To ask if you are happy in your own company what do you do

[AmanitaRubescens]

DD(16) busy with studying, training, socialising and work.

DH busy volunteering and has got a new hobby that gets him out of the house.

So I'm spending increasing amounts of time alone. I meet friends for dog walks or coffee.

Interested to hear what people do if they enjoy longish periods of time alone. I expect I will, once it becomes the norm

I sew (badly 🤣)
Garden a lot. Just recently started buying clearance orchids and looking after them so that's great fun
Cook (badly 🤣)
Argue on Twitter

I teach English , online , to overseas students ( Im an ex primary school Teacher). I'm also studying a short course to teach IT skills , also online & way more lucrative , so will phase out the English teaching then. I finish my Counselling post grad Diploma soon & will start that part time online as I don't know if it's a full time income ( London is heaving with Counsellors). I read for hours, psychology & crime are my favourites. I watch back to back horror films, a lot of You Tube decor & crime channels. I love pottering , alone , at home. It's just bliss not working in an office & having the expectations & bother of other people to worry about.

My youngest is relatively young (7) so I still relish alone time.

Watch old Tv still has great appeal! Scrolling through the internet…

But yes - walks, exercise, household pottering all good!

I'm an expert potterer. Time just flies with very little major activity, just lots of little bits and pieces. I do also LOVE going to the cinema by myself but I only do that irregularly.

I have worked all my life. I raised three children and now I have grandchildren. I am a full on grandma and will always help out if I can. I spend time in my garden, and I can clean the house until kingdom come but I can't stop dust so I never worry about it these days.
I do what I want, when I want and that is a luxury to me.

These days if I want to I will go back to bed and take a nap and it is bloody lovely. I do not feel guilty about it. It is my divine right. I might even take a cuppa with me, just to settle me in :)

I meet with friends but as they are not always available when I am, I often visit museums and galleries on my own, travel to close by villages for their markets (I get vegetables and stop at scenic areas to take photos), go and sit with a book in a cafe, etc.

I hate arts and crafts, but enjoy doing things to the house, I waste quite a bit of time drawing layouts and choosing colours for what I would like to do in the house and do the changes when I have a bit of spare money or I come across the stuff I need, may be a waste of time but some people do sudoku instead and that is fine.

Other thing many women do is joining their husbands in their hobbies, to avoid becoming the “widow of golf” or whatever.

It does help to have a challenge to keep active. Some people have goals like couch to 5k, mine has been collecting antique old fashioned cups and saucers as long as they are less than £3 per set, in perfect condition and can be placed in the dishwasher. That gives visits to antique markets, car boots and charity shops a focus and I do not spend much money.

Mainly I read and drink tea.
I'm very boring

I also catch up on films and telly that no one else wants to watch. Out of home, I'll go to exhibitions (love going on my own and not having to worry about going too fast or slow for others).

OP, your comment about the moon looking like a tangerine segment made me think – do you/would you fancy drawing/painting/taking photos? You sound quite visual. I am a total amateur but I love taking pics on walks. Round here (London) we have beautiful old woodland, reservoirs, marshes etc. As well as lovely residential streets with flowers and trees, and amusing graffiti.

I had a lovely couple of evenings to myself the other week. I sat on my bed with the dog, lit a candle and low lighting with the curtains open and it dark and raining outside and read a book. Later did a face mask. And finished with a horror pod-cast. It was so nice! Nice to have people back too though

I've always been happy in my own company. I read a lot, garden, go for walks , watch documentaries, sew, cook, play computer games.

Love it.
Read. write, garden, potter, make stuff, cook, talk to dead dogs cats and relatives.

I would love to go hiking on my own, but I once had a nasty experience when out walking alone, and it has put me off. Would love to be convinced that I am being overly nervous, but in light of all the recent talk about womens' safety, I don't think I could bring myself to do it again.

I live alone so am used to it. I have loved being alone since I was a small child.

