19 Great Things To Do When You Are Disabled And Bored
When you’ve been super busy all your working life to suddenly having loads of free time after becoming disabled, the switch can be jarring. You may not know who you are anymore, much less know what to do with yourself. And it’s in this unfocused environment when boredom may creep in.
Boredom shouldn’t be taken lightly; it’s a negative emotion that can lead to clinical depression so it’s something that needs to be addressed as soon as it’s noticed. So what should you do when you are disabled and bored? In this blog post, I highlight 19 ways that can fill your day AND make you feel more productive.
GENERAL TIPS TO KEEP BOREDOM AT BAY
Before jumping into specific activities and hobbies, it’s worth zooming out for a moment to ask yourself whether there’s something in your life you’re doing (or not doing) to elicit the boredom you’re experiencing. Here are some suggestions to help answer that question for you.
Keep a Set Schedule
When you don’t have a schedule to stick to, it’s easy to become distracted and unproductive. For starters, make an effort to go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time every morning. Same goes for mealtimes, if possible.
Be Spontaneous
Sounds like I’m contradicting my last point, right? Well, not really. While keeping a set schedule is necessary, it’s also important to break up your routine from time to time. For instance, you could decorate your house or apartment to celebrate holidays and events like Halloween and the Super Bowl and buy appropriate food for the occasion.
Another idea is to do what you’d normally do at home just in a different setting like reading a magazine at your local Starbucks or Barnes & Nobles book shop.
Maintain Your Dignity
Even if no one sees you, make sure to shower/bathe and groom yourself regularly. You’ll feel much better about yourself and when you feel better about yourself, you’ll likely want to be productive in some way.
Stay Busy
Make an effort to do at least one productive activity per day. Whether that’s going out for food shopping or cleaning a room in your apartment (see #5 below), focusing your attention on a specific task helps ward off boredom.
Okay, now on to some activities…
GREAT ACTIVITIES FOR THE DISABLED
1. Get Physically Active
There’s no question that exercise of all kinds can help lift your spirits and motivate you to try other activities. Depending on the severity of your disability, Tai Chi, yoga, swimming or walking in the park are some great ways to get your blood pumping.
2. Do Volunteer Work
Volunteering is a wonderful way to cultivate empathy while staying busy. Depending on your interests, there are many places to volunteer your services including nursing homes, hospitals, animal shelters, libraries, after-school programs, political candidates and teaching English as a second language. To help connect you to the right opportunity, give Volunteer Match a try.
3. Plan a Trip
We all need something to look forward to even if it’s in the distant future and planning a trip is a fun way to do it. A couple of websites to book vacations for disabled people include DisabledGo and Accessible Journeys. Bon voyage!
4. Travel Virtually
Are you homebound due to your disability? Well, you can still “travel” virtually by watching live streams of places from around the world using services like Earthcam and Google Earth.
5. Clean a Room
While cleaning a room in your house or apartment may not exactly qualify as a “fun” activity, you’ll feel good knowing you accomplished a chore that needed to be done.
Did you notice anything missing from my list of activities? Well, if you guessed TV and/or movies, you guessed right. I purposely didn’t include TV because watching the boob tube is a passive activity that only serves to sap motivation and cause depression when watched more than two hours per day. [source] Same goes for video games.[source] That’s why it’s best to stick to productive activities and/or hobbies to fight boredom.
Let’s now look at some hobbies…
GREAT HOBBIES FOR THE DISABLED
6. Play Jigsaw Puzzles
Solving puzzles is a great way to increase concentration, expand creativity and make you more alert. Plus, it has the benefit of reducing your heart rate and blood pressure!
7. Make Crafts
There are many different arts and crafts you could pursue including scrapbooking, origami, knitting, and quilting. And if you’ve never tried to make crafts before, it’s easy to learn how through online step-by-step classes like Craftsy. To get started making crafts AND make money doing it, read this post.
8. Start Painting/Drawing
Here’s a chance to tap into an ability perhaps you never knew you had — the graphic arts! Craftsy teaches several classes on the subject which are worthwhile looking into. But if picking up a brush isn’t your thing, you can always take part in the current coloring books for adults craze!
9. Snap Photographs
Photography is a great hobby to inspire imagination and develop a keen eye to your surroundings. And if your disability restricts you from going outdoors, you can still learn to take creative photos indoors like still life and food photography. Another idea is to document your life visually with creative photos!
10. Start a Collection
Oh, there are soooo many things to collect like stamps, baseball cards, vinyl records, coins, teddy bears or even PEZ dispensers. The only caveat is that collecting can get very expensive!
11. Grow Your Own Herbs
While not a cure for boredom, there’s something satisfying about growing your own herbs to flavor your food, plus it’s a great stress reliever. [source] Most herbs like cilantro, oregano, thyme, and basil need little care so why not start with these?
12. Learn a Foreign Language
Did you know learning a language is a great way to stave off dementia and aging of the brain? Plus, you’ll become a better listener, planner, decision-maker and all around better communicator.
