn.
Skillshare offers a variety of creative courses: from creative writing and illustration to web development and UX design. There are also business-related classes to watch there about things like leadership, marketing, entrepreneurship, and productivity.
4. Plan the next month or quarter
When you have spare time, why not plan your life for the next month or quarter? If that sounds intimidating, maybe start with a week!
One wise person once said to me: “There are two versions of your life 6 months from now: one where nothing changes, and one where everything changes”. I live by it every day. If you don’t control where your life goes, someone else will.
Don’t know where to start? A good planner usually gives you a clear path to follow. If you don’t have one, here are the best productivity planners you can buy in 2023. They all help you take your life under control and make planning super easy!
If you prefer a paperless approach, you can always go with an online planner or plan on an iPad.
And the best thing? You don’t have to wait till January to start a new planner. Many of them are undated like this one so you can start it in May, September, or even mid-month if you like! I started my Clever Fox Planner in August when I got motivated to get out of a slump and get myself together.
Whenever inspiration strikes you, don’t push it until the next “clean slate”, start right away!
Think about every aspect of your life: self-care, relationships, healthy habits, work, study, and creative projects. For each, define your current point and whether there are things you want to change or keep. Write it all down in your planner, define actionable steps, and start consciously moving your life in the right direction!
5. Start a new business from home
You don’t necessarily need an MBA to start your own business. These days, we have all kinds of opportunities to create a location-independent online business with minimum to no investment.
As much as previous generations were limited to opening a restaurant or setting up a production process if they wanted to sell something, now we can completely avoid inventory and any upfront expenses if we choose the right business model. There are plenty of people who start small businesses from home and have amazing success!
Think about what you like to do, what you are passionate about, and what skills you have to base your business on. (Can’t come up with anything? Go back to idea #3 and pick up some new creative skills!)
6. Plan your Instagram feed for next month
If you are actively growing your Instagram page, planning your feed in advance can save you a lot of time and make your profile look more professional with less effort and no stress. No more writing captions in a hurry or slapping a random photo just to stick to your posting pace!
With scheduling tools like Tailwind, you are able to plan an aesthetically beautiful feed, fill it with captions and whatever else you need, and let it get published automatically at the set times. I like Tailwind because I personally used it a lot, it’s an official Instagram partner, and it can handle my Pinterest as well. Sprout Social is the next best thing that can manage all your social media simultaneously.
7. Redecorate your room or home office
As many of us work from home, we need the place we work in to help us focus, not distract us. It also needs to look professional while keeping us feeling comfortable in there.
Filling your home with good vibes is crucial for letting your creating energy out. When you enjoy being there, it’s easier to come up with new ideas and find creative solutions.
Here are some cool SkillShare classes for decorating your perfect space at home:
8. Figure out your most productive hours
Research shows that most office workers are only productive for a couple of hours per day. For remote workers, it can be even less if you don’t have a strategy for managing distractions.
Each of us has different circadian rhythms which makes us productive in different parts of the day. For some people it’s early morning, for others it’s late afternoon. Night owls are most efficient when it’s dark outside. The luckiest, I guess, are those whose most productive time starts after 10 AM, as this is what typical office jobs expect from you.
As soon as you find out what your best hours are, you can start planning your days accordingly. Allow the hardest, the most important, or the most creative tasks to be done around that time, and do everything else before or after. You’ll be amazed how much your productivity can be improved!
9. Create or update your vision board
What do you want from life? What are your biggest desires and secret dreams? If you could have everything you wished, what would you ask for?
Even if it seems unreal to ever have it, impossible to get, or very very far away, let the universe know about your desires anyway! Just write everything down in a form of a bucket list or create a vision board, and come back to it once in a while to channel that energy and see what happens.
If you already have a vision board, maybe it’s time to review it. Is there anything you want to add? Or something you no longer want? Maybe a couple of things already are part of your life and you’ll be surprised!
