To help with boredom, listen to books on tape, books on CD, or download audio books onto an MP-3 player. You'll walk farther to see what's going to happen next!

I have gone through several pedometers over the years - what invariably ends up happening is that the clip breaks, rendering the pedometer useless. I got an Omron pedometer recently, and I really like it. It doesn't require a clip (it kind of looks like a stopwatch) and can be placed in one's pocket or purse. I tested it and found it was surprisingly accurate.