13. Take Up a Musical Instrument
This is my hobby of choice as I usually have an acoustic guitar nearby to pick up and play. Besides being fun, learning an instrument helps increase coordination, organizational skills and memory capacity. But most of all, playing an instrument is like a lifelong friend helping in times of need like during intense bouts of isolation (something which disabled people experience regularly).
14. Trace Your Family Tree
Would you believe genealogy is now the 2nd most popular hobby in the United States? It’s fascinating to delve deeply into your family history and make new discoveries, not to mention a great way to honor your ancestors. American families often have one or more genealogy enthusiasts in the family, maybe you’ll discover it’s you? You can check out Ancestry.com to get started.
15. Read Books
My Amazon book wishlist contains about 100 books, far bigger than my Netflix queue. I’m not sure I’ll ever catch up but that’s okay because I’ll never be left wondering what to read next. Unlike watching TV, reading makes full use of your imagination and cognitive abilities, while lowering heart rate and easing tension. Just reading 6 minutes is enough to reduce stress by as much as 68% so why not curl up to a good book? [source]
16. Register for an e-Learning Course
Just because you graduated college doesn’t mean your learning has to stop there. Keep your mind sharp by enrolling in an online distance learning class in any subject under the sun. With The Great Courses, you can sign up for courses as wide and varied as Classical Mythology, How Music & Math Relate, and Understanding Investments.
17. Build a Plastic Model
The creation of models from kits or separate components is a rewarding pastime for those who appreciate abstract thinking and fine detail. Depending on your interests, you can produce scale models, military models, architectural models, car models and many other types. A popular subreddit on Reddit.com called Modelmakers is a great place to get started with this hobby.
18. Learn Cooking and/or Baking
Why not learn to make healthy, delicious meals which your body will love you for? (or even not-so-healthy meals on occasion!) The internet is filled with online cooking classes for newbies. Just take your pick!
19. Start a Blog
I would never have started ConfinedToSuccess.com if I didn’t like blogging. It’s a great way to chronicle my life living with a disability, help people in a similar situation as me AND earn extra income while doing it!
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN!
Do you easily get bored now that you have a disability or have you always struggled with boredom? Leave your comments below!
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Hey,
I have to say that your site impressed me a lot. I have a cousin who is disabled and I am going to share this with him, hopefully it’ll lift his mood up and make him happy. I am going to take the tips in your post and I am going to buy him some books and an instrument to play, not sure which one though. Maybe a keyboard or guitar, those seem like pretty good options. Keep up the good work!
Hi Jose, thanks for commenting! I’m glad my suggestions help. Best wishes to your cousin and let me know if you have any other questions.
My friend had a stroke a while ago, he doesn’t work anymore, is always complaining that he’s bored and places limitations on himself!
I think after reading about the 19 things he can do, there are certainly many things he can work on during his spare time and also build up his confidence levels at the same time!
Craft making would definitely be a great one for my friend. Thanks, and I’ll pass this onto him.
Neil
Hi Neil, thanks for commenting! Tell your friend to take a look at Craftsy .com, as they have a lot of cool courses!
Very informative blog post. I also love that any of these activities could apply to someone who is retired, out of a job or someone just stuck in a same old, same old routine. i find myself wanting to do a few of these things and am already working on the language item
Good for you Brian, thanks for commenting!
Hello Stephan, I love your “can do” spirit and the only thing that comes to my mind after reading this post is:
Almost nobody has an excuse for not doing something constructive with their lives.
I hear people whine about not having enough opportunity…and those are folks with NO disabilities!
This truly and inspiring site and it’s obvious you have poured yourself into it.
Best wishes and I hope a ton of people come here to see what’s possible!! Cheers,
John
Thanks John, much appreciated! 🙂
Assuming you earn SSDI or something of that nature, how do you earn extra money without losing those benefits? I would love to earn extra money, but it doesn’t seem worth risking my disability income. Also, it seems that the Ticket Back to Work sets one up for ultimately losing their benefits, too.
Great question! According to Social Security, you’re permitted to earn up to $1,130 per month in 2016 without losing disability benefits. You can learn more by reading this article. Please let me know if you have more questions…
I think you have to enter a Trial Work Period regardless of income amount, which red flags SSDI. It isn’t just the income amount, however,. SSDI also looks at your ability to work. So, there is no way to earn any amount of income without gaining their attention, then they begin to look at whether or not you are still disabled. In addition, one must report to them if one is earning any sort of income (even if it’s under the SGA amount you mentioned above. It’s a real Catch 22. Frustrating.
You can, in fact, earn up to $810 (gross) per month without it counting toward a Trial Work month. For a more detailed explanation, see here. If you visit disability lawyer websites, you’ll see the same information stated there too.
I am always afraid that if you try and make more money that they will try and use it against you and who can afford to lose everything you have?
