What to do with 25 mins of extra free time every day?

August 20, 2008 11:18 AM

I moved closer to work. What can I do with the 25 minutes of extra free time that I will have due to the shorter commute?

I would like to make sure that the 25 minutes of extra free time do not just go to waste (such as wasting my time online).

Here are some things that I already do once in a while:

guitar, piano, reading, crocheting, working out.

I would like some *new* ideas of what I can do for 25 mins a day that are fun and/or useful and good for me.

posted by KateHasQuestions to grab bag (28 comments total)

You already do it 'once in a while,' but 25 minutes daily is perfect for working out.
posted by Tomorrowful at 11:20 AM on August 20, 2008

Learn a language? 25 minutes a day is enough time to go through flash cards, test yourself and watch/listen to media in the language you want to learn and clean up after.
posted by Phalene at 11:22 AM on August 20, 2008

Eat breakfast regularly, or meditate.
posted by cashman at 11:27 AM on August 20, 2008

Meditation! 25 minutes is just the right amount of time to center yourself and clear out some of the mental clutter.
posted by Nutritionista at 11:28 AM on August 20, 2008

Sleep 25 minutes longer.
posted by spasm at 11:29 AM on August 20, 2008 [5 favorites has favorites]

Write a letter to your grammy.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 11:36 AM on August 20, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

start a veggie plot
posted by glip at 11:39 AM on August 20, 2008

You mentioned "working out", but if you're just starting, 25 min is plenty of time to go for a run.
posted by LordSludge at 11:43 AM on August 20, 2008

Nthing Meditation. I wish I was an early enough riser to get some time on the cushion before work.
posted by piedmont at 11:53 AM on August 20, 2008

This may sound crazy, but can you make your commute longer, but more productive? Ride a bike, take public transit, and listen to books-on-cd, podcasts, educate yourself, read, etc?
posted by blue_beetle at 11:59 AM on August 20, 2008

Become a Big Sister or teach someone to read.
posted by headnsouth at 12:02 PM on August 20, 2008

Take a daily walk and get to know your new neighborhood.
posted by gyusan at 12:03 PM on August 20, 2008

Did you move a while ago, and only disclose this surplus time after backtagging was done?

Is this 25 minutes each way? For the morning, I would sleep, and for the evening, prolong cooking/dining. I think the only way the time becomes useful is by integrating it with things you already are doing and want to do, not an additional activity (e.g, knitting).
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 12:12 PM on August 20, 2008

Make and pack yourself lunch?
posted by lampoil at 12:18 PM on August 20, 2008

I'm with blue_beetle. Do you now live close enough to walk? It takes me about 25 minutes longer to walk to work than to drive.
posted by MrMoonPie at 12:19 PM on August 20, 2008

How about...anything? No one knows what would be productive/fun/useful to you but you. I don't understand this question.
posted by agregoli at 12:32 PM on August 20, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

Wake up slowly while cooking porridge and making proper coffee. Watch the news on the TV, or read a newspaper.

Get on top of easy household chores (ironing, cleaning, garden weeding) so that by the weekend they are all clear and you can do something more interesting.

Get a dog and walk it.

Write letters or emails to people you feel you should keep in touch with more but never find the time.
posted by emilyw at 12:38 PM on August 20, 2008

Teach yourself how to juggle.
posted by booticon at 12:40 PM on August 20, 2008

I'd plan nothing for this time. Imagine how much easier life would be if you set aside 2 hours of time each week to handle the crisis du jour. You could take some item off your multi-task list and actually focus on doing it correctly.
posted by 26.2 at 1:16 PM on August 20, 2008

Cooking - if you're not already making yourself meals, this is a rewarding way to spend 25 or fewer minutes.

Drawing - Doodling a little each day really makes one feel good. I should do it more consistently.

Lying on the floor with your feet up against a wall - This seriously feels pretty good.
posted by ignignokt at 2:02 PM on August 20, 2008

Sorry, I don't get this obsession with DOING MAXIMUM POTENTIAL! People seem to be dissecting their lives down to the second, concerned that every moment they are idle they are betraying themselves, their employers, and society as a whole by not DOING MAXIMUM POTENTIAL! Twenty-five minutes is nothing, it's a spirit whisper, a caricature of time, and sure you could set about DOING MAXIMUM POTENTIAL! by learning Latin trigonometry or teaching yourself aquabanjo, but while you're distracting yourself by DOING MAXIMUM POTENTIAL! you're not listening to your mind and you're not listening to your body and you are drowning your thoughts in a sea of sweat.

Forget about DOING MAXIMUM POTENTIAL! and use these 25 minutes to sit quietly with a cup of coffee, the cat in your lap, staring out the window, just letting your thoughts drift and instead of DOING MAXIMUM POTENTIAL! by practising full-contact origami, just. Be content. With yourself. Listen to your heartbeat. Stare at the surfaces of your hands. Block out the noise and block out the worry and block out the fear of not DOING MAXIMUM POTENTIAL! and just breathe.
posted by turgid dahlia at 2:59 PM on August 20, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

Juggle breast implants.
posted by luckypozzo at 3:01 PM on August 20, 2008

I would caution against what turgid dahlia recommends; it's simply a prescription for DOING MAXIMUM POTENTIAL thought-drifting. Make do with whatever breathing and reflecting you're already getting done. Have you never been mellow?
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 3:10 PM on August 20, 2008

...it's simply a prescription for DOING MAXIMUM POTENTIAL thought-drifting...

But that's exactly the point. Let your thoughts drift. Don't put a fence around your soul, man! What danger could this possibly pose, allowing your mind a bit of free time, to do what it wants to do? Enjoy the connections your make between one thought and the next. Like books lead to other books, thoughts lead to other thoughts, and who knows where you might end up?
posted by turgid dahlia at 3:14 PM on August 20, 2008

Read a newspaper.
posted by Kadin2048 at 4:27 PM on August 20, 2008

Do some cleaning.
posted by divabat at 10:51 PM on August 21, 2008

When I cut my commute from 40 minutes each way to 15 minutes each way, I took up bike commuting. The exercise is fabulous, the views are great, and it's good for letting my thoughts drift. Altho not so far as to fall off or ride into traffic or anything!

In the winter, it's been bus commuting, which becomes my time to read or write. You might enjoy crochet on the bus if busing is convenient for you.

Either way, I save mega-cash! (Srsly, I worked out that even my short drive is like $2+/day in my little truck, whereas the bus is $1.50, and I get reimbursed for that.)

Sleep and breakfast are also excellent suggestions.
posted by epersonae at 10:50 AM on August 28, 2008

Yoga.
posted by Riverine at 7:47 PM on August 28, 2008