Don’t believe in manifestation? Just listen to what all these successful people have to say about it!
10. Meditate
Not so long ago meditation was only a thing for Tibetan monks! They practiced silent awareness behind closed doors of remote monasteries and we all admired them but felt very distant.
These days nearly everyone does it or at least talks about it!
- Hal Elrod features meditation as the first step of his Miracle Morning routine.
- Emily Fletcher talks about it in her book Stress Less, Accomplish More.
- Dan Harris helps you decide if it’s for you in his book 10% Happier.
And don’t even ask how many times I heard celebrities and successful business people mentioning meditation as part of their daily routine. So many times!
Meditating clears your mind, lets you live more mindfully, helps find answers to the unresolved questions you have, and balances your body and mind. Why not try it at home next time you are bored?
11. Talk to an online therapist
If you often find yourself bored at home, it may be a sign of depression.
Typical symptoms of depression-caused boredom are:
- Inability to relax
- Constant avoidance of fun activities
- Quick mood changes, especially from good to bad
- Inability to stay interested or motivated
- Inexplicable sadness
Should you face any of these, or if you just feel the need to talk to someone, don’t ignore it!
These days there are services that allow you to talk to an online therapist whenever you need it. You don’t have to book an appointment or feel embarrassed sitting on a leather couch while sharing your feelings with a stranger! In fact, you don’t even have to show your face if you feel uncomfortable doing it. Modern therapists are up for texting, available 24/7, and are still certified professionals!
Two great online therapy services in 2023 are Talkspace and Online Therapy.
Don’t hesitate to ask for help! Why not at least try to feel better?
12. Declutter your home
Have you read a recent best-seller by Marie Kondo?
“The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing” is a book that has changed the lives of thousands of people by showing them how to declutter their houses!
Marie is a cleaning consultant (yes, it’s a thing now!) from Japan whose job is literally to come to clients’ houses and help them get rid of all the stuff they don’t need.
She says that you should only be surrounded by things that bring you joy, and I love this concept!
So my next productive thing to do at home is: declutter it.
Find everything you don’t need and throw it away! Well-preserved items can be either donated or sold. Start with one room where you spend the most time, and go from there.
Not only you’ll have more space, but you can also earn some money by getting rid of old things!
Which takes us to the next point…
13. Sell some old stuff
You may think nobody wants that old book or that dress you don’t wear anymore, and you’d be wrong!
In fact, at one point I sold about half of my book collection to raise money for a local animal shelter. Interestingly enough, almost every book found a new home and a happy owner, even though I didn’t love some of the authors myself. All those books were just sitting there, not bringing me joy. And now not only have they helped a few cats and dogs, but they continue to bring joy to the new owners.
I sold them through social media but it’s even easier to sell your clutter on Amazon or eBay, as it handles some of the processes and you don’t even have to meet people (I sound like a typical introvert, I know).
Here are some useful tips from someone who earned thousands of dollars by selling old stuff online:
14. Sign up for a cashback service
Another way to earn some extra money while sitting at home without actively working is to use a cashback service. It lets you get some money back from shopping online!
It’s super simple: you just sign up and then shop like you usually do. After each completed purchase you make, you get a small chunk of it back to your balance. Then you can use it to either buy something else, convert it into a gift card for one of your favorite shops, or withdraw the money into your bank account.
One important step for this to work is to make sure they can track your purchase. You should either:
- Instead of opening an online store directly, open it by clicking on its name on the cashback website.
- Use a dedicated browser extension before making a purchase.
The right way to do it depends on the specific service you use and it will teach you how to do it when you sign up.
Some of the good cashback services are ShopAtHome, RebatesMe, and Mr.Rebates.
If you are wondering why they would pay you back, here is how I understand it: these services get a commission from a store if you purchase through their link (it doesn’t affect the price though), and then share a part of that commission with you.
So it’s a win-win-win: a store gets a sale, a service gets a commission, and you get cashback!
