Stuff to do in the Summer Holidays when you're Bored

Pick a sport you are determined to be good at by the end of summer, or entirely change your body shape and build yourself up. Train yourself to run, row, bike or swim, and go back to school or university with an ace up your sleeve.

This kind of serious training is a real lifestyle choice. It can eat up hours each day in the gym or on the road, and you have to have the right diet for your training. As soon as you start seeing results, you'll have all the motivation you need and suddenly, summer will be almost over.

If you're old enough, which is 18 in the UK, round some friends up and go out for the night. As most of you know, this takes up two days, because you won't want to leave your bed the day after!

Getting ready to go out is exciting and gives you opportunity to catch up with old mates and make new ones.

Or practice one you already play. Be it piano, flute, trombone...there are always orchestras at educational institutes, and are a great way to meet new people and add things to personal statements or Higher Education Achievement Reports.

Particularly if you have pieces that you love, or commercial songs that you just love the melody of, there's no better feeling than just producing it yourself.

It doesn't have to be expensive to get an instrument - I got my first flute for £50 and it worked perfectly fine for five years!

As a self-confessed geek, I'm super interested in astronomy even though I study engineering, so I often scan the night sky and draw out star maps. Is there anything you're interested in? How do planes or trains work, criminal law, medicine? Do you want to learn how to apply makeup properly, or play chess?

There's so much research you can do on the internet. You might find that once you start reading, you don't want to stop.

Do you like academia? Then look at your course for next year and do a bit of reading. Remember, if you learn it now, there's less to learn when it comes to exams, plus you may end up impressing a few people.

Travelling doesn't have to be expensive - go interrailling, or check out the ryanair and easyjet summer sales. £40 return to Amsterdam? Don't mind if I do!

If you're at uni, travel around the country a bit and visit your uni friends, or persuade them to come and visit you. Remember that you don't have to travel with people - travelling solo can often give you a different but awesome experience, because you'll meet so many other people (and will probably have somewhere to stay in a given city!)

Make a budgeting plan to save up for next summer, too. Always wanted to go to Florida? Budget for it, and get yourself over there.

Maybe there's a local charity that could do with some help, or your elderly neighbour needs their grass cut. You never know, you might get a bit of pocket money for it.

Some great charities include Save the Children, Oxfam, Cancer Research, Christian Aid, Dogs Trust, Macmillan Cancer Support, the Red Cross, the British Heart Foundation..the list goes on!

Earn money for next summer, or for a car, new clothes, or to have an easier year in the life of a student. If you're finding it difficult to get a job, local pubs often take on extra employees during the summer because it's busy. You could get bar work, waitressing work, a kitchen porter or a bar backer.

Set up a savings account if your money is going towards something. Natwest are great at helping you save, as they give you monthly goals.

You now have all the time in the world to visit museums and art galleries, go to concerts or plays, watch films, listen to broad ranges of music and read literature. Quite a lot of this can be done for free - all books old enough to be out of copywrite are freely available online, music can be found on youtube and most museums are free.

If you're in London, there is the science museum, the national portrait gallery, the tate modern, Shakespeare's Globe (play tickets are £5 each), the west end, the royal opera house...

Having a little bit of knowledge about everything helps you engage with everyone else's interests. This is important if you are planning a career in business or generally with people. You never know, you may find you love the ballet!

Do you want a new tattoo, a new piercing, or to change your hair colour? These can be great things to look forward to, and will have you checking yourself out for a while afterwards.

Perhaps you would like a new xbox or playstation game to take up your time, or a new book, or some other toy to take up your time. Maybe redecorate and refurnish your room. You could get some paints and make it unique.

Are you deciding where to apply to college, university, or what you're doing to do after graduation? Are you going into further study, do you want a summer internship, do you want a job? If so, where and how will it help you?

You have months of nothing to do - why not find a business idea? Find some new solution to a common problem, be it a new invention or a new use for something already available.