What do you do with your days when you don’t work or if your not in work?

[Tropicaliyes]

So I’m curious how everyone spends their days?

especially when you don’t have a job or when you have time off for whatever reason what does your day look like?

I am looking for things to do, I’m a homebody due to long term health issues however as imagined it’s incredibly tedious waking up to do the same thing day in day out.

I live in London and find there isn’t anything to do. I’m not someone that goes shopping for clothes or other stuff and even so that’s not a daily activity.

I have a dog and so have looked far and wide for things to do with him and in the summer found canoeing and my partner and I took our dog and we all enjoyed that, however it was expensive and now it’s cold I’m less likely to put up with being cold and wet (and pregnant).

I also somehow ended up with feet issues at the beginning of last year when I decided to take our dog on daily 2 hr walks in the wrong foot ware now causing long term foot pain even with the thickest insoles I can find (which gives me about half an hour of walking before the pain kicks in). So those walks don’t happen now and even at the time the same route over and over was starting to get to me as not many walking routes are okay where I am because of main roads, motorways or many dead ends (most people take their dogs to the local park and just keep walking in circles!)

Id love to find something to do when I am going out as I hate leaving home without a purpose, at the same time when I am at home I’m feeling cooped up, trapped, irritated with the endless cycle but at the same time I’m loosing motivation to keep trying to conjure up things to do.

what do you do?

Read, Exercise, go for walks, go for an afternoon thrifting or second hand books shopping. The cinema, meet friends, art galleries, theatre, educational classes etc.

I am a carer to dd but I get 4 days a week when she’s at college, I do a bit of work (dog walking), any spare time is spent mainly walking, photography, cooking, swimming and I have an alotememnt.

Someone who can't work but can manage canoeing, 2 hour hikes, pregnancy and scuba diving.....something tells me you're having everyone on!

I can't work but do a lot of things. If I am poorly, I do not face getting sacked or losing pay for not doing my hobbies.
There is no pressure for me to do my hobbies.

Too many things to list. As grandparent with a disabled husband, with one child still at home, a large family home and gardens I’m solely responsible for maintaining and various pets, can’t wait to downsize and have some “spare” time. I’d like to learn something new then.

@AnotherAppleThief did you actually read all my responses? If you did you would know that I said with hobbies there is no pressure to keep up with them, if I feel I’m unable to do something then it is simple, I just don’t do it and I don’t loose out on much where as if I work and was unable to come in on my scheduled day, I am loosing a lot more including possibly my job.

you would also See I said I am actually UNABLE to do those walks simply because of whatever my issue is going on with my feet so that was stopped earlier last year.

I also said I would like to take up a scuba diving certificate (which if you don’t know is a course) however am unable to do it now so will have to happen another time.. this interest also didn’t just pop up out of nowhere, I have wanted to do it since I was a child but was too sick and couldn’t pass a medical to be allowed to do it so I have had to wait over 20 years and am still waiting! So I’m hardly doing all of these things you mentioned.

The canoeing I have done one time with my dog as like I said it was expensive and without the right conditions it’s hard to continue. I’d love to go back but not while pregnant, not in this weather and it clearly won’t be happening if I was actively sick!

Im not sure what pregnancy has to do with any of this? It’s not a hobby, nor is it something you MUST be without a illness or condition for, there are plenty of people that have been sick and pregnant so I’m not sure your point on this one.

I think you need to educate yourself on what a CHRONIC illness is. I’m guessing you walk down the street thinking everyone that looks perfectly fine IS perfectly fine just because they dont display their illnesses on the outside for everyone to see🙄 how ignorant and naïve of you.

@Tropicaliyes try and ignore people that post crap like that. I have seen on MN that "if you can post on MN, you can work" type shit. They don't understand chronic illness, or any sort of illness that is exacerbated by any sort of stress, no matter how minor.
Enjoy your hobbies

I walk a lot, we live about a 20 min walk from open fields and forest and about 15 mins from a canal network, we also cycle these routes.

I game, have done some today, won two games of Fortnite, not too bad for a 56 year old :). Have been doing decorating and sorting out house, will be sorting out loft next. Also read and do some crafting and two small voluntary jobs, one is in a community garden and the other is in a shop. I’m thinking of doing an OU module myself. I did belong to an art group and a writing group but they both folded during lockdown. DH and ours ballroom dancing classes also folded and we intend to take that up again in the spring as they have just re opened. I have also been in choirs.

@PinkArt what is the Hopper bus?

@Mentalpiece oh okay that makes sense, I have never had our dog in a doggy hotel/Kennel and he has pretty bad separation anxiety so couldn’t imagine he would fare well anyway but I know Germany is pretty cheap to get to and could be done in a short space of time so it’s more understandable.