15. Plan your next vacation
Oooh, that’s a good one!
Even if you aren’t going anywhere any time soon, you can always research some dream destinations and subscribe to newsletters to receive good offers in the future.
Besides, both hotels and airplane tickets are often quite cheaper when you book way in advance. Some people book next year’s summer vacation right after they come back from the one they have this summer. It may sound weird but that’s actually a very smart and budget-friendly approach!
If you worry that your plans may change or if you just want to be flexible, make sure to only buy refundable tickets and book cancelable apartments.
Here are some useful resources to plan your next trip!
- Accommodations: Booking, Agoda, HostelWorld
- Flights: Skyscanner, Expedia, CheapOair
- Car rental: Rentalcars, OneTravel, Sixt, EasyCar
- Reviews: TripAdvisor
- Tours and attractions: Viator, G Adventures, Tourradar
- Vacation outfits: Boston Proper, PrettyLittleThing, Lulus
- Local experiences and events: EatWith, Universe, Flytographer
- Travel accessories: AwayTravel, Nomadgoods, L.L.Bean, ROAM Luggage, Nomatic
- Travel insurance: Good Sam, AXA
- Inspiration: National Geographic, Lonely Planet
16. Start a side hustle
If you are at home and not really busy, why not earn some extra money that can make a few little dreams come true? What can literally be a more productive activity than the one that directly brings you money?
Find a side hustle idea that fits your free time and expertise, and increase your income! Who knows, maybe one day it will become a full-time business!
17. Up your Instagram game
As you have a bit of free time, you can work on improving your social media presence! Take a few step-by-step courses to up your Instagram game and then implement the strategies on your own profile to see what works for you.
These skills can be very profitable for you in the future to:
- grow a big following and become an Instagram influencer
- grow your creative business through Instagram
- become a social media manager if that’s something you enjoy doing
Here are two quick Skillshare courses that teach you useful techniques to conquer Instagram!
18. Watch a motivational Ted talk
Don’t feel like actively doing anything? Watch a couple of Ted Talks instead of the next Netflix episode!
For example, in this video, Shawn Achor, the author of a popular science-based book The Happiness Advantage, shows us that happiness leads to productivity, and not vice versa:
More good TEDx talks on Youtube worth watching while bored at home:
- Inside the mind of a master procrastinator | Tim Urban
- How to stop screwing yourself over | Mel Robbins
- The future we’re building – and boring | Elon Musk
- What makes you special? | Mariana Atencio
- How to Achieve Your Most Ambitious Goals | Stephen Duneier
Maybe they’ll inspire you to take action and start working on an interesting project!
19. Look up good gifts for upcoming holidays
Maybe a holiday is not far away? Or someone’s birthday is coming soon? There is no better time than now to find perfect gifts without a rush!
I sometimes order gifts for people I love waaaay in advance, like, half a year before the date, if it’s something really cool and hard to find or often goes out of stock. If it’s too early to order, at least brainstorm and save a few ideas for later.
While choosing gifts for others, don’t forget to update your own wishlist too!
20. Attend an authentic cooking class with locals (online!)
As a frequent traveler, I love engaging in local activities and diving into the culture as much as possible. Cooking with locals is one of the best ways to do it as you spend time with local people at their homes, talk, learn authentic recipes (and sometimes even family’s secret sauce!), and overall get a much more amazing experience than the average tourist.
Thanks to the pandemic, we now have many new online services that allow us to get those kinds of experiences without leaving the comfort of our own homes. We don’t need to fly abroad and have huge expenses to get a firsthand experience of some local culture!
EatWith has lots of cooking classes from all over the world you can book and attend online, usually via Zoom.
Make your own farfalle with Italians, cook a traditional Indian feast, or find something you’ve never tasted yet! What an exciting way to productively spend your time at home!
21. Do a photography challenge
You don’t need a fancy camera to take some fun photographs at home! Your phone will do the job just as well.
