Calming activities

April 6, 2020 3:15 AM

Activities which keep the body/hands busy and calm the mind

I have an upcoming period of leave which I can't change and am now dreading, because I have found unstructured time on weekends in lockdown much harder to manage than weekdays, as I've been working remotely and there's a sense of structure there. I have been finding lockdown, by myself in a small apartment, pretty wearing on the soul and my mental health has been struggling.

I'm finding it hard to focus on TV, books, movies etc. I am not a particularly handy or skilled person but I find doing something absorbing with my hands is the best way to create a sense of calm. Cooking works quite well for this, so I have been doing a lot of cooking and will do more. But there is only so much I can eat and my freezer space is limited. I don't really like bread - but something like bread, which takes a lot of kneading etc, is another good example.

What else can I do with my hands and body that will focus and calm the mind? Ideally something which takes up a fair bit of time too.

I do not exaggerate when I say I really don't know how to do much with my hands (knitting, embroidery, DIY, art, you name it) and I'm also trying to watch the pennies so I don't want to launch headfirst into a new hobby that requires a lot of expenditure/investment in tools and materials from the get-go. Does anyone have any ideas?

posted by unicorn chaser to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (36 answers total)

I find both knitting and cross-stitching good for this. You can get kits for cross-stitching with all the materials you need, including instructions. You could start with a small one, to see if it suits you, and so that you get a finished item.

There aren’t generally kits for knitting, but theoretically at least all you need to start is yarn and a set of needles (and a pattern). Most people start with a basic scarf (sample. You don’t need to use the yarn they suggest, but it should be "super-bulky" if you care about getting a similar sized scarf out of it).

I tend to find cross-stitching takes a bit more concentration, as you need to count the stitches. Knitting is a bit more mindless (assuming it’s not a complicated pattern which also involves counting.) Once you get the trick of actually knitting, some thing like that scarf is just the same stitch repeating, so little thought involved.
posted by scorbet at 3:44 AM on April 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

I've recently taken up whittling for similar reasons. All you need is a whittling knife and some pieces of wood (and maybe sandpaper). I am not a crafty or creative person at all, never managed to learn to knit properly for example, but I find it's very easy to get a basic hang of whittling, and it's both relaxing and fun.
posted by Bektashi at 3:46 AM on April 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

If you're not averse to adult colouring books, the barrier to entry is lower than that of other crafts like knitting, but it does the same job in terms of keeping one's hands fully occupied and one's mind at least semi-occupied. I had a bad patch of health anxiety last year where I couldn't focus on anything for a few days before I got some test results (all fine), and colouring books worked where knitting/video games/reading/my other habitual distractions did not.
posted by terretu at 3:51 AM on April 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Musical instruments are good for this - one of your choice or which you happen to have available would be idea. While you would not be the first person in recent times to start playing the ukulele - it is often recommended as go to instrument for learners because you can use it to play melodies, accompany yourself or others singing or to pick out rhythms. All on something small, quiet and fairly inexpensive.
posted by rongorongo at 3:52 AM on April 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I find colouring to be really soothing and sometimes meditative, with little skill or investment. I like really complicated and intricate designs (Joanna Blasford is a personal favourite) and prefer pencils over ink. But there really isn't a wrong or right way to do it.
posted by like_neon at 3:53 AM on April 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'd recommend colouring books, knitting, crochet, and/or cross-stitch, they all work well for me as soothing "me time" activities.
posted by Mauve at 3:56 AM on April 6, 2020

How are you set for old clothes/rags? Tearing or cutting strips and braiding them into a rag rug can hit some of the same notes as kneading bread, and you wouldn't need to buy much new.
posted by pie ninja at 4:27 AM on April 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Cross stitch kits with everything you need can be had for very very cheap - I'm talking less than ten dollars.

Another popular hobby for getting into a zen or flow type mood is called "diamond painting" or "diamond embroidery". Imagine like paint by numbers but with faceted bits of plastic that have sparkle. Takes almost no skill with fun end results. Kits are $10-$20 at a retailer like Joann's.