@EducatingArti yeah I was thinking to do some agility training or even just brushing up on his general training but since I wasn’t so mobile I was going to wait until I could drive, however that has been stretched out so long now that im just going to look into it now, I can try and find something more local and worse case scenario, he has never been on a train so would be a new experience for him.

@UsingChangeofName that website is actually really ideal! Even if you just explore the website in general it sounds really interesting and feels nice to know there are people that are willing to be there for the old people! My grandma would have loved this if we knew about it back then as she was so lonely, needed someone to speak to and just have someone hear her out or spend time with her! I found the one for driving on there and instantly knew I will contact them for that when I can finally drive. That’s something I have felt the personal struggle with before so to be able to help someone with something I feel personal about actually touches home! I’d love to keep them company regardless if it’s in person or not. Thank you for this link! It’s really helpful and eye opening!

@NameChange30 im currently 13 weeks right now. I feel I have always been this way, even way before getting pregnant. My issue is that I need something to keep me going and the moment that stops I instantly feel like I’m loosing myself and I MUST find something else. I have been depressed in the past but right now I know it is just being stuck indoors that has gotten me into a funk.
I think people are coming up with some good ideas I’m planning to take on board but many are also very specifically what appeals to each person and I don’t find visit places in Inner city London a do-able daily task unfortunately.

@XenoBitch its so ignorant of people to go around with that mindset. Mumsnet has been a place you do have to watch yourself though as you can find yourself getting shouted at for no reason! I’m just glad the majority on here can understand.

@MardyMincepie your locations sounds like my dream location! Exactly what I try to look for when I’m looking for somewhere to move to and am usually having to choose either or as I cannot have my cake and eat it too😔 I’d love to be able to wake up and have these things around me and the ability to just be outdoors is incomprehensible! Such a lovely thought though!

My thoughts exactly! How can you be in London and think that "there isn't anything to do"????

Are your health issues such that you can't work? In your shoes I'd be getting something PT at least.

I live in London and find there isn’t anything to do.

London is one of the most dynamic, interesting cities in the world. Connected to many interesting places in your country by an excellent rail service. There are millions of things to do. I say this as someone who visits London as a tourist, I grant you, but still - there isn't anything to do? You would really hate my ho hum hometown

Maybe make a local bucket-list? Mild interests that could flourish into hobbies? Meet up groups for activities you enjoy? Dive into foodie culture? Take up photography? Art classes? Look for a London for Locals Guide or day tripping guide book for suggestions?

In my exceedingly boring and tiny city where it is winter 7-8 months of the year (really). On my days off I plan day trips, I go hiking with my camera, I go out to eat (alone even - everyone should try it), visit local attractions (which are limited in the extreme), enjoy outdoor pursuits (biking, camping, skiing), some times I hit up the cinema. I insist there must be more to do in London and surrounds

Plan to productively do all the housework and sort out my wardrobe and drawers. Then either end up spending most of my first day off catching up on sleep or watching TV. I am taking the Xmas trees down at some point this week though so I'll probably get at least my living room and bedroom back to normal again. Thankfully it's just me and DCat and I don't think he judges me. Well aside him not having an everlasting food bowl and a cupboard of his own that's full of dreamies 😹

Read, build legos, study a language
i have more craft project ideas in my journal than I could possibly complete in my lifetime so I am always looking for snippets of time to work on one of those.

I get Friday’s off and during term time the DC are in school. I carry out ancillary chores like cleaning the blinds, washing out cupboards, de-cluttering etc. I’ll also batch cook and freeze the food. Then I’ll go to the gym or on the bike with my OH who WFH.

I lived in London for the best part of 20 years, much of that on a shoestring, and never ran out of galleries, museums, free concerts (BBC3 used to have wonderful free lunchtime concerts all over the place. etc. I went on mailing lists for free cinema tickets, and queued for cheap day tickets for theatre and opera etc. I volunteered at a nature reserve, and joined in community projects to litterpick greenways etc.I also did a huge amount of walking, before and after I had DS — it’s a brilliant city for exploring.

Mostly play video games, read, watch Netflix et It gets me down a bit tbh, this year I'm going to try and make a portfolio out of a creative hobby I do to see if I can apply to the local college to study it more part time, but we shall see 😬 I will probably get too anxious about it!

On my days off (part time) I do a bit of cleaning and cooking and take the dog on a good long walk. And I either catch up on Tv or read/go to the farm shop for a potter about/get my nails done or hair cut as needed. Every few weeks I'll meet a friend for coffee if there is anyone about.