Channel your own creativity or find a cool challenge someone did and try to do it yourself!
If you aren’t confident in your photography skills, here is a good course on Skillshare (taken by more than 14 000 users) dedicated specifically to mobile photography: iPhone Photography: Make Your Pictures Stand Out. It covers all the basics for beginners and gives you an initial understanding of iPhone camera settings, composition, and lighting.
When you are ready, grab your phone, get inspired by someone cool, and let’s take some pictures!
Here are a ton of interesting ideas to try at home from one of the most creative photographers I know!
22. Move your body
I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how important exercising is for our health and wellness.
Thankfully, nowadays you don’t need to go to the gym or have an expensive membership to be able to work out: you can do almost everything at home!
There are plenty of classes on Youtube for basically every type of movement you can think of: from hardcore fitness, pilates, or stretching to all kinds of dances and dancing workouts.
Find the type of exercise you enjoy doing and a trainer whose vibe you like, and spend at least 10 minutes per day moving your body. It especially needs it if you tend to sit a lot during the day.
23. Polish your resume
Most people just find a random free CV template and fill it with their own data. This means you are just a grain in the sand of similar applicants!
By polishing your resume, you stand out more from the crowd and have a much better chance to get the job you want. So put some time and effort into it, it’s definitely worth it!
24. Grow some plants
Making your home greener is another productive way to spend some time when you are at home alone.
Plants clean your air and elevate your interior, some more than others!
You can grow succulents in some unbelievably cute planters or even let your plants hang from the ceiling or walls!
Here are a couple of fun courses that make indoor plants much less boring!
25. Cancel all the subscriptions you don’t use
I recommend doing this at least every quarter!
Go through everything that charges your credit card on a monthly basis and see if you actually still need all of it. Oftentimes you’ll find out that you haven’t used some service for a while or even completely forgotten about it.
Cancel that subscription to spare some money or buy something useful instead (like a Skillshare subscription, for example, that can teach you a ton of new skills).
26. Pick up a new habit
A dream life can only be built on healthy habits!
Even 5 or 10 minutes per day dedicated to some repeating activity can make a big difference if you look at the bigger picture.
Let’s say you only stretch for ten minutes every day, then after a year you’ll have been stretched for 3650 minutes combined, which is more than 60 hours. Do you know what 60 hours of regular stretching can do to your body? Amazing changes!
This applies to everything that you make a habit of. Here are some quick ideas:
- stretching
- learning a language
- trying a new healthy recipe
- reading a few pages of a good book
- journaling
- meditating
In his best-selling book called Atomic Habits, James Clear gives us a step-by-step strategy for improving our lives by forming healthy habits one by one. He gives actionable advice on how to stick to your chosen routines, how to keep the right mindset when building new habits, and what to do if you fall off track.
Choose your habits: start with only one or two to not overwhelm yourself with everything you should do. Find a good visual habit tracker (maybe you’ll like this one or that one from Amazon) or download a habit app on your phone. Seeing your progress in front of you motivates you to “keep the streak” and stick to your goals longer.
Isn’t it great that dedicating only 10 minutes a day to something can be so beneficial for your life quality?! So what is your next healthy habit going to be?
27. Start a journal
Reflecting on your feelings regularly helps you live more mindfully and be more present. You can be your own therapist and solve some issues that continue to bother you.
Journaling is a great tool for brainstorming the ways to improve your life! Start with these mindful questions and see where it takes you. Write down everything that comes to your mind and review it at least once a week to better control your life’s direction.
Some of the popular themed journaling ideas are:
- Positivity journal
- Self-love journal
- Manifestation journal
- Art journal
- Travel journal
- Recipe journal
- Self-discovery journal
- Junk journal
You can write in a simple lined notebook of your choice or pick up the one with pre-printed writing prompts. If profanity doesn’t turn you off, check out these fun journals I found on Amazon!
28. Do a dopamine detox day
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in our brain that is often called a “happiness hormone”. It’s connected to the reward center and gets triggered every time we participate in something we enjoy.
