Feeling Bored?

These can be boring times with almost the whole world in some form of "lock-down".
New York author Gretchen Rubin says, “When you are bored, time feels heavy on your hands, and it's easy to get pulled into irritation and annoyances, so people don't want to be there for very long. "
So, here are some ways to fight this:

1. Declutter your stuff. There's nothing like having a neat tidy home where you can find anything without having to go through tons of stuff. Here's a good video on that:
   
2.  Learn something new: There are lots of on-line courses that you can study from your home. One good example is Udemy .  They have courses on business, design, photography, personal development and more. Their courses are priced around S$20.
   Another example is Coursera They have around 2000 courses over many subjects. Financial aid is also available.
   Learnthat is yet another - it offers free online classes for adults in four categories: business, lifestyle, personal finance, and technology. The tutorials are brief and are just the thing if you don't want a lengthy course of study.
   Another surprisingly good source is YouTube! All you have to do is type in the search box the course you want and chances are, there would be a number of options available. 
3. Rekindle a hobby - If you always had a hobby like sewing, drawing, tinkering with the car or repairing things around the house now is the time to refresh your talent and feel satisfied at the same time. There's always a "feel good" emotion after completing a small project and with almost all the time in the world it's a good time to start something.
4. Connect Virtually - During our previous normal working time there never seemed to be time to send messages to old friends and loved ones. Now is a good time to send short messages to find out how friends and family are keeping and social media is an excellent avenue for that. Aside from the tried and tested WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram give TikTok a try! As it says, it's the destination for short-form mobile videos. Their mission is to capture and present the world's creativity, knowledge, and precious life moments, directly. Even if you don't produce any short videos yourself there are thousands to watch. Many are hilarious and entertaining.
   Also, within WhatsApp and Facebook you can also join up with a group that shares your interest.
5. Dig out the Board Games - We're so connected and sometimes addicted with our TV, computers or mobile phones that we have forgotten the joys of board games, card games and puzzles.
   If you and your partner or family are feeling cooped up, now might be the prime time to dust off the old board games like Monopoly or Old Maid. If you're alone try "Patience Solitaire " with a deck of cards. Or go online to http://www.cardgamepatience.com/

At the end of the day it's important to remember that times like this shall pass. Of all the suggestions, I think, keeping in touch with friends and family is paramount. In trying times they are the most useful for bouncing ideas off, seeking an opinion or just someone you can tell your problems to.