I'm still curtailed by school runs which don't allow me to go much further afield but occasionally I'll go somewhere Straight from school and then back to school at the end, so last year I went to a few exhibitions in London in the day time (about 45 mins on the train), and to Cambridge a few times to shop. When it was really hot I took myself to the seaside for a few hours to sit in the sea!

Ok so I don’t think it’s making sense what about London I have issues with. I live in one of the most deprived areas of London where most of the stuff around me are closed or on the way to closing down. Funnily enough considering it is one of the poorest boroughs in London, the cost here seems a lot higher than let’s say when I’m In North London for prenatal appts! Everything is very closed in and we are living on top of each other and our local parks are quite small so you can go around them over like 20-30 times in 15 minutes.. this makes taking the dog there quite annoying as your just doing circles (even the dog gets bored). Before I got sick (which happened when I was 11) I always wanted to work with animals but outdoors. Even at that age I never wanted to work indoors or in one place! I done animal care in college, which isn’t something London offered! I had to travel a few hours to Middlesex just to attend a course I ultimately couldn’t complete as I was in hospital 24/7. (The next place to do animal care courses was further out).

I done a residential at Derbyshire as a teen and spent 3 days going through the Peak District, real mountain biking (and nearly broke some bones in a bike crash), rock weaving, mountain climbing, hiking and going in their lakes and rivers… I was going to return in the Winter for their winter water sports where it offered a completely different scenery but I wasn’t in the right health for it when it came.. these are the things that interest me! London doesn’t offer those kinds of things!

museums, gigs, galleries, theatre and the likes of really isn’t something that I find interesting! I’m the hands on kind of person. If I can visit some caves, natural wonders, climb some mountains, go in some mines, discover underwater, nature reserves, forests and woods, horse riding… I mean the list can go on, then I would have no issue with finding things to do daily, but London just is not the place for those things.

I know when I move homes I will be looking for somewhere in the countryside or somewhere close to the edge that enables me to get out and about.

I know having a child would me I would be busy looking after a child however I don’t think being cooped up in the house is the way to go, I’d love our child to be an outdoorsy type also except by the time that comes I would have already facilitated to that kind of lifestyle. My mother was never interested in those kinds of things, she liked and still likes inner city life and so she is happy to go to the theatre, some gigs, pantomime etc and because that was her interests we didn’t care to cater to the interests of her kids. Even my older sister thinks going abroad and exploring other countries is way more interesting than anything that can be done here in London. (We also went abroad a lot before I got sick so we didn’t have to just live inside this London box).

I will visit hobby craft and see what I can find there that I can do in the house but I can always find things to do indoors even if it isn’t productive.

I use to work part time a few years ago (just before the Pandemic) and almost every time my shift ended I would come home sick! It became so hard to keep it up and in the end they sorted that out for me when they offered no protection and I had a major accident.

thank you everyone that showed me how they spend their time. It was very insightful and made me realise that I don’t necessarily need to be finding things outside only and that feeling like I don’t want to be indoors is ok. I have gotten some good ideas and advice here and will for sure be seeing my doctor so I can get out and about as I did before once again.

In my free time, I run, crochet, read, go to my allotment and I'm studying for a degree.

Good luck! I really do love it up here in the NW.

I know it sounds ridiculous now but honestly when baby is here you are not going to have this kind of free time again for years. I would honestly try and enjoy the peace and quiet.

Did you read any part at all of the OP???

Kind of bizarre living in probably the best place in the world for free cultural stuff and complaining there's nothing to do.

I've also lived in London my whole life. You can visit places more than once you know! There's always new exhibitions and things to explore but ok you don't like culture... or buildings.

Your own area may be lacking but you can leave it very easily.

There's many walks you can do through the city which take you into new interesting areas to explore. You can walk 10+ miles just along the Regent's Canal including through the middle of London Zoo. There are multiple greenways which primarily take you through parks if you want less urban spaces. There's Hampstead Heath and Richmond Park, Epping Forest etc. There are wetlands including in East London where you are.

There are buses which are cheaper than tubes.

You could visit markets and food shops from different cultures and learn to make their food.

You could take up painting and fill infinite amounts of time.

But no, you are not going to find mountains.

When I was pregnant, I took driving lessons and passed my test. I walked to a nearby cafe or museum and either read a book with a soft drink or took my laptop and wrote. I also attended a pregnancy yoga class and met up with friends for lunch in their lunchbreaks.
When not pregnant, I volunteered with a local group; became involved in local campaigns; became a non-exec board member for a government body; did a few online courses; rearranged furniture and the rooms in my house; did an online exercise class and a dance class; went for walks; did geocaching.