I understand your reservations Kevin but the guidelines are pretty clear, see here. Ultimately, it depends on your comfort level.
Very very good, 30 years of firefighting took a toll on my neck, I was recently medically discharged after two major neck surgeries, & looking at another neck surgery in the future. A huge transition going from 100 mph to 5 mph, still waiting on my social security disability, I’m so, so so bored, I’ve got to figure out something to do. I’m going nuts. Cheers, Brian
Hi Brian, I’m glad you found my suggestions helpful! All the best to you in your next phase of life…
Hello! My recommendation – when you’re bored start a diary. If you are stressed all the time at work, or you are nervous recently, then you have to do something in order to change that. So, let’s say that you need to buy a diary. Every day you will stay alone at home, or get bored, go in your room and start writing in the diary. It will help you relieve the stress, and at the end you will feel less nervous and tense. A simple writing can do miracles in your life, and will change it 180 degrees. You will feel calmer, won’t yell at others, and you will feel happier. This is a productive thing to be done to you and your mental health.
Hi Adelle, yes, that’s a good suggestion and I’ve written about journaling/keeping a diary which you can read about here.
I have arthritis and find it extremely boring at home. Cleaning and looking after oneself becomes a chore.
Your suggestions are great.
You’ve a great attitude.
Thanks Lisa-Marie! 🙂
Hi my dad has had a few accidents (car accidents, falls, neck surgeries, etc.) that has left him disabled. He has kept himself busy at home for a few years but now he is loosing his mind as he is very bored. he also doesn’t have a sense of control/purpose at home anymore as he is unable to do much. He starts a fight out of nowhere and says sorry later. He does not do anything morning to night anymore. it’s been very hard watching him going down hill but it’s to the point where he is alive but he feels dead. I don’t know what I can do for him in terms of keeping him busy . His can barely walk, his arms come up to no more than his waist, and he can’t move his neck. Any help is appreciated.
Hi Sarah, I’m sorry to hear about your father. Is he open to seeing a therapist because that’s probably the best place to start. I’d also seek out YouTube channels of disabled people who’ve found purpose in their lives again and show those to you Dad. Funny videos too. Is he physically able to do any of his former hobbies? If so, I’d try to do them together with your Dad as a way to help rekindle his interest. Hope that helps a bit…
Just about every suggestion involves zero social interaction of any kind. That is what most disabled folks want and need. But it just isn’t available. I have been looking for something to occupy my time as my disabilities get worse and I age. But there is just nothing out there other than solitary activities.
Can you attend ballet or theatre with a friend?
I joined a peer support group – it’s new and early days but i do feel good after talking to others, no matter how short the chats may be. Maybe see if there are things like that in your area, or a group class or workshop you could sign up for. Once you get to know people there you can go for coffee or cinema, or do all sorts of other things together. You can even learn a language competitively using Duolingo 😀
If you are struggling with mental health, then Mind (in the UK) and other charities all over the world also run peer support groups or sessions, which are another great way to meet people who understand that life’s is sometimes a big bag of cr*p!
Hope this helps. I was house bound and lonely for a year until recently so i do understand the sadness and desperation that loneliness brings. Family and friends simply don’t get it, but it’s not their fault – how can they? We somehow just have to find the energy to find ways to help ourselves. (Another starting point for me was also doing mindfulness for 10 mins a day, and trying to spot the behaviours that were keeping me stuck in a rut.).
Time to update this buddy. Parkinson’s is my devil. It like many other illnesses gets ya down. Need that thing that gives meaning like work used to do.
Thank you for your post. I am bedridden with no friends or family. I put in surveillance cameras because of being assaulted by my carer but something additionally positive happened. It was the first time ever I got to see my symptoms objectively. I could see if I woke up during the night and didn’t remember and could under stand why I was having a worse day. I could see when I slept through 36hrs! I could see how much I ate and drank and I could tell my mood by habits didn’t know I had like rubbing my entire face when distressed. One day I could see my agitation building over the day until I snapped. It has become a wonderful objective feedback tool to help me manage my conditions. It has been phenomenenal in improving care too :). It’s not a hobby but if you have memory loss like me, it can come in very handy when writing up the daily diary! Hahaha. I was writing a book before traumatic brain injury. I have lost a lot of capacity but would like to try but only have a phone in bed. My eyesight deteriorates rapidly using my phone all day everyday for my needs as it is. I try to read eBooks from it but the eyestrain is great. So I would suggest a surface (tablet+keyboard) if in people’s budget.
I liked to be reminded of Google travel. I haven’t been on a Google holiday for a while. It is fun when you combine it with genealogy and check out what the places of your ancestors look like now.
I like Quora. There are professor, experts in different fields, authors and lots of famous people who give away their information for free. You can follow mere morals who always tend to surprise you with aspects about topics that interest you. It is also a forum for you to express yourself. Just a couple if ideas… disability doesn’t discriminate as to ‘type’ of person and interests.