What would you do if you had extra free time?

[blingbunny10]

If you worked half days or only 2-3 days per week, would you do with your free time? Assume no little ones to take care of during the day.

I ask because several people around me have taken time off and had such different approaches. My mother semi-retired recently and she is bored to tears and thinking of working again. A good friend of mine works 3 days a week and she told me on days off she is content to watch TV all day without even leaving the house. I took time off a few years ago and took a couple courses - French and Econ - at a local college.

What would you do? Would you get bored? Would you take up a new hobby?

 

[madelise]

Yoga. Take sewing classes so I can learn how to sew my own rockabilly style dresses I can't really find for sale anywhere. Take a lapidary and/or metalsmithing class. Spend more time with friends and family.

 

[Dee*Jay]

I actually do only work three days a week... well except for the other four days a week where I still sell real estate!

My "real job" at the financial firm is usually a Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday gig (although I do swap days around pretty frequently) and I'm free to do whatever I want with the rest of my time, but since I don't have kids or (apparently) any hobbies, I just work in a different capacity.

 

[missy]

Read, spend time with my fur babies, enjoy more time tandeming cycling with my dh, spend more time with my parents and nieces. I like spending time at home (I'm a homebody) and enjoy just spending time hanging out with my dh and alone. I never seem to get bored and I am only working part time. There's a lot I still want to do and just need to get motivated to do it but since I am never bored the impetus to begin something new is not as strong as it would be if I were bored if that makes sense.

 

[kenny]

... start more inane polls here.

 

[missy]

... start more inane polls here.

No such thing as too many inane polls here...just sayin.

 

[artdecogirl]

I only work three days a week because we work 12 hour shifts, some of us work for 3 on, one off then three on and then we take eight days off every three weeks, I love it but many of my coworkers say they get bored on their week off
I do not get it, I am never bored and never have enough time to do all the stuff I love to do. I could be unemployed and still not have enough time to do everything I would like to do. I love gardening, spending time with my grand kids, hiking and all sorts of crafting, antiquing, volunteering, the list could go on and on. The problem is you have to pay for all this stuff, so I work.

 

[Marquise_Madness]

If you worked half days or only 2-3 days per week, would you do with your free time? Assume no little ones to take care of during the day.

I ask because several people around me have taken time off and had such different approaches. My mother semi-retired recently and she is bored to tears and thinking of working again. A good friend of mine works 3 days a week and she told me on days off she is content to watch TV all day without even leaving the house. I took time off a few years ago and took a couple courses - French and Econ - at a local college.

What would you do? Would you get bored? Would you take up a new hobby?

I'd volunteer to help out rabbits at my local humane society. Plus sleep more.

 

[packrat]

I don't understand boredom. I learned at a young age to never say I was bored b/c mom would say "Do you want me to find something for you to do?" Mmmmmnope got it covered, thanks. There's tv to watch, I'll never catch up on my reading. Organizing to be done. Kids to wrangle. Taekwondo to practice. I want to get back into a daily yoga practice. I'd like to get back into lifting weights. Take more sign language classes. Spring is almost here, which means we've got yard stuff to do--and new projects that didn't get done last year we need to get cracking on. The kitchen is getting gutted, which means that's the perfect time to redo the rest of the house. We've got a side business and need to get inventory up on that so we can do the rest of our projects...we got stuff. And things.

Dad retired a couple years ago and gets bored during the winter so he comes back into town to work in the shop every afternoon. He is jonesing to get the inventory up so we can get going on the kitchen-b/c they've got stuff to do at their own house so otherwise he won't be around to help much.

 

[ame]

What would you do? Would you get bored? Would you take up a new hobby?

Sleep more, get back to my blog which I sidelined last year when I took a year off to re-examine continuing my business. I want to restart that and work on maybe a few YouTube videos for it, but I haven't devoted the time because my current plans for my free time are learn a video editing softward, watch a ton of Golden Girls (lol) and hang out with my littles, and do a half-assed Konmari. I am trying very hard to clean our hoarder's paradise of a house. I am sick of all the crap laying around.

 

[amc80]

I would take a photography class and maybe a painting class. I have almost no time right now for hobbies. I got a photography book for Christmas and haven't even opened it. DH got me a metal detector for Christmas 2014 and I still haven't had a chance to use it. On a daily basis I have maybe an hour of free time and I usually spend it watching TV in bed.

 

[Arcadian]

I'd sleep more.

 

[Madam Bijoux]

I would visit more jewelry stores.

 

[jordyonbass]

Join a lapidary club, I have barely had the time to go to mine recently as I've just moved house but it certainly does help time fly on a boring day!!

 

[monarch64]

I would make sure my husband finished all his projects!

Once those were done I'd swan around drinking margaritas all day and entertaining guests all night.

Just kidding. (Sort of!) I would finish all MY projects, spend more time with our little questioner, and obviously go to all the townhall/city council meetings so we could make "our" world just right.

In the past few years I have had some free time to learn more about my interests, join a board, and volunteer a lot, and those keep me busier than I thought. It's been rewarding, though, and I encourage everyone to scrabble around their time to make sure their hobbyist needs are met. It really has done wonders for my mental health and overall well-being to say "hey, I need to do this for 2 hours a week, and we're getting a sitter or something!" I also make sure to tell my husband to go out at least once a week aside from his usual hobby time so he can spend adult time with others. Makes a world of difference for us. Just had a really good convo about this very subject and came away feeling happy and loved. Sorry if that is TMI...just wanted to share.

 

[monarch64]

^ Also I would obviously devote a lot of time to contributing to Gypsy's thread trying to make her feel better. Or any member here who asked for some assistance.

Good night!

 

[Gypsy]

Sleep.

 

[december-fire]

In the past, my answer would have been the same as Gypsy's: sleep!

But I've been retired for a few years, so I've finally caught up on my sleep.

Free time is spent:

- outside with my camera
- reading about photography
- reading books (for my Book Club, as well as other books)
- getting together with friends and the wonderful man in my life

Extra free time would be spent doing more of the above!

 

[Marquise_Madness]

I would take a photography class and maybe a painting class. I have almost no time right now for hobbies. I got a photography book for Christmas and haven't even opened it. DH got me a metal detector for Christmas 2014 and I still haven't had a chance to use it. On a daily basis I have maybe an hour of free time and I usually spend it watching TV in bed.

You should try and help friends who have lost things! Or have DH hide metal things arranged to spell something and have a grid plotted out and mark its location!