Another good zen hobby is jigsaw puzzles.
posted by muddgirl at 4:34 AM on April 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

I started building a miniature kit! (It's this one, if you're interested.) I've found that when I am working on it I 100% cannot think of anything except what I'm doing. It forces me to slow down for more tricky bits, but it's not so tricky that I get frustrated with it. Most of the tools you need come with it, and the only thing I had to buy was a pair of needle nosed pliers. I ended up getting a pair of jewelry pliers from Michael's and used curbside pickup.
posted by Mouse Army at 5:00 AM on April 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

I'm going to second knitting. I use it in part as therapy for my ADHD -- I can only pay attention to talks and lectures, TV and movies, and even conversations better if I'm doing something with my hands. Knitting is nice because after a little practice you don't have to look at your hands for most basic stitch patterns, and you can intentionally choose patterns like this (mindless knitting) where it's mostly just stockinette or something and you only have to pay attention every now and then (to turn the heel on a sock, to do a hem on a sweater, etc.) If you want something that requires more attention, choose a pattern with lots of lace, cables, or color work. I like to keep a couple of mindless projects and a couple of not so mindless projects on hand. And knitting is extremely portable, although that's not so important right now :/

I also like the fact that the amount of equipment needed is not overwhelming. Yarn can get expensive, but just like coffee, it's only really gets expensive if you start to get very opinionated about things. There's plenty of inexpensive yarn out there.

And there are tons of how-to-knit videos online. Whatever you choose, go check out craftsy, their videos are free until, I think, April 15 or 16th?
posted by antinomia at 5:12 AM on April 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Make a collection of origami boxes. One pack or origami paper will produce a lot of boxes, or you can even use printer paper or junk mail. There are tons of directions online, but here is a nice book to work from if you're interested.
posted by defreckled at 5:13 AM on April 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I really enjoy painting clothespins....wait, hear me out. I use inexpensive acrylic paints and brushes and you can buy 100 clothespins for practically nothing. I do recommend you don't buy the VERY cheapest because the wood quality isn't great and the finish won't be smooth.

I spray paint the base coat and then just go nuts on the painting. Stripes, dots, spatter, words, whatever you want. You can experiment with masking or stencils. It's a fun way to just relax because you can't do anything wrong. There is no counting stitches or messing up...you can just spray over it if it gets too nuts. I usually seal them with a clear coat and then you can send them to friends, use them on a clothesline, use them as chip clips. Seriously, clothespins are fantastic for so many things.
posted by victoriab at 5:31 AM on April 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

To back up the people suggesting cross-stitch, even though you said you're not familiar with handicrafts: cross-stitch is very, very easy to learn. You make x's on a grid of fabric (the holes are already there!) with a needle and thread, and you count how many of those x's you need in a given row. I cross-stitch like a fiend and it has really been so great for my mental health so far. You can get self-contained kits on Etsy. Heck, I'd even be more than willing to set you up with a kit if you'd like to MeMail me; I have tons of supplies!
posted by cooker girl at 5:49 AM on April 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

One thing that is nice about learning to knit is that you can get started inexpensively. Get some yarn you think is pretty - and some simple bamboo needles (I think they are easier to learn on because the yarn sticks to them a bit more than metal) and get started. Drop a stitch? Make a mess? Unravel your work and start again! I’ve unraveled complete sweaters to make something new from the yarn - it can be a very thrifty hobby to pick up.
posted by hilaryjade at 6:02 AM on April 6, 2020

Crocheting granny squares - all you need is yarn and a crochet hook and some instructional videos and because it's doing a short-term thing based on a repeatable pattern. You don't have to think as much and if you fuck it up, oh well you've fucked up one of them and then it's on to the next, so it might be less intimidating to start up? here's a simple intro, but there are lots of them out on the net
posted by rmd1023 at 6:06 AM on April 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I have started planting things. You need seeds, dirt, and some pots so not a lot of cash investment required.

It doesn't really require a ton of time, but I really like checking on my plants every day and I take pics of them to share on local groups and forums. I have shoots coming up now for some vegetables and a few thriving houseplants. Many plants can be grown in pots so you don't necessarily need your own land.

