Addicted to My Couch!

August 24, 2011 11:35 AM

What makes you leave the house?

After talking to a friend today, I got to thinking about how difficult it is for me to leave the house if I don't have to be somewhere. I love lounging in my jammies for hours and hours. This strikes me as odd as I like activities, being productive and do not have issues with reclusiveness. When you don't have to be somewhere, what motivates you to get up, get dressed and get going?

posted by rglass to Society & Culture (41 answers total)

Boredom.
posted by trogdole at 11:38 AM on August 24, 2011

Living really close (walking distance) to awesome restaurants and coffee shops.
Just putting on shoes, and figuring out the details later.
Not being able to make cappuccinos at home.
Getting enough sleep.
Having a dog.
Downtime.
posted by deludingmyself at 11:39 AM on August 24, 2011 [6 favorites]

Sunshine and nice weather. I'd rather meander around in a gorgeous day doing nothing than sit on a couch inside watching another episode of Pawn Stars.
posted by spicynuts at 11:40 AM on August 24, 2011 [2 favorites]

Eating out and buying things.
posted by jbickers at 11:40 AM on August 24, 2011 [1 favorite]

Yes, boredom which leads to creeping anxiety for me. I find something to do. I also don't have tv, so it gets boring quickly up in there.

I don't think there's anything wrong with you though, ou say you like activites, being productive and aren't a recluse? That's great, you don't feel the need to over schedule, or make up activities and have actually found a kind of balance. Perhaps you are the sane one.
posted by stormygrey at 11:41 AM on August 24, 2011

How busy I am the rest of the time. I work long enough hours during the week that after work I usually only have time to change, eat, clean up, and maybe watch an episode of something or read for a bit before hitting the sack. So the weekends tend to be full of stuff I can't get done during the week, like shopping and other errands.
posted by valkyryn at 11:41 AM on August 24, 2011

Dog hasn't figured out the toilet yet.
posted by griphus at 11:42 AM on August 24, 2011 [13 favorites]

For me, I don't like the idea of being inside all day. That just strikes me as wrong (for me only! Doesn't apply to you or other people). I put importance on getting outside and feeling the air. Even just stepping outside the door for a minute or more is good enough for me - I don't like saying (even to myself) that I haven't been outside at all. But if you're fine with staying in all day, what's the problem? :)
posted by foxjacket at 11:42 AM on August 24, 2011 [1 favorite]

A sudden Big Mac attack gets me out of the house at all hours. Secret trip to the closest drive through, Mcdonald's haul devoured in a dark corner of a shopping mall parking lot, dispose of evidence - and then I am home before the xbox console even has a chance to cool down.

Also whenever neighbour's dog assigns me a new project - I have to leave the house.

(I kid of course! Having the chance to see some friends always get me out and about).
posted by helmutdog at 11:48 AM on August 24, 2011 [1 favorite]

I've had to deal with this issue since having spinal surgery a month ago. Since I can't drive, thanks to wearing a cervical collar, I'm not able to just go anywhere I want. Fortunately, the neighborhood I live in is close to some very scenic parts of town that are close by (10-15 minutes walking time).

I don't mind staying indoors now and then, but I've discovered that I tend to develop 'cabin fever' if I don't get outside and do SOMETHING now and then. TV and the Internet can only provide so much entertainment, and frankly sitting around doesn't exactly do much for the healing process as far as I'm concerned.
posted by Telpethoron at 11:48 AM on August 24, 2011

There's nothing wrong with just staying home, especially if you are otherwise sociable and get your necessary crap done. Embrace the laziness! (Though I wouldn't actually call this lazy, if you genuinely don't have stuff that you "should" be doing.)
posted by ashirys at 11:49 AM on August 24, 2011 [1 favorite]

Riding my bike. It's fun and you can see interesting things. It can be solitary or social.
Then you can come home tired and relax in your jammies even harder.
posted by beau jackson at 11:57 AM on August 24, 2011 [3 favorites]

I have some mental health issues that will manifest in staying inside for hours (sometimes days) if I don't sort of push myself to be out among the people. I love caffeine, especially in a Diet Coke, almost more than life itself, so to push myself out of the house, I don't keep any in the fridge, so that when I want one in the morning, I have to go buy some at the convenience store around the corner. Lately I've been walking there instead of driving and it is HEAVENLY.

I know other people who do this with exercise, walking a dog, getting a coffee or muffin, buying the newspaper, etc. I like it because once I've done one thing, I'm more likely to do others, even if it is just chores around the house instead of watching TV.

However! If you feel that you have a good balance between activities and relaxing, it's okay to embrace the downtime. I get overwhelmed by too much socializing, so I take breaks for doing exactly what you are doing!

