21 Things to Do When Bored and Mentally Exhausted

There are days when you just feel heavy mentally. Boredom and being mentally strained can feel very similar at times, both leave you in this weird space where you want to do something but nothing sounds appealing. You’re scrolling through your phone but not really seeing anything.

You’re bored, but you’re also too tired to actually do anything about it.

And if you’re someone who wants to live intentionally, who doesn’t want to fill this space with things that’ll make you feel worse later, it can feel even harder.

You’re not looking to numb out with things that don’t align with who you are. You want something real, something gentle, something that actually helps.

So I started noticing what actually helps on these days. Not the big transformative things, just small, real things that make the day feel a little softer. Things that honor both the boredom and the tiredness without asking you to be someone you’re not right now.

1. Cleaning!! It Helps Take Off the Mind

There’s probably a shelf or a corner in your home that’s been bothering you for days. Maybe it’s collecting random stuff, maybe it just needs to be wiped down, maybe things are just piled there because you didn’t know where else to put them.

Today could be the day you finally clear it.

Not in an overwhelming deep-clean kind of way, just that one surface. Put things back where they belong, throw away what’s obviously trash, wipe it down. It takes maybe fifteen minutes, and afterward, every time you walk past it, you’ll feel just a tiny bit lighter.

I have found myself decluttering, and cleaning storages so many times every time my mind feels heavy like a fountain.

I don’t know its just…does it relaxes a nerve or something? I don’t know. But it does feel so good for sure. 🎀

2. Throw Away Expired Skincare and Makeup

Open your skincare drawer or makeup storage right now. I bet there’s at least one product in there that’s been sitting there for way too long. That face cream you bought six months ago and used twice. The mascara that’s definitely past its time. The sheet masks from last year.

Throwing them away feels weirdly good. It’s like you’re making space, not just in your drawer but somehow in your mind too.

Plus, keeping expired products isn’t doing your skin any favors anyway.

3. Watch Something That Actually Interests You on YouTube

Instead of scrolling through shorts and reels until your brain feels like mush, search for something specific.

Cooking videos where someone makes something beautiful and slow. Walking tours of cities you’ve never been to—there are these gorgeous videos where someone just walks through Tokyo, Indian Temples, Paris or small European towns, and you can watch the world go by.

History videos about topics that genuinely interest you, not the ones that feel like homework.

If you ask me, I have subscribed to a few channels which are deeply situated in the spirituality and being of help to others. One of my favourites is the channel by Anuj Sharma. If you are feeling extremely lost in life or mentally tired, simply listen to his stories and his words will have a huge impact. Saying it from my experience. 🎀

The difference between mindless scrolling and intentional watching is huge. One leaves you feeling drained, the other actually gives you something.

4. Browse Books Online or Visit a Bookshop

You don’t have to buy anything. Just go to a bookstore and wander. Pick up books, read the back covers, flip through pages. See if anything sparks something in you.

Or if leaving the house feels like too much right now, browse online bookstores. Look at different genres. Read reviews. Save books to a wishlist.

Sometimes just seeing what’s out there, what people are writing and reading, makes you feel more connected to the world.

I have sold my Kindle months back as even though I kind of liked the technology, there was no feel to it. But, I still download some samples of the books to my Kindle app that sparks my interest and going through them helps me figure out what next to read, or if this particular book sounds like the one?

5. Sit in Ekant for a While

Ekant—that intentional solitude where you’re just alone with yourself and your thoughts. Not lonely, not scrolling, just quiet.

Find a spot in your home where you feel calm. Maybe by a window, maybe in a corner of your bedroom. Sit there without your phone for ten or fifteen minutes.

Let your mind wander wherever it wants. You don’t have to meditate formally or achieve anything. Just be there with yourself.

When you’re mentally tired, sometimes what you need most is to stop asking your brain to process more information and just let it rest in stillness.

