8 brainless activities to make yourself ‘unuseful’…

Looking for brainless activities to make yourself ‘unuseful’? The last couple of years I noticed that everything in life, every event you do has to be useful in some sort of way. I don’t only notice this in my own day-to-day life but also around me. The national news calls it the millennial problem, but I think it’s also part of where society is moving towards.

Burnout rates are sky high and develop from being an incident to the ‘normal’. Therefore, I thought it would be a great idea to give you 8 activities that don’t require an active mind: brainless activities, mindless things to do, fun stress-relieving activities, whatever you want to call them. Relaxing hobbies in which you don’t have to learn anything or make yourself useful and are ‘unuseful’ activities. At least in my opinion… And don’t forget you can always start with doing some small positive things for yourself and others!

8 Brainless activities

1. Redo your garden or balcony. I really love garden centers, especially during the holiday season. And even if you don’t I think that gardening (inside or outside) is a very relaxing activity. I noticed that during 2020 a lot of bloggers and YouTubers created their own kitchen gardens, which according to them was one of the more mindless things to do.
2. Watching your favourite Netflix series. This one is often categorized as the ‘I’m lazy’ activity. I disagree! It can also help you to just relax for an hour while you sit on the couch with a hot chocolate and a blanket. For me this is one of the solutions to the question: how to relax from stress!
3. Solve a puzzle. And I’m not talking about the sudoku’s and other types of puzzles that need brain activity, but just the old-school puzzles. During the holiday I like to sit around a table with my family, while we all try to solve a 2000 piece puzzle together. Personally, I find this a very fun stress relieving activity!
4. Listening to a podcast. When you’re busy running around making yourself useful you often forget to sit down or lay down and listen to a podcast. So download your favourite podcast, find a comfy place to sit or lay down and start listening. I recently started a podcast called The Normal World, if you’re interested in the struggles retired elite athletes face when quitting their elite career.
5. Knitting or crocheting. I can understand that if you’re not a female you might not think that this activity is relaxing. I myself don’t think this activity is relaxing because knitting always makes me frustrated. Although my sister and mother often knit or make beautiful crochet things and also say it’s very relaxing! They often do this while watching their favourite Netflix series, so this could be a way to do two mindless activities at the same time!
6. Walk in the park. It doesn’t matter if you have a pet or not, walking in the park is a very relaxing thing to do. Just you, nature, and your thoughts. If the latter makes you anxious you could always listen to music or a podcast while walking.
7. Go for a workout. This one is an activity that is very relaxing in my opinion, if I can pace myself. A good workout can also help with frustration, but that wasn’t the objective for this blog post. A good session of barre workout or pilates is in my opinion very relaxing. If you’re not sure how to do a home workout, check out my blog post about my 5 Amazing home workout YouTube channels. If a workout is not relaxing for you, you can always opt for a relaxing yoga or mindfulness session. Although I find that gardening for example is a mindfulness activity for me.
8. Read a good book. Oke, this one can be tricky with all the self-help books being thrown at you when you enter a bookstore. With a good book I mean a novel or non-fiction book that just has a good story. In my opinion, these books are very relaxing to read. And as a bonus, you could also try and listen to an audiobook and go for a walk at the same time. I love to combine mindless activities to relax all the time!

I hope that these very simple but easy-to-implement activities will help you to get some inspiration. Choosing these activities over ‘useful or learning’ activities will actually make you more productive. Allowing yourself and your brain to take a rest sometimes will actually benefit your focus and headspace when it’s needed.

Try it and let me know in the comments what you think! If you missed my post about 10 ideas for 10 minutes of me time every day don’t forget to read that one as well!