What do you do in the afternoons...

[Iamblossom]

.... If you don't work? And don't have kids or have kids that are old enough to not need you for much and/or are at school?

I am between jobs, start a new one in a few weeks. I find I am busy enough up to lunchtime.. I exercise, walk my dogs, do housework, meal prep, food shop etc, practice my piano. But by 2pm I'm bored. Friends all work. I volunteer a bit but can't do that every day. House about to be renovated so point doing much there until it starts.

I do read, I like watching TV, but only so much of that you can do. What other things keep you busy? Really hard to keep out of the fridge!! Or not pour a glass of wine at 4pm!

Makes me wonder how I'll be when I'm retired, or will I have more people to play with then perhaps...?

I wish I had this problem :)

(I know that's not the reply you were looking for, sorry!)

I don't tend to get bored really, there are always things I want to be doing, but I have creative hobbies, live in a place where it's nice to go out for a walk, exercise etc. Do you have any interests you haven't pursued - it might be a good time?

Really you can do anything with your spare time and it's hugely personal depending on your interests so hard to advise!

I usually get all my "jobs" done in the morning ie housework, run errands etc.
Then I tend to:
Exercise (usually going for long walks/runs)
Work two afternoons a week in a charity shop
Visit my dm once a week and take her for lunch
Meet friends/other school mums for lunch/coffee
Read
Do bits of gardening weather permitting
Shop!
Look on my ipad

There is always lots to be done around the house too so bits of diy etc.

I do get a bit bored sometimes but not half as bored as I used to get working in an office! It's just about keeping busy I suppose. I love having the freedom to do what I choose with my day - when the youngest starts high school and I don't have the school run I may look for a part time job but it's difficult - I hate the restriction of set hours when I'm so used to having my time as my own.

Yep I appreciate its a nice problem to have, and it is only temporary, I should make the most of it.

🙄

I try not to be 'busy'.

I go for long, slow walks with my dog, and let him sniff everything he wants for as long as he wants. I stop into my local shop for a chat with the woman who runs it. I sit on my terrace and read my book. Honestly sometimes I just sit with a cup of tea and think. Yesterday I had a go at some blackout poetry with a newspaper I had lying about.

There's so much pressure to be 'doing something' all the time – I've always found it to be a distraction from my own mind. So these days I'm making a concerted effort to learn how not to.

Maybe just allow yourself and your mind some extra space? See what floats up?

I'm a self employed artist, semi retired or pretty much retired now tbh, but I've always got a creative project on the go, and I teach one morning a week. I'd be lost without my creative side- my typical day when I'm creating is, up really early and into the studio til 8ish, out with dog for a good walk, breakfast, back in the studio til mid afternoon, walk and feed dog, feed me, relax with phone, telly, book. Bed. Repeat. I don't create or work every day, but on free days I meet friends for coffee/lunch, invite friends round, go to the theatre, cinema, sometimes do absolutely nothing.

You can never do enough piano practise. Remember an interview with Murray Perahia asking what he did on the day of a concert. He said it was important to arrive on stage fresh so he had a rule on those days never to practise more than 6 hours. WTF?

On days off:
AM - I do jobs in the house, shop, do the washing, prep. the evening meal.
Afternoon - Watch films, listen to music, search the internet, sleep.

We are both retired and unfashionably pretty much joined at the hip.😂

We have an adult DD who has SLD so we visit her 4 mornings per week. I also have a quick clean around, do laundry, shop etc. In the mornings. I deep clean the whole house every Friday.

Afternoons, at present, I am redecorating my kitchen and utility room which just needs a freshen up so no colour changes. However, I am learning Japanese - have been for 2 years now - and spend 1-2 hours every day studying. Keeps me out of mischief! 🤣

I've had a couple of weeks of this previously when I was also between jobs.
I absolutely luxuriated in watching loads of TV and films in the afternoons. I didn't find that boring at all!

I scrubbed the kitchen floor today, it was a thrill a minute. I usually just do jobs like the food shopping or cleaning until the children get home from school, then they mess the house up again to give me something to do the next day.

In the school holidays (teacher) 2pm is nap time.

Gosh erm I must be more lazy than you

What about a nap? Or I like the idea of piano practice or working on another project.

Agree with others ... you don't have to be 'busy' all the time .. just enjoy the opportunity to slow down and do nothing.

On my days off its the same as others, housework, dog walk, any shopping. Afternoons I like crochet/crafty stuff, or lately been trying to declutter, plus looking for ideas to redecorate my bedroom. You can lose an afternoon in a book,.or choosing a book at the library.

You need to find a good book! And you don't need to be busy. Sit and enjoy a coffee whole looking at the sky and listening to the birds.

I normally wake up around 11.30-12. Then spend the afternoon distracting myself from doing chores with the internet. Then in the evening after the kids are in bed I relax after a hard day's procrastinating.

Watch or re watch classic/favourite films
Read or re read classic/favourite books
Bath with candles oils and all the extras
Go out for lunch/coffee/cake and people watch
Cook/bake a recipe I haven’t tried before
Plan/research future holidays I may go on
Plan/research house/garden projects I may do
Plan/research cards/gifts for friends/family for the year ahead
Cinema
Museum
Day Spa
Sightseeing day out by train

These are some of the activities I enjoy when I have time to myself.

If I can't think of what to do I sit in my sex pond. Although by 2pm I only have 45 mins to kill before I leave to get the kids, sometimes I leave early to get a longer walk in.

Lots of cups of tea in the morning while reading papers, mumsnet etc. I do a couple of exercise classes a week and a few walks. I belong to a choir so rehearse once a week. Meet friends for lunch or dinner fairly often.

I am suffering from a bit of empty nest syndrome so sometimes feel a bit sad. Weekends are the worst.

that sounds like a very busy morning - why do you need to pack so much in?

If you are going to be back at work in a few weeks just take it slower.

But some ideas - visit an art gallery, museum etc. I don’t work on Fridays, In the winter when there is less to do on my allotment I take sandwhiches and a flask and go to the lunchtime cinema showings