Sometimes we get so addicted to it that it gets hard to do things that bring us not instant but delayed rewards. Things like working, studying, doing creative projects, and such.
It’s much easier to get instant pleasure from watching a movie, eating sugar, or playing a game, than to work hard for something that will maybe bring good results somewhere in the future.
What’s the problem with it? Zero productivity.
And the solution? Take away everything that brings instant gratification!
That’s a bit extreme and requires a whole day at home but it seems like a really good way to pull yourself together. When you find yourself in a loop of quick pleasures and feel like your life is not going anywhere, a simple day of digital detox may turn things around and make you productive again.
Here is a great explanation video from a person who invented it:
29. Practice yoga
Oooh, I love yoga!
Some people think it’s too slow for them but yoga can be very different. There are more than 10 different types of yoga: some focus more on spirituality, some are based on specific moves that are slow-paced and controlled, and some make you break a sweat.
Two of my favorite yogini Youtubers have quite different styles of yoga and I enjoy both on different days!
If yoga is something you’d like to explore deeper, the online video platform Alo Moves offers a 14-day free trial! You can try different yoga styles by participating in unlimited follow-along lessons that can also be downloaded and watched offline. Other than yoga, they also have classes on fitness and mindfulness which you may glimpse into as well during that free trial.
If you are already into yoga, a good productive activity for your free time (other than a yoga session of course) may be finding a good mat or a new pair of yoga pants. My favorite mats are from Manduka because they make really good-quality, lightweight, and non-slippery mats with a good grip. As for yoga outfits, it’s either Alo Yoga (just look at these ripped warrior leggings!) or Lululemon.
30. Organize a reading marathon
Being a book lover, I couldn’t help including reading into this list of productive things to do at home!
Whether it’s fiction or not, reading is an extremely beneficial activity when you are alone.
Usually, nonfiction is more commonly accepted as an effective way to spend your time because you learn something from it. However, reading fiction, especially at a young age, has a lot to do with who you become as a person. You learn different aspects of the world and human behavior and shape your personality according to all that knowledge you absorb.
Reading also expands both your horizons and vocabulary!
If there is a book you always wanted to read or listen, grab it now and have a great time!
It’s very common in avid reader communities to organize reading games or challenges that push everyone to read more books. You can set your own goal of as little as 10 pages a day or as big as two books per week if you are up for a challenge!
Here are some of my favorite non-fiction books in case you don’t have anything in mind:
- You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero
- Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
- The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris
- Habits of a Happy Brain by Loretta Breuning
- Mental Traps by Andre Kukla
I don’t feel like I can recommend any fiction book to everyone as we all have such different tastes! So maybe take a look at Amazon charts where they feature all the recent most-read books and find something you might enjoy!
31. Set new goals
January may be far away, but it doesn’t mean you can’t set new goals mid-year! Even better, it takes that new-beginning pressure off you so you can calmly focus on what you want.
Sometimes we rush into new goals and get all excited about things we think we have to want. When initial motivation wears off, we have nothing left to push us if we don’t have a clear why behind every goal.
To be successful in achieving your goals, you need to figure out what you really want and why!
Watch this video from one of my favorite self-development Youtubers muchelleb and follow all the steps to set the goals you’ll actually be able to reach!
32. Find a new hobby
When you have something that you are really into, you can never be bored!
As opposed to just a couple of centuries ago, today there are so many unique hobbies available to you at home! Many of them you can master online without even leaving your couch.
Here are 25 interesting ideas to dip your toes into. Click on whichever sparks your interest to see an introduction video on Skillshare:
Enough for now? I think so!
33. Hang an inspiration board
Having an inspiration board on your wall to stare at is a great tool for self-motivation.
I talked about a vision board above but that’s only one way of creating an inspiration board! I have a lot more interesting ideas for decorating a board at home in my other post, check it out!
