It is now the second week of the summer holiday for me, and I found out that after I finish all my homework, the afternoon is always quite boring and mundane. Maybe your summer has been uneventful so far, you're spending hours scrolling to cure your boredom, and you found this article hoping to give you some ideas.

So, what can you do to cure that boredom? After some trial and error, I've come up with these seven ways to keep me occupied in this time.

1. Read (閱讀, yuè dú)

This sounds very cliché, but since the end of summer is still months away, try to make it a daily habit (日常習慣, rì cháng xí guàn). Find a book that you are interested in (maybe you might find yourself getting into a new genre) and read it daily and take note (做筆記, zuò bǐ jì) of your thoughts on the book. If reading is not your daily habit yet, you might find that the notes you take during the first few days of your reading journal are detailed descriptions of why the book is boring and useless to read. However, you might find that you are taking note of your own thoughts on the book as the days progress. This ritual of reading and reflection can help you establish a steady routine and strengthen focus skills (加強專注力, jiā qiáng zhuān zhù lì).

2. Bond with family (多陪伴家人, duō péi bàn jiā rén)

Another cliché, but again with a little twist. Make it a commitment to spend time with your family instead of fragmented or occasional bonding times. It is good to set a weekly or, even better, daily time to meet with your family to perhaps talk about problems that you have been facing or things you want to work on, etc., to improve relationships between family members (改善家庭成員之間的關系, gǎi shàn jiā tíng chéng yuán zhī jiān de guān xì) and to also reflect on your own life. 

3. Go for walks (去散步, qù sàn bù)

If meditation (冥想, míng xiǎng) and exercise (鍛煉, duàn liàn) are not your jam, try going on walks! Not only can spending time outside, in nature, help us calm down and reflect on ourselves, but it can also help us get our exercise in, especially if you hate cardio (有氧運動, yǒu yǎng yùn dòng). If walking by yourself is too boring, go with family members or friends! If it's too hot, maybe doing some low-impact workouts following online workout videos could be a good choice.

4. Let the spinning wheel of destiny pick what you do: (把沒做過的事情寫在轉盤上，轉動轉盤 bǎ méi zuò guò de shì qing xiě zài zhuàn pán shàng , zhuàn dòng zhuàn pán)

Fill the wheel with activities that you might not have done before, and whichever activity it lands on will be the activity you will do.

5. Finish chores (做家務, zuò jiā wù)

Yes, you heard that right. There may be a few dishes lying around or clothes in the laundry that haven't been hung yet (晾衣服，liàng yī fu). If you don't have enough motivation (動力, dòng lì) to do these chores, set up a camera beside you at an angle that can film you while doing the chores (拍攝你做家務的過程, pāi shè nǐ zuò jiā wù de guò chéng) and start filming on time-lapse mode whenever you start working. After you finish and stop the filming, you will get an insanely satisfying and therapeutic video (and have the chores finished, hopefully)!

6. Set up a routine for yourself (制作一份每日生活常規, zhì zuò yī fèn měi rì shēng huó cháng guī)

During summer, things can get overwhelming at first as it may seem like everything has stopped. However, if a routine is set and a list of tasks is made, keeping yourself busy and organized will not be hard. Studies have shown that it takes 66 days to form a habit (養成一個習慣需要66天, yǎng chéng yī gè xí guàn xū yào liù shí liù tiān); setting up a routine and a schedule can help us become more organized (更有條理, gèng yǒu tiáo lǐ). So use this summer as an opportunity to become a better version of yourself!

7. Journal (做記錄, zuò jì lù)

You can do this whenever and wherever – just grab a notebook or a piece of paper and jot down your thoughts or ideas. Just like going on a walk or meditating, it is a really good way to calm down and reflect.

來源：Jing Kids
編輯：萬月英