Struggling with boredom in retirement, any fulfilling hobbies to do at home?

[Member346563]

I’ve been retired 5 years now (I’m 58) from time to time I’ve really struggled with retirement but the last few weeks have been worse than ever. I’m so bored, I’ve tried all sorts of hobbies, sewing/knitting/jigsaws/puzzles/rambling/baking/gym/dance/reading/learning piano but found nothing that really inspires me or I feel passionate about.

financially I’m very comfortable so have no motivation to make money and have zero intention of returning to work.

I do have my beloved dog who I walk twice a day but the commitment of the dog means I can’t leave the house on my own for more than a couple of hours a day.

Any suggestions on hobbies or studies that I can do from home?
please tell me what your passions are.

cant help feeling like this post is a little judgy. And a little showy offy.

Other interesting options could be things like

• prison visitor
• volunteer befriender https://ylf.org.uk/how-you-can-help/volunteer-befrienders/
• magistrate (as suggested up thread)
• reading support helper in a school
• library volunteer

I love being a trustee though. I can read a lot of the papers at home and our meetings are a mixture of in-person and online

I would hate to be restricted by a pet, it's like having a child that stays stuck as a baby. I would not restrict my freedom for an animal, you only have one life. Instruments, dressmaking, musical instruments, gardening, OU course field studies council in house but a lot of out of house hobbies. You could take the dog for long walks or take it with you as you try and identify plants. I have too many hobbies

Open uni free or paid courses, online creative writing, online yoga, volunteering?

Bookbinding is my favourite pastime, along with family history research. I love both equally.

I've been bookbinding for a couple of years - started out terribly as I'm rubbish at the sewing element, but there are so many different ways to do it. There are some great people on Youtube with free tutorials - Sea Lemon, DAS bookbinding, Four Key Book Arts, Glenn Malkin and Ido Agassi are my favourites.

If you fancy trying out rebinding paperbacks into hardbacks then ValBinds is a great starting point.

Box making is another interest - I haven't made any yet but intend to. My favourite here is Bep Van Gasteren, who makes the most beautiful boxes along with detailed tutorials.

I recently made a paperback version of Sean Lock's The Tiger Who Went for a Pint! That might be my favourite make to date.

Maybe you just need to try different things until something sticks!

My local u3a is huge, I have no way of knowing the ages of everyone in it! And ... does it matter if people are older than you? Everyone I've met through the u3a is active, interesting and interested in all sorts of things.

Do you have any community run libraries or swimming pools near you?

A lot have been taken over after the council has closed them and they always need volunteers. They often have events as well as their main function and are a great way to get to know people and what's going on in your local area.

For example, my city has a community run historic 'bath house' with a swimming pool and gym but also does things like sound baths, arts festivals a couple of times a year, tours talking about how people used to use the bath house - people didn't have baths in their own homes so would go to the local bath house each week. Also craft mornings, all sorts.

A lot of places where people swim outdoors have groups who organise regular sessions on social media eg every Friday morning, so you can swim with them and get coffee afterwards

You can just turn up and there will always be someone you know to swim with and its a great way to expand your social circle. It's mostly middle aged women who do it, so you'll likely fit right in.

It's the strong advantage of my ADHD - I always have projects on the go, I never know where the interest comes from but something will take hold and I'll really focus hard on it and it will consume me - until the next thing comes along and competes for attention, these obsessions can least for years or months. I can sometimes force the obsession - by starting something quietly and building on it gradually until the obsession takes hold - like exercise for example.

We have a local private library/life long learning institute, and as a working person all their courses sound fascinating.

I would also strongly recommend going and sitting in on some sessions at the nearest magistrate's court. I was trying to work out if I could fit it round work but didn't think I would be able to but it looked like a really worthwhile role.

We also have a charity in my town that teaches adults to read.

Ultimately I think you need to have a think about where you would like to give back to the world and decide to do something to do with that? If it's that you love dogs, volunteer at the local dog shelter. Or if it's wildlife more broadly become a volunteer at the local nature reserve.

Or maybe you love theatre - could you become a chaperone for local am dram stuff, or do you have a community theatre that uses volunteers to man the doors etc and you get to watch loads of plays? Or get involved in the am dram itself - costumes, or props or whatever.

Or maybe you think we've ended up in a world where things get broken and thrown away and that that's a Bad Thing, then you could find your local repair shop and see if you could offer to help.

Or you recognise the difficulty it causes when people don't have computer skills and you're happy to teach them. Or run CV classes or support people with interviews. Or whatever!

I definitely think practicing your driving sounds like a great idea - it's definitely something that the more you do the less difficult it seems. I wasn't much of a fan of driving and then got a job where I had to do about 10k miles a year for work, soon sorted that out. But then as I stopped doing as much I did slowly start getting less confident again.

What’s the name of the charity that teaches adults to read please? I’ve been trying to find something like this for years.

How friendly is your dog? There are a few organisations where volunteers take their dog (sometimes other pets) to care homes or hospitals.

Have a look at 'pets as therapy'.

Good for you not wanting to leave your dog for not more than a couple of hours or so. We are the same, as we have a retired greyhound who was around other hounds/people all his pre-retirement life, so it would be harsh to swan off all day and leave him.

U3A is perfect, though, as activities are generally a couple of hours, and some are dog friendly. My experience is that there are lots of interesting things to do, members are friendly and informed and it seems to keep people (relatively!) youthful.

We also (together and separately) often take him to committee and similar meetings. Also to talks etc. He is very chilled, though.

Join your parish or town council, join the RSA - they usually have some good, useful, events going on around the country, go to university (if you can afford it) and do a masters in something - some masters degrees are a progression on from your undergrad, but others just require any degree or equivalent experience, help out at a church group - I’m not religious but my MIL gets a great deal of satisfaction from being heavily involved with her church.

Gardening? If you sign up to do the RHS level 2 that will definitely keep you busy - best thing I ever did (and final exam today!). Honestly changed my life, so glad I did it.

My DM is a gardener who spends a lot of time in her garden with the dog just pottering around. You can see from all her lovely flowers as well as fruit and veg that it's a labour of love that she puts a lot of effort into. Good for keeping fit and active too.

Ours is called "got to read" and is a local one for our town, but I think there's a national network called "read easy": https://readeasy.org.uk/