What do I do with my free time?

October 8, 2021 8:55 AM

I've asked questions like this before but this time I'm being more specific. In general, I do well with structure and tasks. However, I have pockets of down time that I'd like to fill with something that makes me feel better than scrolling social media.

Down time could be during the day between clients, or after my kids come home from school and are watching tv, or in the evening when I'm so tired, I can't move. I'm not interested in crafts of any sort. I can't leave the house after kids come home because they are too little to be home by themselves. I need choices that are in house and can be picked up and done for a few minutes here or there. I've considered finding a second job that I could do from home but not sure what that would look like. I've never been much of a hobbies person. I like these that help me learn, I like things that are productive, and I like community/cultural type experiences.

posted by rglass to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (21 answers total)

Books are nice.
posted by phunniemee at 9:01 AM on October 8, 2021

Specifically, ebooks from you local library, which hopefully uses Libby because it's excellent. This means that the entire experience can be managed from the same device you'd otherwise scroll social media on. If you really have the brainpower left for learning, or challenging social texts, or other objectively productive stuff, there's plenty of that, but there are also plenty of very easy reading options that may be of comfort and support to a working parent with obligations outside the home who gets so tired they can't move. Which is to say: be kind to yourself here and recognize that disengaging from endless social media is a fine goal in and of itself, so you needn't hurry to be replace it with something "healthy" right away. If tracking is your thing though, and your library does use Libby, you can often "send" the books to Kindle and read them in that app (even if you don't actually have a Kindle), which displays happy little announcements about how many days/weeks in a row you've read.
posted by teremala at 9:15 AM on October 8, 2021

If something on your phone is OK, Duolingo or another language-learning app would be a good fit for just a few minutes here or there. You could brush up a language you studied at school, or get started with a completely new one.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 9:19 AM on October 8, 2021

If you have the space, jigsaw puzzles are nice. You can spend as little or as much time as you like and still get something done. Bonus if you listen to an audiobook or podcast while doing it.

Another thing I like to do is flip through my cookbooks and bookmark things.
posted by yawper at 9:29 AM on October 8, 2021

It can be efficient to use those little moments for tasks like bill paying or gift research or ordering kids' clothes for the next season... in order to free up bigger blocks of time on the weekend to be able to leave the house for community/cultural stuff. Since Covid, it's also been an option to sign up for a Zoom event that's in the evening, not attend it, but then watch the recording during downtime, because you can pause it and come back to it.
posted by xo at 9:36 AM on October 8, 2021

There are some fun/interesting crowdsourced online projects that I enjoyed a lot in early COVID-times. The ones that I had the most staying power with were ones on Zooniverse, very easy to pick up and put down, very helpful in the aggregate to science projects. There are some other types of projects that are online which you might like including transcribing digitized things at the Library of Congress or check out this big list here.

I'm also a big fan of doing little nerdy things at Wikipedia (definitely a ymmv situation) but there are a few things you can do that are straightforward like fixing typos or categorizing uncategorized pages. The thing I really like to do there is a bit more involved but it involves adding images for people who are deceased and who do not have a picture with their article. There are looser copyright restrictions on these images so you can find them in copyrighted sources. It's fiddly but it's just doing some research and then adding an image and adding a fair use rationale to the image (example). I also sometimes add logos to the web pages of companies that don't have them, similar workflow (example). The thing I like about Wikipedia is that if you have an interest area--trains, rivers, Ohio, physics--you can work on articles in that area and you learn stuff while you do it. Plus it's work and also not-work. It's definitely an acquired taste but I am sort of like you in that I want to be doing something, so it's hard for me to fill time sometimes.
posted by jessamyn at 9:43 AM on October 8, 2021

Crosswords! If you’re into it, working your way up to solving the Thursday-Saturday range of the NYT crossword can be a fun activity that honestly can work better when you pick it up and put it down to give your brain a break and see new options.
posted by MadamM at 9:55 AM on October 8, 2021

Play an instrument. This can be very satisfying, especially if you're okay with not being a virtuoso. When I started, I was more than happy to learn some basic chords to easy songs I knew and strumming them very, very slowly. (I'd call learning a new skill "productive", and music is a cultural experience.)

I'm not a fan of ukuleles, but they're popular and affordable and one of the easiest instruments to take from zero knowledge to "hey that kind of sounds like a song!"
posted by buxtonbluecat at 10:09 AM on October 8, 2021

I'd suggest reading or learning a language. It's fine to read books with your ears, if that's more your speed too.
posted by bile and syntax at 10:15 AM on October 8, 2021

Page turner novels that are so good you keep them tucked in your bag for spare moments. Don't worry about getting "good" lit. Get whatever captures your attention. Something like might be easier to put down and keep up with, too.
posted by bluedaisy at 10:17 AM on October 8, 2021

Poetry? I like having good poems by heart; sometimes I recite them in my head, sometimes aloud to myself, and it’s always pleasant to read or listen to new poems. And then I find one I want to know and learning it is a lot of repetition and copying it out and reading/listening again.
posted by clew at 10:47 AM on October 8, 2021

Okay, wait, I read your question more carefully and saw this:
I like [things] that help me learn, I like things that are productive, and I like community/cultural type experiences.