But if you feel more like, "I know I will be so happy to be rock climbing once I'm out there, but the inertia! Ahhh the inertia!" then maybe you want a little "starter" activity like I have.
posted by Snarl Furillo at 12:06 PM on August 24, 2011 [2 favorites]

I feel reclusive if I don't leave the house for a day or few, and that feeling of pajamas-and-dirty-hair-and-seeing-no-one gives me a little bit of anxiety. I just feel better if I shower, fix my hair, and go somewhere. Even just to check my P.O. box.
posted by cp311 at 12:18 PM on August 24, 2011

Having a messy house. Leaving it means I don't have to clean it. :)
posted by cereselle at 12:37 PM on August 24, 2011

Best answer: My kids. If it wasn't for them I'd stay indoors all day doing nothing. But sadly, they like going places and being outdoors. That's my motivation to hit the lake trails, zoo, library, or running around outside. After that thought... Once bedtime hits for them you can not get me to do anything.
posted by Sweetmag at 12:57 PM on August 24, 2011 [3 favorites]

Not having a coffee maker. Enjoying walking around and seeing things. Not having much food in fridge. Living in highly walkable urban area. Curiousity. Dislike of feeling slothful.
posted by bquarters at 1:04 PM on August 24, 2011

Best answer: I could have written this question. I am happy to spend endless days at home, laughing over things from the internet, opening the fridge, puttering around, not spending money. Everything I need is here. Except the boyfriend I don't yet have, the photos of interesting things I can't take, the hugs I need from friends, the free food samples and perfume spritzes I don't have lying around (no seriously, sometimes I leave the house just to go to Boots and smell something new and say to myself, "Oh, so that's what Gucci smells like"), to sit in a new bar/pub/coffeeshop and watch people and read my book to music I have no control over, and most importantly, to see if something random happens out there.

It's hard for me though, because truth be told, I'm NEVER bored at home. And I have no money, so I can't justify random shopping. At the very least, I leave so that I can come back home again.
posted by iamkimiam at 1:07 PM on August 24, 2011 [17 favorites]

Response by poster: Thank you all for helping me explore this issue! You are giving me so much to think about. I don't see it this as bad necessarily just incongruent with my mentality of moving ahead/getting things done. I do admit that the internet might play a role in my inertia...
posted by rglass at 1:12 PM on August 24, 2011

There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to stay home - so long as you *do* have a healthy social life and it's not holding you back from things like getting a job or getting enough exercise. The only reason I leave the house (and spend most of my time in coffee shops and other indoor areas) is because my roommates tend to interrupt me when I'm home and that's annoying.
posted by patheral at 1:19 PM on August 24, 2011

My most common reasons are:

1. Good weather.
2. A good museum exhibition.
3. The restless feeling I get when I go too long without exercise.
4. Running out of some grocery or other.
5. The toddler who lives downstairs throwing a tantrum.
posted by Perodicticus potto at 1:46 PM on August 24, 2011

I live a block from the lakefront.
posted by desjardins at 2:10 PM on August 24, 2011

My to-do list. Some days I don't actually leave the house until pretty late in the day, but I'm up, dressed, and doing things, working in the garden, pounding through the chores, etc - and the feeling of accomplishment is great. I'm a moderate internet addict, so I could spend a long time on the computer in my jammies without getting bored... but must do something so it can be tweeted/facebooked/etc about. Then once I'm done with chores, it feels good to clean up and get my hair out of my face and feel presentable again, and at that point may as well go out and do something.
posted by aimedwander at 2:17 PM on August 24, 2011

I do the same thing, esp. when tired or depressed. What gets me out of the house? Making a plan to have coffee with a friend, knowing that the library will close at 1 and I have books to return, etc. If I have a plan, it usually gets me out of the house, and I'm happier for it. The dog gets me out of the house, but in my neighborhood, I can walk him in sweatpants and a teeshirt, then go back to lounging around, surfing MeFi.
posted by theora55 at 2:25 PM on August 24, 2011

I got a post office box so that I head out of the house most days to make sure I make it to the post office before it closes. I also maintain correspondences with a lot of people such that there is a good likelihood that there will be something there that is enjoyable. I do little errands that require me to get out of the house including taking out the trash [I need to drive it to the transfer station], returning library books, going food shopping and/or other little errands. Usually I find when I leave the house that I run into a friend or something interesting happens to me or I see a cool bird or something. Remembering this helps me motivate myself to get out of the house for next time.
posted by jessamyn at 2:59 PM on August 24, 2011 [1 favorite]

This is a great question, as I too could very easily laze about all day if I have nothing in particular to do. Indeed, as I tend to to procrastinate, I often feel like my life is a constant low-level struggle to beat back the urge to laziness.

