What do you do in the evening?

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I've got into a rut. Kids go to bed. I slump on the sofa, dick about on my phone and watch crap tv. I want to do something better with my hour or two of peace! What do you do in the evenings? Need some inspiration!

We’ve been eating around 8pm. After which I’m too knackered to tidy up, just chase DC to bed and just slump on the sofa! DC bedtime is creeping earlier though in preparation for restarting school.

Evenings in the garden are nice, I enjoy an evening walk (DC don’t want to walk and don’t want to be left home ) and I need to start running again. Last night we had a fire. Life of excitement in this house!

Actually yesterday I was talking to DH about doing an access course or evening course. I want to increase my earning potential, at the moment I’m a TA in a school which works for us at present. I have lots of experience elsewhere, but feel a change in the air and I’m hoping the 6 hour days will give me more head space to study than a full time job. (Head in the sand about how exhausting next term will be!)

Just need to work out what to study 😂. —Highly unlikely to be teaching thanks to shitty government.—

We are boring too! cook dinner, have a shower/bath, walk the dog if he needs one, watch TV or waste my life on instagram! In the summer its easier to do things in the evening i think, but with rubbish weather its difficult!

Watch TV - normally a boxset or a film.
Mess about online.
Housework.
Cook and eat dinner.
Play with the dog or the cats.

Sometimes I have work but very rarely.

DH is similar though sometimes he'll go for a bike ride or do some painting. We don't have children so we can basically do whatever we want.

My day starts at 530am and doesn't stop til I sit down for tea at 830pm, so I'm lucky if j get an hour watching tv before konking out. Sad but true.

OP, do you actually want to do something different with your evenings or do you feel that you should?

If you don't want to be on our phone, leave it upstairs when you put the DC to bed.

But you are allowed to relax, you know!

Do you have any hobbies you used to enjoy before the DC came along?

Prep stuff for the next day - breakfast and packed lunch.
Do some gardening or crafting - I'm making air dry clay sculptures at the moment.
Have a bath. Watch some Twitch.
Text people.
Go to bed about 9.30 and watch Netflix.
Fall asleep listening to Cabin Pressure. I can recite the scripts now.

I am enjoying The Fall on Netflix. Just brilliant!

I used to do so much pre covid. I used to go to the gym 3/4 evenings a week for gym classes that my friends and I went to so it was a social event too. I do volunteering one evening a week and an outdoor sport we're involved in.

I feel like all I have done recently is watch TV and play stardew valley on the switch.

But yea just potter about the house maybe chat to my friend on the phone but for the most part veg out.

Veg out in front of the TV! Sometimes see friends, but I like tele for downtime. Occasionally do a jigsaw with something wordy on in the background that you don't need to look up for a lot – that's really helped me get off my phone. Mindless scrolling was making me feel awful.