I run an online business with 3 shops
I do patchwork and embroidery
I read "real" books of various kinds
I visit auctions and antique fairs

I watch a lot of TV/youtube and I like playing computer games like Sims and Civilisations. I read a lot, make my own candles, etc.

I would recommend trying new things until something clicks!

@exiledfromcornwall

I would love to go hiking on my own, but I once had a nasty experience when out walking alone, and it has put me off. Would love to be convinced that I am being overly nervous, but in light of all the recent talk about womens' safety, I don't think I could bring myself to do it again.

That is a real shame, I am sorry that happened to you.

Thank you. And it makes me mad thinking of all the men out enjoying solo hikes without a care in the world!

Yep, my brother was shocked when I told him I won't stay in a train carriage at night with just another man and me.

@rainwilder

I love my alone time, I'm never bored even if I'm doing nothing. Since my divorce I've got used to living on my own and I enjoy the freedom.

I read a lot, listen to podcasts while on my treadmill, follow all my favourite series on TV, play Hay Day on my iPad, nap with my cats, do batch cooking on a weekend, enjoy cinema trips on my own, research my next holiday, plan for the future and look at houses on Rightmove that I want to buy. Fall into a YouTube rabbit hole.

I find that the older I get, the less I worry about saying no to people. If I don't want to do something I will (kindly) just say so. I love the feeling of not having a full diary or any set plans, I can just please myself. I'm very content

This! I'm just the same. TBH I don't really understand the feeling of boredom (or loneliness) - I KNOW what they mean intellectually, but I'm almost 70 and don't remember ever feeling bored or lonely. There's always something to do, read, watch, listen to. People to talk to if I wanted to contact them - but on the whole I don't.

After a lifetime of marriage, work, DC and constant demands on my time and emotional energy then I just enjoy pleasing myself. I do a few art classes, I tried upholstery & ceramics - enjoyed both. Pre COVID I did a lot of museums and galleries - all the things I just never had time to do when I was working FT and had DC.

@exiledfromcornwall what a pity. I love walking alone. My last walk I passed another woman doing the same route in the opposite direction.

Has anyone been to Ronnie Scott’s by themselves? I’m thinking of going in December when DH takes DS away.

I don't get that much alone time at the moment with work, DS 8, DH working at home and helping on the school PTA!

When I do, in the house I love to do some proper sorting of clothes, both mine and DS's, sort out the kitchen cupboards and make meals from the things in them, give the house a proper deep clean, sit and watch whatever I like, have a soak in the bath, do lots of reading, baking, recipe searching, playing animal crossing on the switch, gardening, do a proper online food shop having the time to plan it all properly.

Out of the house walks or meals with friends or family, or even a wander on my own, have a browse round the shops, go to the library, sit in a coffee shop with a book on my own, go to a book club, go swimming, go to the cinema.

I would love more time on my own.

When I am I often go for a walk, sometimes a hobby, sometimes housework or extra jobs eg sort out a cupboard, sometimes go into town, sometimes watch tv.

I would like to branch out and take myself on a day trip or a weekend away but need a longer time period to do this.

I find that a really good book can transport me, educate me, make me see a different point of view, etc. Have just finished Song of Achilles, which has taught me about Troy, for the first time. I also love looking for bargains in charity shops. Such a thrill to find something amazing for two or three quid.

I read, daydream, do MOOCs, job hunt, bake, look for a suitable cat to adopt, surf the net, email my family, window shop on eBay...

I learn about the things that interest me. This includes reading, researching online and often watching YouTube videos and depending on what it is practicing it for myself too.
I watch the things that I like on T.V without any interruptions.
I listen to the music that I like and sing along.
I write.
I like to draw and make things.
I like to cook and bake.
Most of the time I get alone is in the evenings once my children are in bed.
I don’t really get any time on my own outside of the house but when I do I will be using it to go for peaceful walks, go to the cinema on my own and visit museums and other places that I find interesting.
I would love to go on holiday on my own one day.

I read (crime fiction), watch true crime docs and listen to podcasts. Often about true crime. I really need to diversify