34. Start a Youtube channel
Vlogging is a major trend now. People share their lives on camera and millions of other people are watching it every day.
If you have some interesting aspect of your life to share with others, start making videos about it! Everyone can do it now and you don’t need expensive equipment to start.
Having a Youtube channel may be useful to find like-minded people and acquire new friends. You can also monetize it later on as you grow some audience! Many people actually make a full-time income from Youtube, just by sitting in front of a camera and sharing their knowledge.
If creating a Youtube channel is something that crossed your mind before, now is the time. If you were looking for a sign, this is it! Do it!
Here is a huge playlist with free tips and strategies for Youtube growth by one of my favorite personalities on Youtube, Sunny Lenarduzzi.
And here are complete courses to quickly learn Youtube skills for beginners:
35. Learn a new language
I always envy people who can speak many languages, they are so cool!
Every time I hear another language in a movie, I think how amazing it would be to understand it without translated subtitles. Every time I hear locals talking abroad, I hope I can understand them one day or even participate in that conversation. But maybe that’s just me…
Even just learning basic grammar lets you have a simple conversation with a native – let’s say if you get lost or something when traveling. Even learning 3 new words a day will leave you with a thousand new words in a year!
There are plenty of great resources and apps online for learning every language, some of them are:
36. Become more confident in an hour
If self-confidence is something you struggle with, spare an hour at home and learn a couple of techniques to improve it. You likely won’t completely change your personality in an hour, but it should give you a basic understanding of how to work on it!
Here is an hour-long confidence course called 60 Minutes To Self Esteem: The Confidence Crash Course!
37. Learn to code
While having software development skills is very profitable right now, there are also many other benefits to it. By learning to code, you also learn algorithms, logic, a bit of math, problem-solving, and many other things like that. It’s also something you can do remotely to earn some extra money when needed.
Even though I’m a blogger now, my background in software development helps me tremendously with handling my website. Compared to many other bloggers, I don’t need to delegate any technical tasks to anyone as I can fix most of the issues myself. It also helps me find creative solutions to non-technical problems!
There is a ton of coding classes available for beginners on Skillshare. Whether you are interested in web development, mobile development, making games, or even building websites without coding, you’ll find something relevant there.
38. Order groceries
Got a few minutes to spare at home? Why not plan some meals in advance!
Studies show that people who plan at least some of their meals are less likely to become overweight or obese. They also have overall healthier diets and more variety in day-to-day food choices.
When you are in a hurry, it’s easier to grab something quick and satisfying, which in most cases is not a healthy choice. Instead, think about your meals for a week in advance and plan them wisely to keep up with a healthy lifestyle.
If you aren’t into meal prepping, at least buy the groceries in advance. With online shops like Thrive Market, you don’t even need to drive to a store! Even better, you can choose the products you need regularly and get a weekly delivery to your door without forming an order every time. Isn’t that a time saver? Explore it now to find your favorite organic brands while you have some free time at home!
39. Listen to a podcast
I rarely just listen to music. Most of the time it’s either a podcast or an audiobook.
Why? Because when I have extra time, I prefer to learn something interesting or to get inspired by people I admire instead of just wasting it.
Just a few years back I haven’t even heard about podcasts. Now I have a lot of favorites that I listen to regularly and go through their older episodes when I have more time.
For me, it’s usually something about entrepreneurship, business, marketing, or blogging. For you, it may be similar or something else entirely. Just google “best podcasts for” and add some of your interests, whether it’s your profession or a hobby. Even just general lifestyle or scientific podcasts can be quite educational and entertaining!
40. Start your own podcast
This is similar to starting a Youtube channel but more suitable for introverts because you don’t have to be on camera! You can still share your knowledge and build your personal brand while talking about your industry or interviewing people.
Hosting a podcast is also a fun way to meet new people, expand your professional network, and get known for your expertise!
