If you had 3 hours to yourself every afternoon - what would you do

[NoStrangertotheRain]

Empty nester. Wfh - finish at 3pm, DH gets home around 6.15pm.

Have 3 hours to myself, 5 days a week. How would you fill them?

Clean, cook and exercise. An hour for each probably!

Sleep!

I have roughly 3 hours a day too and it is filled with walking the dog, ironing
(whilst watching something, most recently The Diplomat), food top up shops, yesterday I cleaned the fridge, batch cooking, prepping dinner - god this is sooo tedious- I need to find something more interesting to do!

I do meet friends every couple of weeks though, also hair & nail appointments and it means dh & I have more time at the weekends.

I had that until Dh retired, I read, watched tv, played computer games, did household chores and prepped meals. He’s retired, I still work but we tend to do things together now then, he does housework when I’m at work

I'd take a Pilates class or similar and walk. And yeah, declutter and redecorate

Exercise, one or two weekly tasks then chill with some crochet.

Go to the gym before it gets busy at “rush hour”

You don’t have to do anything. Just be.

I'd do a lunchtime class - yoga, pilates or weights., walk the dogs while listening to a podcast or an audio book and have a nap.

I love an afternoon nap.

actually just seen you finish at 3. Maybe the other way round - nap then class. (my gym doesn't have any classes at 3!)

Say more about what kind of singing lessons you’re taking, @musicalfrog? I’ve always vaguely wanted to.

I’d write, OP.

I would probably go to the gym/swimming 2 or 3 days. And then to the library one day. And maybe do a time consuming dinner the final day. That's enough time to do something nice enough to have friends over for dinner without having to be mega organised and prep things in the morning. I always feel seeing friends over good food is a lovely weeknight treat.

Ooh, ooh, can I play?

I love a routine, so I'd play it like this:

Mon - 1h exercise class at home. 2h writing.
Tue - 1.5h writing, 1.5h "self care/beauty"
Weds - 2h swimming, 1h cooking (always like a good meal post swim)
Thu - 1.5h writing, 1.5h life admin/cleaning
Fri - 1h exercise class, 1h bath, 1h cook nice dinner.

In spring/summer, I'd fit in an hour of gardening each week.

Schedule a walk and talk with a friend (on the phone or in person) - get some fresh air and exercise in

Home, hot bubble bath and into your cosies

Prep dinner

Now put your feet up. Light a candle and read your book.

Sleep.

Gym/swim and probably tidy up, realistically. But I would try and book a class for something I was interested in to do weekly to get something more interesting in too!

I’d do something different each week day something like
monday tackle a cupboard or messy drawer, make a cake
tuesday go to the gym or sign up for an online course
wednesday watch a film or read a book
Thursday head into town and see an exhibition
friday a long walk with a friend

Your second paragraph has made my morning 😳😂.

@daffodilandtulip may you link or recommend any starter packs, please? 🙏

I often do this because I finish work at 3pm.

Cook, clean, walk dog, wash the car, occasional hair and beauty treatment. tv, visit elderly relatives, potter around supermarkets (I actually have time to go to all of them and can avail of different offers), gardening

My colleague goes home and goes for a nap. I don’t think I’ve ever slept during the day ever since I was a toddler

Sleep. My dog kept me up most of the night.

I guess it depends what you like - I try to do things I will want to display or use. My current favourite are the little wooden models of landmarks, I get them from eBay and they’re described as wooden puzzle then type Big Ben or whatever. I’ve done crochet, cross stitch, glass painting, Lego flowers, mosaics. I’ve just ordered a cloisonné kit - not tried that yet.

Exercise, either you tube videos at home or go out to a class or for walks in different places (depending how soon it gets dark).

Declutter/put stuff up for sale on ebay/take any ebay parcels to post office/sort any life admin.

Sort out my years and years of hard copy photos and put them in albums (been meaning to do this for years).

Go into town and do early Christmas shopping, take it home and wrap.

Watch any tv series/ films i fancy.

Read more books.

Creative writing.

Meet friends if free.

Go to cinema if anything I want to see.

Visit local national trust places.

Advance prep some stuff for dinner to free up the evening more.

Hello I just looked for a vocal coach local to me and found a good one. I'm just doing it for fun and it's a great new hobby. I just sing on my own for now until I improve! It's great to learn the correct techniques etc. I always enjoyed singing but not so much the sounds I made 😂

Make a pot of tea and read.