165 Fun Lists to Make When You’re Bored (and Need a Boost)

Making lists is a great way to stay organised, vent onto the page, or simply record your thoughts so that you don’t forget them.

If you’re short of list ideas to make or struggling to even know write to write down, I’ll give you PLENTY in this post.

I personally find that listing down my to-do list for the day keeps me accountable and productive. It also puts my mind at rest because I know I’m not going to forget any of the little tasks I need to complete throughout the day.

Plus, don’t you just love that little boost of ticking things on their off as you complete them?

A 2008 study by Microsoft found that 73% of the US keep at least one list a day.

Considering the rising popularity of journaling and personal development tools, it makes sense that now, 15 years later, this percentage is probably even higher.

And there’s actual psychology behind this!

Our brains LOVE completing tasks. This is referred to as the “Zeigarnik effect”, as Russian psychologist, Bluma Zeigarnik, was one of the first to notice how productive we can be when we make a to-do list.

As we tick each task off our to-do list, our brain releases dopamine – a neurotransmitter responsible for feeling satisfied, happy, and – maybe most importantly – rewarded.

Dopamine is important when it comes to feeling satisfied, forming habits, and learning.

Therefore, as we work through our lists and physically cross out tasks we’ve completed, we get a genuine feeling of accomplishment.

With this in mind, why stop at a to-do list?

There are plenty of different lists to make when bored or when you need a boost.

My top 10 list ideas

Before we get into some more specific list ideas, I know you’re probably a busy person with a to-do list to get started on, so I wanted to give you my top 10.

If you keep these lists – or even just a few – you’ll improve your organisation, mood, and productivity.

1. Gratitude
2. To-do list
3. Affirmations
4. Journal prompts you want to use
5. Important dates/birthdays
6. Goals/manifestations
7. Self-care activities that you love
8. Things you love about yourself
9. Income/expenses/budget
10. Things you’ve achieved

List ideas for your journal

Your journal is the perfect place to write lists; it allows you to keep track of them, as well as have a safe place where you feel you can vent.

While you can obviously write any of the lists mentioned in this post in your journal, here are some journal-specific list ideas for you to try out.

1. Gratitude
2. Journal prompts
3. Journaling goals
4. Daily goals
5. Long-term goals
6. Journal techniques that you want to try
7. Journaling techniques that work for you
8. Ways journaling has helped you
9. Themed journals that you want to try
10. Journaling courses that you want to enrol in
11. Your favourite journaling bloggers/influencers
12. Ways to make you stick to your journaling habit
13. Types of bullet journal template that you want to look up
14. Your favourite types of journal
15. Journal stationary
16. Manifestations
17. Affirmations that work for you
18. Things you like about yourself
19. Things you like about other people
20. What doesn’t work for you when journaling

Mood-boosting list ideas

Sometimes, we need a little mood boost.

These list ideas can give you exactly that.

1. Things that make you feel happy
2. Things that make you feel safe
3. Favourite self-care activities
4. Little wins
5. Big achievements
6. Hurdles you’ve overcome
7. Things you’re excited for in the future
8. Songs that boost your mood
9. Things you’re doing today that you’re grateful for
10. Affirmations that give you a lift
11. Inspirational quotes that motivate you
12. Happy memories
13. Activities that make your inner child happy
14. Things you wish you could say to your younger self
15. People in your life that you’re grateful for
16. People that inspire you
17. Comfort foods
18. Your favourite activities and hobbies
19. Your comfort movies
20. Things that boost your confidence

Creative list ideas

Are you a creative person?

I invite you to give these lists a try.

1. Paintings/drawings you want to create
2. Songs you want to finish writing
3. Song title ideas
4. Song theme ideas
5. YouTube videos you want to make
6. Book characters you want to create
7. Articles you want to write
8. Themes you want to cover with your poetry/writing
9. Your favourite pieces of art that you’ve already made
10. What you enjoy about being creative
11. How you stay consistent with your hobbies and passions
12. Skills you want to learn
13. Favourite ways to express yourself
14. Songs that make you feel inspired
15. Favourite art medium
16. Your creative goals
17. People that inspire you creatively
18. What makes you feel most inspired
19. Things a specific piece of art makes you feel
20. The steps to your creative process

List ideas for manifestation

Looking to manifest your dream life? These manifestation list ideas should help you out.