There is something I find very healing about nurturing a plant and having one in a room really brightens up the space. And if you like cooking, growing your own herbs would be great for that (I am growing parsley and basil).
posted by one of these days at 6:10 AM on April 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Yes, if you pick up knitting or crochet as more of a meditative practice than a craft, you can rip out the same yarn and knit it over and over again.
posted by rikschell at 6:22 AM on April 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

In terms of calming the mind, once you've picked out an activity to keep your hands busy, I would suggest a podcast. Somehow listening to something that's a little bit engaging but not demanding, that I can always back up and re-listen to if I miss something, it gives my brain a little something to latch on to so it's not spinning off into anxiety land. There have been times when an hour of a dumb solitaire game on my phone together with an episode of The Flop House has turned my day around.
posted by beandip at 6:27 AM on April 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Nthing podcasts to supplement whatever you find to do with your hands. Lately I've been doing jigsaw puzzles online. Previously I spent a lot of time playing Color Tiles while listening.

If you've ever been interested in learning to draw or do art, there are thousands of how-to videos on YouTube as well as short, inexpensive art classes on Skillshare. You can learn to paint, draw, art journal, collage, etc. Mixed media is fun but has a tendency to recommend a lot of supplies. However you can get by with very little. You can learn to draw with just paper and pencil, or do collage with magazines, paper and glue you may already have lying around the house.

Speaking of YouTube, it is an excellent resource for just about any hobby you can think of. For example, there are people who teach various crochet stitches with close-up videos of the process, which can be super-useful if you are trying to learn from a book and something is not coming out right. I'm sure there are similar videos for knitting, embroidery, sewing, model-making or anything else you can think of.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 7:00 AM on April 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Oh, another thing to search for on YouTube is "budget crafts". You can find all kinds of fun, creative things to do with very little.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 7:17 AM on April 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm going to echo defreckled and suggest origami-it's quick to learn simple models and can be done very cheaply or for free (although you can buy lots of beautiful papers if you feel so inclined-plug for my favorite paper shop doing online orders here)! I decided that this is a perfect time for me to attempt to make 1000 paper cranes, and it's been a really nice soothing meditative thing to work on while watching TV or listening to podcasts.
posted by LadyNibbler at 7:19 AM on April 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Cracking nuts
posted by aniola at 7:24 AM on April 6, 2020

I'm also on the cross-stitch bandwagon. The skill itself is ridiculously easy, but it requires concentration to follow the pattern. My favorite purveyor of kits with everything you need + simple instructions is Subversive Cross Stitch. (The shop has been on hiatus but reopens tomorrow.)
posted by BlahLaLa at 8:38 AM on April 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I think making felt balls would be perfect for you. It definitely occupies that same space as kneading bread, you can get a ton of balls out of even 4 oz of wool roving, and it's cute. This is the best tutorial I've found. Don't bother buying those wool packs at the craft store, they're incredibly overpriced -- look for listings that say they are wool roving or combed top. (And yes, it has to be wool or it won't felt.) You can even do it on the couch while watching stuff, just put your little bit of water in a bowl or tub.

And then you can string them into a garland, or they can be cat toys, or dryer balls, or make a big one to play with, or juggling balls... whatever you want.
posted by fiercecupcake at 8:43 AM on April 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

If you've got paper and scissors, you can cut the paper into squares and teach yourself some origami. There's a pretty great beginner's guide here; that looks like a good site, with lots of diagrams for easy models to try out once you've got the hang of the fundamentals, and a collection of links to more advanced instructions elsewhere on the internet if you get bored with the easier ones.

I really like modular origami, where you make six or twenty or a hundred identical units and then put them together into something spectacular. The sonobe unit is the first one I learned, and it's dead simple. Here are some good instructions for making the unit and assembling a cube or something more complicated; or perhaps you'd prefer to put the units together to make the individual pieces of a soma cube puzzle?

By the way, if you find a particular set of instructions is too difficult to follow or the model is just too complicated for the size or type of paper you're using, well, that happens. Screw the paper into a satisfying ball, fling it across the room and try a different one.

What if you don't have paper, but you do have card? If you've got an old business card or train ticket lying around, this is a cute and remarkably jumpy jumping frog. If you've got six old business cards, you can make a cube (scroll down past the frog instructions to find the cube instructions). If you've got *lots* of old business cards, you could try making a Menger sponge... instructions at the bottom!

Speaking of card(s), Patience/Solitaire can be a pretty absorbing way to pass the time. It's much better with a pack of real cards than with a computer screen, and there are any number of different one-person card games you can play.

