If you've ever Googled "random things to do" or "I'm bored," you've probably come across a few tools that promise to solve your boredom. But not all random activity generators are created equal.
We're going to compare three popular options: TodayPick, The Bored Button, and Random Activity Generator (randomactgenerator.com). We'll look at what each one actually does, how it helps (or doesn't), and which one is worth your time.
TodayPick: Filtered Randomness That Fits Your Life
What it is: A web app that suggests random activities based on your mood, available time, and energy level.
How it works: You set three filters — mood (outdoor, creative, social, chill), time (15 minutes to half-day), and energy level. TodayPick then picks from 100+ curated activities that match your criteria. You can save favorites, skip suggestions, and regenerate as many times as you want.
Strengths: - Smart filtering. This is the biggest differentiator. You don't get "go hiking" when you have 15 minutes and zero energy. Activities actually match your current situation. - Curated quality. Every activity in TodayPick's database was selected for being actionable, fun, and doable without special equipment or spending money. - Favorites system. Heart activities you like and build a personal collection over time. Great for those "I liked that thing but forgot what it was" moments. - No signup required. Open the app, set your filters, get a suggestion. That's it. No email, no account, no friction. - Mobile-optimized. Works perfectly on phones, which is where you're most likely to be when boredom strikes. - Clean design. No ads, no clutter, no pop-ups asking you to subscribe to a newsletter.
Weaknesses: - Relatively new, so the activity database is still growing (though 100+ is already substantial). - No community features (yet) — you can't see what activities other people enjoyed.
Best for: People who want actionable, relevant suggestions that match their current energy and available time.
The Bored Button: Random Websites, Not Activities
What it is: A website that sends you to random websites, games, and online distractions when you click a big red button.
How it works: You press a button. It opens a random website. That's it. There's no filtering, no categories, and no way to specify what kind of thing you're looking for.
Strengths: - Dead simple. One button, one action. The interface couldn't be more straightforward. - Surprising results. You genuinely don't know what you'll get, which can be entertaining. - Large collection. The Bored Button has been around for years and has accumulated a huge library of linked sites.
Weaknesses: - It doesn't solve boredom — it redirects it. The Bored Button sends you to other websites. You're still staring at a screen. You're still scrolling. You've just moved from one digital distraction to another. - No filtering whatsoever. You can't filter by mood, time, activity type, or anything else. You get what you get. - Quality is inconsistent. Some linked sites are fun. Others are broken, outdated, or just weird. There's no curation. - Not activity-focused. The Bored Button is fundamentally about online content consumption, not about getting you to do something in the real world. - Ads and clutter. The site has gotten increasingly cluttered with ads over the years.
Best for: People who want to kill time online and don't mind where they end up. Good for 5 minutes of distraction, not for meaningful boredom relief.
Random Activity Generator: Basic but Bare-Bones
What it is: A minimal website that generates a random activity suggestion with one click.
How it works: You click "Generate Activity" and get a text suggestion like "Learn to fold a napkin fancy" or "Go cloud watching." You can filter by type (education, recreational, social, etc.) and number of participants.
Strengths: - Real activities. Unlike The Bored Button, Random Activity Generator actually suggests things to do, not websites to visit. - Basic filtering. You can filter by activity type and participant count, which is more than The Bored Button offers. - API available. Developers can integrate the activity suggestions into their own apps (powered by the Bored API).
Weaknesses: - Suggestions are often impractical. "Learn to play a new instrument" is technically an activity, but it's not something you can do in the next 15 minutes. - No time filtering. You can't specify how much time you have, so you might get suggestions that require hours when you only have minutes. - No energy or mood matching. A suggestion to "go rock climbing" when you're exhausted on a Tuesday night isn't helpful. - Limited database. The suggestions tend to repeat quickly, and many feel generic or uninspired. - Bare-bones design. The interface is functional but not enjoyable to use. It feels like a developer's side project (which it is). - No save feature. You can't bookmark or save activities you liked. Once you click away, they're gone.
Best for: People who want a quick, no-frills activity suggestion and don't mind if it doesn't perfectly match their situation.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | TodayPick | Bored Button | Random Activity Generator |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suggests real activities | ✅ | ❌ (websites) | ✅ |
| Mood/energy filtering | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Time filtering | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Curated quality | ✅ (100+ hand-picked) | ❌ (user-submitted) | Partial (API-sourced) |
| Save favorites | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| No signup required | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Mobile-friendly | ✅ | Partial | Partial |
| Ad-free | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Offline-friendly | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
The Verdict
If your goal is to actually do something — get off the couch, try something new, make the most of your free time — TodayPick is the clear winner. It's the only tool that considers your current mood, energy level, and available time before making a suggestion. That filtering is the difference between getting a relevant, actionable idea and getting a random string of text you'll immediately dismiss.
The Bored Button is fun for what it is, but it's fundamentally a screen-time tool. It replaces one kind of scrolling with another. If you're trying to break the doom-scroll cycle, The Bored Button isn't the answer — it's part of the problem.
Random Activity Generator is a step up from The Bored Button because it suggests real activities. But without mood, energy, or time filtering, most suggestions feel generic and poorly timed. You'll spend almost as much time skipping irrelevant suggestions as you would have spent deciding on your own.
The best boredom tool is the one that gets you to actually do something. And that requires more than random — it requires relevant random.
Try TodayPick
Ready to find your next activity? TodayPick is free, requires no signup, and works on any device.
👉 Open TodayPick — tell it your mood, set your time, and let it surprise you.