1. Things you want to manifest
2. Things you’ve already manifested
3. Reasons why you want to manifest
4. Things that help you manifest
5. Manifestation techniques that work for you
6. How manifesting makes you feel
7. Aspects of your dream life
8. Affirmations for manifesting
9. Visualisations you want to try
10. Snapshots from your dream life
11. Favourite guided meditations that help raise your vibration
12. Activities that make you feel positive
13. Things you’re already grateful for
14. Ways you can act “as if”
15. Ways you can raise your vibration today
16. Manifestation success stories
17. People who talk about manifestation that inspire you
18. Law of attraction books you want to read
19. Law of attraction books that have helped you
20. Quotes about manifestation that inspire you

Fun lists to make

These list ideas are just a bit of fun for when you’re bored.

1. Movies you want to watch
2. Concerts you want to go to
3. Books you want to read
4. Places you want to travel
5. Favourite flowers
6. How to care for your plants
7. Plants you already own
8. Favourite foods
9. Ways to move your body that you enjoy
10. Best struggle meals
11. People you want to meet
12. Favourite games to play
13. Date night ideas
14. Activities to do with friends
15. Your pet’s favourite thing
16. TV shows you want to check out
17. Favourite outfits
18. Languages you want to learn/words you know in a different language
19. Decorations to get for an upcoming event/holiday
20. A bucket list/things you want to accomplish by a certain age

Practical list ideas

Practical lists can help you get organised and productive, and be real stress-busters.

1. Daily to-do list
2. Appointments you need to make
3. Cleaning/chores
4. Groceries
5. Toiletries
6. Expenses
7. Budgeting goals
8. Ways to save money
9. Places you want to live
10. Exercises for your workout
11. Wedding ideas
12. Birthdays
13. Gift ideas
14. Important dates
15. Documents you need to file
16. Things you need to pack
17. Tasks that need to be done before you move house
18. Car repair/maintenance checklist
19. Bills
20. Meal planning/meals you enjoy

List ideas for work and career

If you’re looking to get more organised at work, these are the list ideas for you.

1. Career goals
2. Work boundaries
3. Meetings
4. Stationary you need to get
5. Work self-care
6. Affiliates you want to work with
7. Ways to improve your productivity
8. Steps to launch your own business
9. Steps to increase revenue
10. Ways you can improve your work-life balance
11. People who inspire you in work
12. Work expenses
13. Favourite work tools
14. Work affirmations
15. Important dates to remember
16. Networking events you want to attend this year
17. Potential jobs you want to look into or apply for
18. Applications you’ve sent out
19. Your five-year plan
20. People you want to work with

List ideas for self improvement

Self improvement should always be one of our goals.

Even if we’ve already healed and gone through a great deal of personal development, we should always be putting in the work to be the best person we can be. It’s so rewarding.

These list ideas should help you do that.

1. Positive habits you want to start
2. Unhelpful habits that you want to quit
3. Your perfect morning routine
4. Steps you want to take to improve you morning routine
5. The steps in your night time routine
6. How you want to improve your sleep hygiene
7. What the perfect night time routine looks like to you
8. How to improve your current daily routine overall
9. Areas of your life you want to work on
10. Meditation procress
11. Ways to improve productivity
12. Areas of your life you need to heal in
13. Personal development books you want to read
14. Ways you’ve already improved your life
15. Personal development gurus you want to learn more about
16. Ways you want to love yourself more

Random things to make lists of

Here are some bonus list ideas if you’re just bored and in the mood to write some lists.

1. Your favourite animals
2. Hobbies you want to get into
3. An inventory of all your belongings
4. A list of all your clothing items
5. All the books you own
6. All the DVDs you own
7. Streaming services you’re signed up to
8. All the games you own
9. Random life events
10. Items that you own that bring you joy

Final thoughts

Writing lists isn’t just great for productivity, organisation, stress relief, and our mindset in general, they can also be fun and a great boredom-killer.

The top 10 list ideas I mentioned at the beginning of this post will help you hit all these areas and, before you know it, writing lists will be a habit that you won’t want to break.