6. Do Mental Chanting

If sitting in complete silence feels too restless, try mental chanting. Pick a name of the divine (Krishna, Ram, Shiva) that feels right to you and repeat it silently while you’re doing other gentle things, making tea, looking out the window, folding clothes.

The repetition creates this soft rhythm in your mind that pushes out all the noise. You don’t have to sit in any particular way or make it formal. Just let the words flow quietly in the background of whatever you’re doing.

And let me remind you, those aren’t just ordinary human beings names. That one name contains the force, the power, of the entire, and unlimited Universes. Try it for yourself for a week and see for yourself. 🎀

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7. Read a Page or Two from the Gita

When your mind is tired, you might think reading spiritual texts sounds like too much. But the Bhagavad Gita has this way of settling your thoughts instead of demanding more from them.

You don’t have to read a whole chapter or understand everything deeply. Just open to any page and read slowly. Sometimes a single verse meets you exactly where you are and offers a perspective shift you didn’t know you needed.

In fact, you have AI right in your hands now. Open that Chat GPT app and ask it you explain a verse or two with simple meanings and notice how immediately it will help you with your mindset in circumstances.

8. Light a Diya and Just Sit Near It

I love watching flames. Be it candles or diyas. I don’t know what it is but there’s something incredibly peaceful about lighting a diya and watching the flame for a few minutes. The way it flickers but stays steady. The warm glow it creates. The simple ritual of lighting it in the first place.

You can do this in the evening when the day starts winding down, or really anytime you need a moment of calm. Sit near it, watch the light, let your mind settle.

9. Organize Your Tea or Spice Collection

This sounds random, but hear me out. If you have a collection of teas or spices that’s gotten a bit messy, organizing them is oddly soothing. Group your teas by type, herbal, green, black, chai. Arrange your spices so you can actually see what you have.

It’s a small, contained task that has a clear beginning and end, and when you’re done, you’ll actually be able to find things. Also, as a bonus, looking at all your options might inspire you to make yourself something warm and comforting.

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10. Make Yourself a Proper Cup of Tea or Coffee

Not the rushed kind you make in the morning, but the slow kind. Boil water, choose your tea or coffee intentionally, let it steep properly, maybe add some honey or a pinch of turmeric or black pepper powder. Pour it into your favorite mug.

Then actually sit with it. Not while scrolling, not while watching something. Just drinking your tea and being present with that warmth and flavor.

11. Clean Your Bookshelf

Your books have been sitting there collecting dust, some leaning, some stacked in ways that don’t make sense anymore. Remember when’s the last time you actually pulled them all out and gave that shelf a proper wipe down?

Take everything off, dust the shelf, and then put books back in whatever order feels right to you right now. By color if that looks peaceful to you. By which ones you love most. By size or genre. There’s no wrong way. Just touch each book and give it a home that makes sense today.

12. Look Through Old Photos on Your Phone

Scroll back through your camera roll from a few months or even a year ago. Not to post anything or show anyone, just to remember.

Remember the days that felt ordinary at the time but look sweet now. Remember the people you spent time with, the places you went, the small moments you captured.

I love watching those photos from my trip to Udaipur, or to that ice cream shop, or those million videos of my cats. 🥰

Sometimes when we’re stuck in the blah feeling of today, remembering other days helps us see that feelings shift and change and nothing stays the same forever.

13. Write Down Three Things You’re Grateful For

I know, I know, gratitude journaling can sound like generic wellness advice. But I’m not talking about writing an essay or forcing yourself to write morally specific things when you’re not feeling it.

Just write down simple things that you are feeling thankful for. The ones making your life comfortable.

• The way the light looks in my room right now.
• Having a bed, mattress, and pillow to sleep.
• Having a quilt in those peak winter days.
• Your family.
• Your gadgets.

We have so much to be thankful for otherwise we’ll be crying for these things, right?