Anyway, assuming that errands and plans with friends count as things you have to do, my reasons for leaving the house on days off are:

1. Boredom
2. Nice weather
3. A vaguely anxious, icky feeling that I get if I'm inside for too long

I get out a little nearly every day, unless the weather is absolute crap. Sometimes I'll just go for a walk, or drive to some random spot, or sit in a cafe for awhile. But it does frequently take me several hours to get going on the weekend.
posted by breakin' the law at 4:07 PM on August 24, 2011

I get out because I know that both from personal experience and also peer-reviewed research that people tend to overestimate how happy being alone will make them, and underestimate how happy seeing others will make them.

It's hard sometimes, because I just love the shit out of our apartment and being in pajamas, but it's totally definitely true. Humans are social animals, and socialising is good for us. It's a rare occasion I got out and end up wishing I had just stayed at home once I'm actually there.
posted by smoke at 4:21 PM on August 24, 2011 [3 favorites]

Reading magazines like GQ that show people dressed well and out in public somewhere looking good sometimes makes me get dressed and leave the house. It's usually good enough to get me to comb my hair, which is as far as I got today.

I also don't keep a lot of groceries on hand and can happily go to the grocery store every day to get out of the house.

Otherwise I like being home. A nice day for me is going to a grocery store and picking something up and then getting someone to come over and eat something I cook.

In short, I get motivated to leave the house by vanity and/or hunger.
posted by oreofuchi at 5:22 PM on August 24, 2011

A semi-regular St. Louis meetup instead of the once in a blue moon thing we have been doing? Like maybe lunchish this Saturday?

Offer void if you're not in the St. Louis area any more.

I mean we could still have a meetup and you could still come, but don't put yourself out or anything.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 6:04 PM on August 24, 2011

I, too, get antsy if I'm inside all day, and my kids will start knifefights with the furniture if they don't get daily fresh air. But at times when I need extra motivation: I have podcasts I love that I allow myself to listen to only when I'm exercising.
posted by The corpse in the library at 6:15 PM on August 24, 2011

I'm not old enough to be immobile.
posted by Ideefixe at 9:34 PM on August 24, 2011

I get tired of just hanging around...
I wanna go somewhere, I wanna be somebody!
posted by Rash at 10:33 PM on August 24, 2011

Owning a dog! On days that I'm not working, I still have to get up early and walk the dog. Then I might as well shower and go out and see the world.
posted by studioaudience at 11:46 PM on August 24, 2011

My dog.
Fish.
And now and then, a good woman, a great steak and softer sheets than mine.
posted by paulsc at 11:59 PM on August 24, 2011

Trees.
posted by distorte at 2:35 AM on August 25, 2011 [2 favorites]

I quite literally have no money at the moment, and my seasonal job doesn't start until mid-September. So it's the big dog who needs serious walking, and visiting friends. Occasional errands, which I do when walking the dog kills two birds with one stone. Sometimes I take a camera with us too.

Basically, I try to make sure I walk at least an hour a day. It's my meditation and my Vitamin D.
posted by RedEmma at 8:48 AM on August 25, 2011

If I had my way my default setting is to be home all the time in comfy clothes reading a book or playing music I know is good (har) or eating food I know is tasty because I made it, etc...the three big ones for me are novel food ingredient/festival/hole in the wall/tasting-type prowling around town (gotta get new ideas somewhere), gorgeous weather, and friends. The last one's the biggie--fall into a crowd that schedules stuff every week, more than once a week even, without fail and that you know is fun to be around and this problem takes care of itself. And yes, it's a bit lazy in that you crowdsource ideas for novel activities to do together, and some friend inevitably knows about event X around town you'd clueless otherwise.
posted by ifjuly at 11:00 AM on August 25, 2011

The awareness that I probably have only 20-30 years of life left usually does the trick.
posted by Decani at 12:46 PM on August 25, 2011 [1 favorite]

that reminds me. someone a few years back mentioned how they think of how many more summers, falls, whatever they have left. for some reason when you put it that way--"i have oh, maybe 30 more summers to look forward to" it makes you really want to wgoop it up, appreciate every season (ie, go outside and do seasonally appropriate stuff like ice skate, swim, pick apples, get caught in a thunderstorm) all the time.
posted by ifjuly at 4:09 PM on August 25, 2011 [1 favorite]

A room of preschoolers that say my name with an exclamation point when they see me.
posted by blueberry at 11:27 PM on August 25, 2011

late on this, but i've found the other suggestions motivating:
along with the early suggestion to put on your shoes and figure out the rest later, just showering gets me up. i feel clean and ready and excited to face the world. plus, now my hair looks great and more people should know. ;)
posted by teyes at 1:52 PM on September 26, 2011