As opposed to video setup for filming Youtube videos or participating in Zoom calls, you don’t need much to start a podcast. Basically, just buy a good microphone, make sure there is no external noise, and you are good to go!
Later you may consider soundproofing your room but for now, just record the first few episodes and see if you even like doing it.
Here is a complete guide to podcasting if you decide to take it seriously.
41. Organize your emails
Are you the kind of person whose mailbox is always cluttered or a well-organized one who keeps it clean at all times?
I was the former once but I taught myself to become the latter.
Now, this is what I see in my Inbox almost every day:
Believe me, it’s not because I don’t get mail!
I had my email address for years and at some point accumulated thousands of emails, most of which were unread. It wasn’t easy to clean it up and keep it that way, but I learned over time.
The trick to uncluttering your mailbox is to remove more e-mails in a day than you receive. This way bit by bit you’ll get it cleaner and cleaner until there is no deadweight anymore.
The biggest thing for me was unsubscribing from anything I don’t need anymore. I used to read a lot of blogs, subscribe to different courses, and give my email away for various useful freebies. I got into a habit of just removing an email if it didn’t interest me. That’s not the way to do it!
Every time you see an email you aren’t gonna read, don’t just remove it! Click unsubscribe first at the bottom of it. I believe every email is required to have the option to unsubscribe by some law. If it’s not there, it’s probably spam (or not a subscription) and you can just mark it as such.
Unsubscribing from a newsletter may take a couple of extra seconds once but it will save you a lot of viewing-and-removing minutes over time!
42. Start a blog
Blogging is not for everyone but if you love writing, have a topic you can talk about forever, and are insterested in potentially building a passive income stream, this may be something for you.
To start your own blog you need very little. Decide on a domain name and secure it (Namecheap is a reliable and cheapest place to go), buy a hosting (I tried different ones and ended up with Siteground), pick a theme (I always buy my themes from ThemeForest but you can use a free WordPress one at the beginning), and start writing!
Blogging is a bit of a learning curve but I can recommend a couple of really good courses to master things like SEO, affiliate strategies, or Pinterest marketing if you contact me directly.
43. Create a morning routine
This correlates with my productive thing to do at home number 26, which is to pick up a new habit. Stacking new habits on top of the existing ones is a proven technique to make them stick.
Having a specific morning routine makes you wake up more motivated every day as you know what awaits you. It also teaches you to be more disciplined and stick to the schedule, which is very good for your overall productivity.
Fill your morning with things that bring you joy as well as things that contribute to your healthy lifestyle. Some of the ideas for your morning routine may include going for a jog or a long walk, drinking a glass of lemon water, journaling, meditating, practicing yoga, or planning your day.
If you haven’t read The Miracle Morning yet, it may give you an idea of what a really efficient morning routine may look like.
44. Clean up your computer
Even if your desktop is perfectly clean and organized, you probably have at least one or two chaotic folders on your computer. When I finally managed to clean up my Google drive, it took me days to deal with all the files I’d accumulated throughout the last decade!
When you have some time to spare at home, it might be a good idea to get rid of your digital clutter, back up whatever is important to the cloud, and free up some space for the new data.
If your computer is fine, go through your phone next. Are there some apps you don’t use anymore? Uninstall! Pictures taken for a particular purpose that they already served? Delete! Audiobooks you’ve already listened to or music you don’t like anymore? Wipe away!
Make space in your life for the new better things, starting with your devices!
45. Plan a road trip
Do you like traveling with friends or would rather go on a road trip with your partner?
In any case, planning a fun road trip is always a good idea! It’s much cheaper than flying abroad as you can just jump into your car with a bunch of your favorite people and go where the road takes you. Road trips are always full of adventures, aren’t they?
It may be a short outing for a picnic or a couple of weeks-long experience that covers many destinations at once. Who would you take and where would you go? Let yourself dream a little!
46. Play a board game
Depending on who you are with at home, you have different options for board games to play. Even if you are alone, there are games you can play by yourself or with someone over Zoom!