So instead I change my suggestion to a subscription to a really great magazine. I'm not sure what magazine would appeal, but it can feel wonderful and decadent when a print magazine shows up each month. Perhaps you'd like a cultural magazine, or something to help you learn new and interesting things.

I used to get the Sunday New York Times delivered, and it would last me most of the week. With a magazine or good newspaper, you can read things in part, which makes it easier to fit it into small time slots. It can really transformative and take you away from your everyday life for a bit -- so it can be a break -- but it's easy enough to put back down.
posted by bluedaisy at 10:48 AM on October 8, 2021

I like watching historical documentaries on YT. Absolute History is a good one, as is Extra Credits (this one is animated, so may or may not be your thing). The Smithsonian Museum YT channel also has lots of many-videos-long series about a wide range of topics. I've particularly enjoyed the ones on traditional indigenous crafts.

It does mean I have a lot of information on topics that have little to nothing to do with my actual life, but then again if I ever do need to make my own barn paint or weave a hat out of cedar bark then I am well prepared.
posted by ananci at 11:14 AM on October 8, 2021

if you have trouble finding stuff you like at the (ebook) library, get a bookbub subscription, they'll send you well-curated suggestions of stuff to get that's on sale, usually $1.99.
posted by fingersandtoes at 11:32 AM on October 8, 2021

All of the above suggestions are good. Since you list learning, productivity, and cultural affairs as your interests, The New Yorker magazine would be a good fit. It comes weekly with laugh-out-loud cartoons, has wonderful art, movie, and dance reviews, as well as informative articles on a huge range of subjects. I am a lifetime subscriber. If you can get Libby or similar programs through your local library, you may be able to read it online for free. Whatever frames of time you have, you can find something in the New Yorker to fill them.
posted by ragtimepiano at 12:16 PM on October 8, 2021

I’ve gotten very proficient at The NY Times crossword puzzle during Covid. I find it’s perfect for bits of downtime because you can finish it in 5-30 minutes (depending on the difficulty of the day), or easily pick it up again if you get distracted, and it does challenge your mind so it at least feels worthwhile. I also joined an online trivia league which serves a similar purpose.

As for cultural things, there are a lot of theatrical performances on YouTube and I’ve been enjoying those.

One thing I like to do during the workday when I have some mindless admin work to do, or just some downtime, is listen to podcasts. The ones I listen to are pretty silly, but there are a lot of educational ones out there as well. History, art, science, whatever you want to learn about.

For the evenings, what about some nice long phone conversations with friends or family you haven’t talked to in a while?
posted by lunasol at 4:21 PM on October 8, 2021

I have a lot of minor house projects that I try to piece out into 15-30 minute tasks in my own head. Like touching up paint, organizing a cabinet, tightening the screws in the door handle.
posted by slidell at 8:01 PM on October 8, 2021

What are the duration and frequency of these "free times?"

Are the duration and frequency regular or not?

From your previous questions, you don't seem to be someone very driven by curiosity - if I may suggest, in order to potentially whet your curiosity...

'Nature' and 'Science' are the premier general sciences journals. They both have "News" sections that are written for general lay (but generally educated) audiences.

If you get a "limited articles," just open them in a "private tab/ window" in your browser (right click).

If you find links out from whatever you read and can't access, try googling "sci hub." Look/ search for "doi" in the article/ paper and put that into sci hub.

Maybe "sexy" science news can help you develop new interests.
posted by porpoise at 11:33 PM on October 8, 2021

Postcards as social media. Last Spring, in its beneficence, An Post the Irish postal service printed out some millions of post-free postcards and delivered two to every home in the Republic. You could ask your postie for more. I must have sent 50 last year . . . and got 3 back - including one from an old pal who cut me off in a huff ten years ago. In the US this will cost 40c for the stamp. If you get the kids to draw / collage the picture you've gorra win-win for all the rellies. No pen-pals? Postcrossing will make them $1.30 the pop.
posted by BobTheScientist at 2:25 AM on October 9, 2021

Here are some of mine:
- learn to sing with Youcisian
- NYT crossword
- Duolingo
- geography quiz apps to finally learn where all the countries and capitals are
- reviewing photos on my phone to delete ones that are no good and sort those that are
- askmefi
- audiobooks and podcasts and researching for new ones to listen to
- quick spot tidying in the house
- dropping a quick note to a friend I haven’t connected with in a while
posted by girlpublisher at 5:39 AM on October 9, 2021

Another online community assistance thing similar to Wikipedia is image transcription on Reddit. It's a service that types out text and describes images so the content is accessible to all. It's especially useful in recipe subreddits and even more useful if you are good at reading old cursive recipes. I see it a lot in /r/Old_Recipes
posted by CathyG at 11:41 PM on October 9, 2021