1 . When we’re bored, most of us end up being glued to a phone. That might ease our boredom.     1     That time could’ve been spent on a different, more valuable activity. The following will help ease your boredom, and teach you to use time more productively.

Reading.

    2     That’s because they were forced to read at school. But when you have the option to choose which book you’re going to read, you can understand why it’s enjoyable. Not only can it help ease your boredom, it’s also one of the best ways to expand your knowledge.

    3    

People often forget why they’re pursing something in the first place. Some may not even be sure what they’re supposed to be doing in their daily life. This lack of direction then often shows up as boredom. That’s why having goals is important.

Exercise.

Exercise is good and should be done frequently.     4     Most people who exercise do it to look better in the mirror. But there’s another reason why you should exercise, it improves our brain function.

Cleaning up your room.

Take a look around right now. Chances are that the space you’re in, is far from clean. However, you have to change that, as our physical environment has a huge impact on our cognition, behavior and decision making.     5     But once we remove all this visual mess from our environment, we’re able to focus and process information much better.

2 . Olly Neal grew up in Arkansas. He didn’t care much for high school. One day during his senior year, he cut class and walked into the school library. He discovered a book written by Frank Yerby. The book was The Treasure of Pleasant Valley and it attracted Neal’s attention. But there was one problem — if Neal took the book to the check out counter (收银台), his friends would know he was reading books.

“Then my fame (名誉) would be down,” Neal said. “I wanted them to know that all I could do was fight and cuss (咒骂).” Finally, Neal decided to steal the book.

A week later, Neal had finished the book. He brought it back to the library. But when he put it back, there was another book by Yerby. He took it as well. The same thing happened again. He read four of Yerby’s books that term — checking out none of them.

But Neal’s sneaky action turned out not to have been so sneaky after all. Attending his 13-year high school get-together, Neal met the school’s librarian, Mildred Grady. She saw Neal take that book. She said, “My first thought was to call him out, and then I realized what his situation was. So I decided that if Neal was showing an interest in books, I would find another one for him and put it in the same place where the one he had taken was.”

This was not an easy matter, because Frank Yerby’s books were not especially available. But the woman’s efforts paid off: Neal went on to attend law school and later became a great judge. When Grady died, Neal told the story and he said, “I thank Mrs. Grady for helping me get into the habit of enjoying reading, so that I was able to go to law school and survive.”