What to Do When Bored on Computer

Press for one thing to do on the computer when bored: something to make, learn, tidy, play or look up.

What to Do When Bored on Computer

  1. Find the flag of every country that borders yoursA free encyclopedia. Line the flags up in a document.
All 106

Next step Ready to leave the screen? Draw an activity

How it works

What to do when bored on computer: make something. Draw pixel art in a spreadsheet, build a one-page website in a text file, or press for one of 106 ideas written for the programs a computer usually has.

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Five kinds of idea

Make something (24) ends with a file you made. Learn something (24) ends with a skill, such as totaling a column or typing your name with your hands covered. Tidy up (20) leaves the computer in better order. Play (16) uses the random tools of this site. Look something up (22) sends you to a map, a museum or an encyclopedia.

No product names, on purpose

Cards say a spreadsheet, a paint program or a free encyclopedia, never a product or a website, so they work with whichever programs the computer has. A card that uses a command points to a menu or a help page, because the keys differ between systems.

Questions and answers

What can you do on a computer when bored without the internet?

Most of Make something and Tidy up works offline: draw pixel art in a spreadsheet, animate a bouncing ball in a slideshow, clear the desktop down to five icons, or rename a year of photos by date and place.

What is something useful to do on a computer when bored?

Tidy it. Sort the downloads folder by date and clear it out, put a spare copy of your schoolwork on a USB stick, or find the three biggest files on the computer. The Tidy up group has 20 jobs of this kind.

Do I need to install or sign up for anything?

Not for most cards. They use a text editor, a word processor, a spreadsheet, a paint, photo or slideshow program, a sound recorder and a browser. No card asks for a new account or a purchase; if the computer lacks a program, press again.

What games can I play on the computer when bored?

The Play group has 16 small games built on the random tools of this site: flip a virtual coin fifty times and tally the streaks, roll three virtual dice until all three match, or draw five random emoji and write the story they tell.

More tools

Browse Entertainment

All 106 ideas

Make something 24

  • Animate a bouncing ball in a slideshow A slideshow program. Ten slides, the ball a little lower on each, played fast.
  • Build a crossword on a spreadsheet grid A spreadsheet. Ten words that cross, dark cells between, clues underneath.
  • Build a one-page website in a text file A text editor and a browser. A heading, a paragraph and a list, saved with the ending .html.
  • Chart something you counted today A spreadsheet. Cups of water, steps or pages: type the numbers and insert a chart.
  • Chart your family tree with boxes and lines A slideshow or drawing program. Three generations on one page.
  • Design a logo from your two initials A drawing program. Two letters, two colors, no pictures.
  • Design a poster for a band that does not exist Any drawing or slideshow program. A name, a date and one bold shape.
  • Design your own alphabet on a grid of squares A paint program or a spreadsheet. Give each capital a box five squares wide and seven tall.
  • Draw a self-portrait with the mouse, no undo A paint program. Whatever the first line looks like, it stays.
Show all 106 ideas (97 more)

Make something, continued

  • Draw pixel art in a spreadsheet A spreadsheet. Shrink the cells to squares and fill them with color. You end up with a picture to save.
  • Draw your street with the rectangle tool only The shape tool of a drawing program. Label each building you know.
  • Lay out a one-page collage of your year A slideshow program. Twelve of your own pictures, one for each month.
  • Lay out your ideal week in a spreadsheet Seven columns and one row an hour, each cell filled in. You end up with a timetable to print.
  • Make a birthday calendar for the people you know A spreadsheet. Twelve months down the side, every birthday typed in once.
  • Make a ten-question quiz with you as the subject A text editor. Send it to a friend and see how many they get.
  • Make a three-panel comic from shapes and speech bubbles A slideshow program. Circles for heads, callout shapes for the talking.
  • Print your reading list as a narrow strip for a bookmark A word processor. A narrow column, ten titles and a border, ready to print and cut.
  • Record a one-minute spoken diary entry A sound recorder program. Save the file with today's date in its name.
  • Script a short radio play for two voices A text editor. Speaker names on the left, lines on the right, one sound effect.
  • Turn one of your own photos into a desktop background A photo editor. Crop it to the shape of the screen and set it as the wallpaper.
  • Type up a family recipe as a one-page card A word processor. Ingredients on the left, steps on the right, ready to print.
  • Write a time-capsule file about this week A text editor. What you ate, watched and worried about, saved in a folder named for next year.
  • Write an acrostic poem from the name of your town A text editor. One line for each letter, top to bottom.
  • Write the manual for making toast A text editor. Numbered steps that a stranger could follow without asking anything.

