Low-concentration wins
This is the golden rule.
Take things that survive interruption.
Good options include:
- Familiar television or short programmes.
- Podcasts and audiobooks.
- Puzzle books.
- Colouring.
- Simple phone or tablet games.
- Short reads rather than one enormous serious novel.
- A small game you can play with a visitor.
- A familiar, put-downable hobby you already enjoy — knitting or crochet, for example — rather than the enormous aspirational project that needs its own trolley.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a book. Just do not be surprised if you read the same page four times and retain none of it.
Audio is brilliant when your eyes are tired
Podcasts, audiobooks and radio are good because you can close your eyes and let somebody else do the work. We are building a separate recommendations list, but until that exists, familiar voices and subjects you already like are the safest bet.
Familiar voices are especially useful at night or on days when concentration is poor.
Headphones matter in a shared ward. Your excellent murder podcast does not automatically become a bay-wide cultural event because everybody is awake.
Download before you need it
Wifi can be fine. Wifi can also decide it has retired.
Download a few things before you go in if you can: programmes, podcasts, audiobooks, puzzle apps, anything you know you like.
That way your entertainment does not depend on one bar of signal and an increasingly furious spinning circle.
Colouring and puzzles are not just for children
A puzzle book or colouring book is almost perfectly designed for hospital concentration.
You can do one bit. Stop. Have your blood pressure taken. Forget about it for an hour. Pick it up again.
There is no plot to lose and no guilt if you abandon it halfway through.
This is why apparently very grown adults can become fiercely attached to a word search by day three.
Visitors do not have to talk for two hours
One of the nicest things somebody can bring is something to do together.
A tiny game, Connect 4, Travel Rummikub or cards — anything simple enough to start quickly and stop quickly — can take the pressure off conversation and give the visit a shape.
It takes the pressure off conversation when neither of you has anything new to say and you have already discussed parking, hospital coffee and how cold the ward is.
Company can be lovely without requiring constant eye contact and meaningful chat.
The 3am problem
Night-time boredom is its own category.
You may be awake but not awake enough to do anything demanding.
Quiet audio, familiar television with headphones, a gentle puzzle, scrolling through photographs — anything low-light and low-drama is useful.
Try not to turn the phone brightness up to lighthouse mode. The person opposite may be trying desperately to sleep.
Between us, we have absolutely reached the level of boredom where a slow wander down a corridor suddenly feels like an outing. Hospital will recalibrate your idea of entertainment surprisingly fast.
Bring less than you think
Hospital bags attract optimism.
Three books. Two magazines. Craft project. Journal. Tablet. Puzzle book. Board game. Laptop. Apparently we all imagine admission will transform us into the most productive person we have ever been.
Pick a few things you genuinely use.
The best distraction is the one you actually reach for when you are tired, not the aspirational hobby you feel you ought to have.
If nothing holds your attention
That is okay too.
Sometimes you are too tired, uncomfortable or fed up to be entertained.
You do not have to optimise every flat afternoon.
Stare out of the window. Listen to people. Sleep. Complain mildly about the tea with your ward neighbour.
Getting through the day is enough.
This is practical guidance, not medical advice. Hospitals, wards and individual needs vary, so use what helps and ignore what doesn’t. For anything clinical, ask the healthcare team looking after you.
Printed from thesicklist.co.uk/guides/things-to-do-when-bored-in-hospital