Playing a board game is a productive activity in a way that it helps you spend quality time with important people in your life. But even if you play alone, depending on a game, it may improve your strategic thinking skills, logic, ability to find creative solutions, and more, which may come in handy in various life and work situations in the future.
A board game takes your eyes off the screen for a bit and lets them rest, which is another great benefit!
Some of my favorite board games are Carcassonne, Mysterium, Catan, Ticket to ride, and 7 Wonders Duel.
47. Become a postcrosser
Are you young enough to have never received a letter? Yes, a piece of paper with a handwritten message? I used to love it in my younger years but that’s barely a thing anymore.
But postcards still are a thing! You can send your hello to a random country in the world and receive a personalized piece from a foreigner yourself. Of course, that may sound ancient in the era of the Internet when you can talk to anybody in a matter of seconds, but a digital message is nothing like a real postcard you can hold in your hands many years later.
Ooh, this feeling when you see a new postcard in your mailbox and don’t know yet where it’s from! Some of my favorite postcards are now hanging on my inspiration board even though I received some of them more than a decade ago.
This may be fun, you say, but how on earth is this a productive activity to do at home? Well, you can find new friends, you can learn about different cultures, you can discover new destinations for your bucket list that you never thought about… Isn’t that enough?
Go to postcrossing.com to become a postcrosser and get your first address to send a card. It’s free!
48. Print some memories
When was the last time you printed real physical photographs?
Flipping through old photo albums filled with warm memories was a big part of my childhood but we barely have any photos printed anymore!
I recently made a bunch of my favorite photos into magnets and put them on my fridge so they please my eye every day. I see the smiles on my friends’ faces every day even though we can’t get together much right now.
Your photos are also perfect to put on an inspiration wall if you have a grid panel or to decorate a cork board with them. Or just make a gallery on your wall with photo clip fairy lights!
Other than just printing your photos, you can make it into a canvas print for your wall, print your Instagram images, put your photo on a mug, on a blanket, or make a cool photo puzzle. So many ideas to give your old memories another life!
49. Call a long-lost friend
This one is easy.
If there is a particular someone in your life who you lost touch with over the years, maybe it’s time to do something and get that person back into your life? Make that call!
50. Learn to be more positive
Positivity is known to be a part of many successful people’s daily routines.
You always attract the same energy you radiate into the world. If you are positive, more positive things happen to you and more positive people are drawn to you. If you are constantly negative, well, the universe makes sure you have enough to complain about. It’s really a simple concept.
Some helpful resources to become a more positive person:
- How To Attract Joy And Happiness: 25 Easy Ideas
- 45 Positivity Prompts To Become Happier
- 11 Positive Things To Do Everyday: Happiness Checklist
Final thoughts on spending free time at home productively
These were 50 productive things to do when you have free time or are bored at home. Hope you liked these ideas as I’ve put a lot of time and brainstorming into creating this list!
You can probably tell how much I love the Skillshare platform from how many times I mentioned it in this post! That’s because you can learn an unlimited amount of things, binge-watch a lot of courses to master the subject you are interested in, and try so many new things at home by just paying a few dollars for a monthly subscription!
If I were to count every course I watched on Skillshare and each was from twenty to a hundred dollars like on other platforms, this would cost me thousands of dollars every month. Instead, I only spend a couple of bucks as they have a good annual deal!
But enough about Skillshare. It’s not like they sponsored this post (I wish!). I guess I just love to learn, and they make it so easy!
Apart from organizing everything and working on self-development, I think learning something new is the most productive thing you can do at home. It broadens your horizons, makes you more interesting, and potentially creates money-earning opportunities for the future.
Putting a little chunk of your free time every day into doing something productive and improving yourself will transform you into a completely different person a year from now. Not only you’ll be more disciplined and organized but you’ll likely achieve many of your current goals and will get the confidence to set even bigger ones!
Thanks for reading till the end, now go and do something productive from the list above!