Small things, true things. It takes two minutes and sometimes shifts something just slightly. Plus, think about it, we as a human beings have no control over a dozen of things. Being grateful to small things actually makes you feel happy and blessed. 🎀

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14. Take Everything Off Your Nightstand and Clean It

Your nightstand probably has a random collection of things on it. Water glass, books, lip balm, lotions, charging cables, maybe some receipts or hair ties or who knows what else.

Clear it completely. Wipe it down. Then put back only what actually belongs there. Everything else finds a real home or gets thrown away. When you go to bed tonight, you’ll notice the difference.

15. Browse Pinterest for Things You Actually Want to Try

Not to compare your life to anyone else’s, but to genuinely collect ideas that excite you. Recipes you want to try. Room arrangements that inspire you. Outfits that feel like your style. Art that moves you.

Make boards for things that matter to you. Cozy home ideas, slow living inspiration, vegetarian recipes, spiritual practices, whatever speaks to you.

When you’re done, you’ll have this collection of things that reflect who you actually are and what you actually want.

Pinterest, honestly, is the most sensible, toxic-free platform ever!!! Isn’t it?

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16. Stretch on Your Floor for Ten Minutes

Lie on the floor and just stretch. No Yoga or anything. I mean, sure, if you know the whole thing. But, lie down simply and just notice where your body feels tight or uncomfortable and move in ways that feel good.

Reach your arms overhead. Twist gently. Pull your knees to your chest. Roll your ankles. Your body’s been holding tension from being mentally tired, and moving it just a little bit helps.

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17. Listen to Music That Matches How You Actually Feel

Don’t put on upbeat music to try to force yourself into a different mood. Put on music that matches where you are right now. If you’re feeling quiet and introspective, listen to something soft and slow. If you’re feeling restless, maybe something with a gentle rhythm.

Let yourself actually feel what you’re feeling instead of trying to music-yourself into feeling something else.

18. Go Through Your Email and Unsubscribe from Things

Your email inbox probably has about a thousand unread emails from newsletters you signed up for once and never read. Today’s a good day to go through and unsubscribe.

You don’t have to get to inbox zero or respond to everything. Just unsubscribe from the things that don’t serve you anymore. Every email you don’t have to ignore anymore is a tiny bit of mental space back.

Also, how come random brands send those newsletter when we never actually subscribed to them? 🤔 Happens with everyone, right? 🫠

19. Water Your Plants and Check on Them

If you have plants, actually look at them. Not just a glance, but really look. Do they need water? Are there any dead leaves to remove? Could they use a better spot with more light?

Taking care of something living that depends on you, even in this small way, can make you feel more grounded and present. Your plants will thank you. They talk, they have vibrations, they have aura. And you’ll feel it. 🎀

20. Write a Letter You’ll Never Send

If there’s something on your mind, someone you’re thinking about, feelings you’re carrying, write it all down in a letter. You’re never going to send it, so you can be completely honest.

Write to your past self, your future self, someone you miss, someone you’re frustrated with, or even just to the universe. Get the thoughts out of your head and onto paper. Then fold it up and put it away, or tear it up if that feels better.

I remember, I once wrote a letter to myself and when a year later or so I randomly found it and read it, it felt so different! Like, it made me reflect on that “glow up” situation, the growth, the mindset and opinions and that have been changed for better. It does help guys. It does!

21. Take a Slow Walk, Even Just Around Your Neighborhood

You don’t have to go anywhere specific or walk a certain distance or track it on an app. Just put on comfortable shoes and walk around your neighborhood slowly. Notice houses you’ve never really looked at before. See if anyone has a garden that’s blooming. Watch the light change as the day moves.

Walking without a destination or purpose, just to move and be outside for a bit, can unknot something in your chest that you didn’t even realize was tight.

I love those walks around 8 or 9PM looking at the moon. 😌 The feeling after watching the night sky is just…wish I had words.

Sometimes just being kind to yourself in these small ways is enough.