Finally, if you've got string, you could learn some string figures. Cat's Cradle needs two people, but most only need two hands. Much easier to do from a screen than from a paperback book you're awkwardly holding open with your elbow while your hands are enmeshed!
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 9:01 AM on April 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'll nth coloring. No need to even buy a book if you have a printer. There are thousands and thousands of images to color online.

Related to cross stitch is embroidery. My mom always called it stamped cross stitch. You basically do the same x stitch you do in regular cross stitch, but the pattern is stamped onto a piece of fabric. I find it easier because cross stitch patterns make my eyes cross. I picked up a small kit at Walmart for under $5. A hoop was another 2.
posted by kathrynm at 10:05 AM on April 6, 2020

Legos. I find few things as calming as bringing order out of chaos, and that sound of sifting through a bin to find the right pieces. (I'd love to know if sales have spiked recently.)
posted by gottabefunky at 11:22 AM on April 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

If you go the knitting route, know that you can get acrylic yarn for very little money and while a lot of it is horrendous glitter-strewn boa-looking bullshit, a lot of the rest of it is just yarn, and generally quite soft, and if you didn't know it wasn't natural fiber yarn, you might well not notice. I find it very good and calming, but will note that there are basically two basic things you have to learn right at the beginning and they are, if you are at all spatially not the best, going to be frustrating while you get the hang of them. After that, most everything you do is a variation, and if you find it soothing to do something simple, you can just make really long scarves by doing one of those two skills over and over and over and over. There are tons of youtube videos.
posted by less of course at 11:36 AM on April 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I can both knit and crochet and I recommend both for people.. if you're more into the meditation of the activity, I would recommend knitting - it's slower, but it's a little "easier" - less keeping track of counts and rows, and there's lot of great projects that just use one or two basic stitches. If you like to feel accomplished, I would recommend crochet - it's quite fast and you make visible and satisfactory progress even with just a little time here and there.

I also recommend cleaning. like - take everything out of cupboards and clean them and put everything back in - scrub the seal on your dishwasher, descale your faucets - I like to make a list of 3-5 chores every day to structure my day a little. Cleaning is pretty nice work and gives you nice results and makes your living environment more pleasant, and it also kind of feels like "work" which for me is nice for structure.
posted by euphoria066 at 12:17 PM on April 6, 2020

Check out UGears. You do have to buy the kits, but no tools are required, and some beginner kits are quite inexpensive.

You can find a lot of free images to download/color from museums via the recent Color Our Collections .
posted by gudrun at 1:18 PM on April 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Got a pen and paper? Try Zentangle. You don't even have to know how to draw, AT ALL. It's very relaxing/meditative but also absorbing. It's really just structured doodling. You divide your paper randomly (or not so randomly, whatever strikes your fancy) into subsections with lines. Then you fill the individual spaces created with repeating patterns. There are tons of online resources and instruction packs with tutorials on making the patterns themselves - they're mostly really easy, and the end result is completely stunning.

Just google "beginner Zentangle".
posted by bluesky78987 at 1:19 PM on April 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

There ARE learn-to-knit and -crochet kits! Will provide you everything you need for a project.
posted by Liesl at 2:25 PM on April 6, 2020

IME crochet is cheaper than knitting, largely because there are small things I like to crochet but knitting inspires me to garment-size things. For instance, amigurumi, little cute dolls or doolallies - an enthusiast's intro
posted by clew at 3:24 PM on April 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I freehand doodle! I'm not good at drawing, but I love the sensation of using pens on paper. Some of my doodles turn into something representational/figurative, or a cool pattern, or a maze I try to get myself out of. I save the interesting ones to collage later.

I also am writing a novel in longhand. I may never finish the story, but it's satisfying seeing the notebook pile grow. Actually sometimes the two cross over and I get wild marginalia! I'll leave behind some fascinating papers someday, I bet. 🙃
posted by Otter_Handler at 6:50 PM on April 6, 2020

Jigsaw puzzles and paint-by-number kits are very absorbing and calming and require zero skill but yield pretty results.
posted by kapers at 7:36 PM on April 6, 2020

I'm going to add my voice to the origami crowd. I started making paper cranes last week and now have close to 100.
posted by daybeforetheday at 8:34 PM on April 6, 2020