Learn something 24

  • Arrange two windows side by side Drag and resize them until each has half the screen: notes on one side, reading on the other.
  • Find out how much storage your computer has left Search your system's settings for storage. Write the figure down with today's date.
  • Find out what each key in the top row does A text editor. Press them one at a time and write down what happened.
  • Find the color code of your favorite color A color picker, in a drawing program or found by a web search. Copy the six-character code into a note.
  • Learn ten keyboard shortcuts for your most-used program Search the program's help for keyboard shortcuts. Use each one three times before you close it.
  • Learn the spelling alphabet that pilots use Look it up and type out all 26 code words, then spell your name with them out loud.
  • Learn to find one word on a long page The find command in your browser's menu. Try it on the longest article you can open.
  • Learn to take a screenshot of one part of the screen Search your computer's help for screenshot. Capture one window, then one small area.
  • Learn to type three accented letters Your system's help explains how. Try the letters in a name such as Chloé or Zoë.
  • Learn to zoom a page in and out from the keyboard Your browser's help page lists the keys. Try them on a page with small text.
  • Learn what five file endings on your computer mean Pick five files. Look up each ending and which program opens it.
  • Look at the code behind a simple web page Search your browser's help for page source. Find the page's title inside the code.
  • Make a document build its own table of contents A word processor. Mark three lines as headings, then insert the contents list.
  • Name files so that they sort by date Start each name with the year, then the month, then the day, and watch the folder line up.
  • Practice the home row until you can type it blind A text editor. The eight keys under your resting fingers, eyes on the screen.
  • Read chapter one of a classic that is out of copyright A free online library of old books. One chapter, start to end.
  • Search for an exact phrase with quotation marks A search engine. Try a phrase with the marks and without, and compare the results.
  • Sort a list of twenty words from A to Z A spreadsheet or a word processor. Type the words in any order and find the sort command.
  • Total a column with a spreadsheet formula A spreadsheet. Type ten numbers and let one cell add them up.
  • Turn a one-page document into a PDF The print or export menu of a word processor. You end up with a one-page file that opens anywhere.
  • Type the alphabet as fast as you can, three times A text editor and a clock. Write down each time and see whether the third is the quickest.
  • Type the numbers 1 to 16 in binary A text editor. Sixteen lines; by the last one you can read the pattern.
  • Type your full name with your hands covered A text editor and a sheet of paper over your hands. Repeat until it comes out right.
  • Undo a whole sentence step by step, then redo it A text editor. Type a line, walk it back one step at a time, then bring it all back.

Tidy up 20

  • Clear the desktop down to five icons Everything else goes into a folder or the trash. You end up seeing your wallpaper again.
  • Close every browser tab you have not used today Your browser. Bookmark the two you would miss; close the rest.
  • Delete duplicate photos from your last trip Your photos folder. Keep the best of each near-identical set.
  • Delete the bookmarks that no longer open Your browser's bookmark list. Click each one; dead links go.
  • Empty the trash after one last look Your file manager. Check nothing is needed, empty it and note the space that came back.
  • Find one installed program you forgot you had The system's list of installed programs. Read down it and look up what the strangest one does.
  • Find the three biggest files on the computer Search your system's help for large files, or sort a folder by size. Does each one still earn its space?
  • Fix the clock, language and keyboard settings The system settings. Fix whichever one has been slightly wrong for months.
  • Give ten badly named files proper names Your file manager. A file called Document1 gets the name of what is in it.
  • List the files you could never replace A text file. Photos, schoolwork, letters: those are what to copy somewhere else first.
  • Move last year's files into one archive folder Your file manager. One folder, named for the year, holding everything you finished.
  • Number your folders so they sort the way you think Put 01, 02, 03 at the front of the names in your main folder.
  • Pin only the programs you use every day The taskbar or dock. Unpin the rest; they stay installed.
  • Put a spare copy of your schoolwork on a USB stick A stick or drive you already own. You end up with two copies in two places.
  • Rename a year of photos by date and place Your photos folder. One naming pattern, used for every file.
  • See which programs start when the computer does Search your system's help for startup programs and read down the list.
  • Shrink a crowded bookmarks bar to one row Your browser. Shorten each name to one word or drag it into a folder.
  • Sort loose documents into folders by year Your documents folder. One folder a year, nothing left outside them.
  • Sort the downloads folder by date and clear it out Your file manager. Keep what you need, delete the rest, oldest first.
  • Wipe the screen and tip the crumbs out of the keyboard A soft cloth. You end up with a screen you can see and keys that do not crunch.

Play 16

  • Call ten coin flips before each one lands A coin flipper and a text file. Type your call, flip, and count how many you got right.
  • Draw a random animal and learn one fact about it A random animal tool and a free encyclopedia. Type the fact into a note.
  • Draw a random animal and sketch it with the mouse A random animal tool and a paint program. No erasing; sign it and save the file.
  • Draw a random city and plan a day there A random city tool and a map. Three sights, one meal, how you would get between them.
  • Draw a random date and find its day of the week A random date tool. Work it out by hand or look at a calendar for that year.
  • Draw a random letter and list ten foods that start with it A random letter tool and a text file. No looking anything up.
  • Draw a random question and type a full answer A random question tool. Three sentences at least, as if someone had asked.
  • Draw a random word and use it in a sentence A random word tool. If you do not know the word, look it up first.
  • Draw five random emoji and write the story they tell A random emoji tool and a text editor. Use all five in the order they came.
  • Draw five random words and write a four-line poem A random word tool and a text editor. Every word used once, in any order.
  • Draw random letters until they spell your first name A random letter tool. Tally the draws it takes to collect every letter.
  • Flip a virtual coin fifty times and tally the streaks A coin flipper and a text file. Write down the longest run of heads.
  • Read a riddle and answer before you reveal it A riddle tool. Type your answer first so you cannot change it.
  • Roll three dice twenty times and chart the totals A dice roller and a spreadsheet. Type each total into a column and see which comes up most.
  • Roll three virtual dice until all three match A dice roller. Count the rolls it takes, then try to beat the count.
  • Say a random tongue twister five times fast A tongue twister tool and nobody listening. Record yourself for the full effect.

Look something up 22

  • Check the weather on the other side of the world A weather site. Pick the city farthest from you and compare it with your window.
  • Find a photo of your town from a century ago The online collection of a library or archive. Compare it with a street view of the same spot.
  • Find out where your favorite food was first made A free encyclopedia. You end up with a place and a rough date.
  • Find out which fossils have been dug up near you A museum or geological survey page for your region.
  • Find the flag of every country that borders yours A free encyclopedia. Line the flags up in a document.
  • Find the highest point in your state or country A free encyclopedia. Note the height and how far it is from you.
  • Find the next eclipse you could see from home A space agency's eclipse page or a free encyclopedia. Write the date somewhere you will find it.
  • Learn the hand shapes that spell your name A fingerspelling chart for your country's sign language. Practice until your hands know it.
  • Look at a satellite picture of your school A map with a satellite view. Find the door you use every day.
  • Look up the origin of a word you say daily An online dictionary that gives word origins. Try the word OK.
  • Look up tonight's moon phase Any moon calendar. Then check it against the sky after dark.
  • Look up when your school was built The school's website or a local history page. Note the year and who it was named for.
  • Look up where your first name comes from A dictionary of names. Write down the language and what the name meant.
  • Look up your country's tallest tree and longest river A free encyclopedia. Two names and two numbers, typed into a note.
  • Look up your street on a map with street views See whether the map keeps older pictures and how the street has changed.
  • Read the encyclopedia page for your birth date A free encyclopedia has a page for every day of the year. Read the list for yours.
  • Read the rules of a sport you have never watched The sport's governing body or a free encyclopedia. Enough to follow one match.
  • Read today's featured article in a free encyclopedia The front page of the encyclopedia. All of it, even if the subject is new to you.
  • Search a museum's online collection for your town A large museum's website. Open the oldest object that comes up.
  • See what is in the sky above you tonight A free online sky chart set to your location. Pick one bright thing to find after dark.
  • Trace the longest train ride you could take from home A rail map or a journey planner. Follow the line to its last stop.
  • Watch a live camera somewhere you want to visit Aquariums, city squares and bird nests have them. Search for one and leave it running.

How this list was compiled: All 106 lines were written for this page; nothing is copied from another list. 13 of the ideas are also, in other words, on the random activity generator or the random task generator of this site. The rule for getting on the list: it is done at a computer, with the programs a computer usually has (a text editor, a word processor, a spreadsheet, a paint, photo or slideshow program, a sound recorder, a browser) and the files already on it. No card asks for a new account or a purchase; a card needs a download only where the computer lacks the program it names. Each line says what you use and what you end up with. No product, website, game or platform is named: the cards say a spreadsheet, a free encyclopedia or a museum's online collection. No key combination is printed, because the keys differ between systems; a card that uses a command points to a menu, the settings or a help page, and those pointers were not tried on every system. No times are given. The 16 cards of the Play group use eleven random tools that this site has. Groups: 24 to make, 24 to learn, 20 to tidy, 16 to play, 22 to look up. Checked on 2026-10-02: every card read for a product name, and every tool the Play cards mention found on this site. Licence: own work