Childfree MN - what do you do on your A/L days?

[gudetamathelazyegg]

Hi Childfree MN board! I was pleased to find this little corner and have been thinking about what would be interesting to talk about when this question came to mind. A lot of parents I work with use their leave to handle childcare emergencies or do nice things with the kids etc and I realise I'm quite lucky that I can do as I like.

I have leave booked this week in my new job (first senior mgmt post, I'm knackered and need a rest). Decided to take this day because the new Silent Hill game is coming out on Thursday so thought I can have a long weekend and start playing it. I know we aren't all gamers haha but game releases is one thing I have taken leave for in the past with DH as it's our shared hobby. I also have time off coming up soon after finishing a half marathon, because I know from last time I will be in no state to work the day after. For Christmas I love to take a good few weeks just to hibernate, write, bake and make a lot of mulled wine...

So, childfree/childless MNers, what about you? x

I’m self employed as a musician so I don’t get A/L in the same way. But when I do take a day off I take the dogs for a longer walk, do errands, play video games, craft, sleep. etc.

I spend my annual leave going on holiday! Well, apart from a few days with wider family and friends at Christmas. Otherwise though I'm always away somewhere.

Naively I never thought about being self employed when asking this but @LessOfThis that is such a cool job! Also love to craft but I never make enough time for it. @JoanOgden ah I would love to travel a bit more but DH is petrified of flying so we do a lot of UK holidays going for country walks. We had our honeymoon in Amsterdam though and went back for our anniversary last year, I absolutely love it there. DH is desperate to go to Japan (and so am I) so we will have to knock him out and get on a plane soon 😂

We spend pretty much all of it actually away! This year we spent 1 week in Spain, 1 week off to visit family and friends in Scotland (we live South so can’t just go for a weekend) and just about to leave for 2.5 weeks in Thailand.

We save around 1 week for ad hoc days which this year have been used to take elderly relatives to appointments and go to a funeral. I try and run one marathon a year and will take the day after that off and we also occasionally take leave to go to a gig though we try and do ones that are close enough to not require it.

If I'm not going away on holiday with my AL, sometimes DH and I will take a week off and just enjoy doing things locally (go for a hike followed by a pub lunch, go to the cinema, play board games etc).

Or I like to take a week off on my own and spend the time hiking, going to the gym, doing a project at home (like redecorating a room or having a big declutter), gardening, maybe visiting my parents, cooking, binge watching a netflix series, doing a jigsaw, getting a hair cut etc.

@gudetamathelazyegg it’s a ridiculous job 😂 I work all the time for shite pay. But it’s also so much fun.

I'm also self employed so tend not to take many full weeks off. I have one for a holiday with friends every May and one at Christmas. However I do only work Monday- Thursday so have every Friday-Sunday off so I feel very lucky.
I spend too much time on my phone/watching tv.
I do read a lot, cook,jigsaw and paint stones(badly)
I would love some suggestions for hobbies for the perpetually lazy and untalented please!!

Aside from holidays, I use annual leave for day trips, DIY, gardening, looking after my nieces and nephews to help their parents out, visiting my parents, or just generally chilling.

Ah having Fridays every week is the dream - thankfully work offer flexible patterns to everyone regardless of parent status so i have been mulling that over. Think it's a bit too new for me to change things right now, but maybe next year!

In terms of hobbies I sew and cross stitch and find it's a really cheap and easy hobby to pick up. You can make massive detailed pieces but I don't have the patience for them so I do small little bits as gifts (sometimes for myself but mainly gifts). I also make cards for birthdays and special occasions, not close to professional quality but I find that my mum and friends appreciate a handmade and handwritten card 🥰

If that doesn't take your fancy try something like a guided journal? I am going through one called Burn After Writing, just about you and your goals/life. I have a book of writing prompts which is quite fun as well, pick one at random and go for it.

I use at least a week of my AL on random days off where I’ll get the train to London for a theatre matinee or a daytime film at the local cinema when it’s quieter.

We were both off yesterday and drove out for brunch and a lovely autumnal wander round a nearby pretty town.

I have also booked days off when a new game or box set was released (showing my age!).

I rarely book AL for jobs or tasks - haircuts and housework can be done at weekends. But I did used to book a day if I needed to do significant amount of clothes shopping, such as the fresh hell when new jeans or bras needed to be found or if I was treating myself to a new winter coat and wanted to go somewhere with most choice. But there’s no big department store anywhere near me any more, plus I have all the clothes I’ll ever need.

The biggest benefit I feel of being child-free is that our evenings and weekends are totally our own and very relaxed, so there’s no issue with finding time for hobbies during the normal week/weekend.

Watching the thread with interest for what others do as I’m up for a new hobby!

I highly recommend Fridays off. My partner works them and I spend the day doing housework, visiting my mom, cooking and generally pottering. Its my favourite day of the week.

Thanks for the recommendations.
Ive never heard of a guided journal, just looked and they look interesting!
A friend suggested a write a journal/diary but I dont know where to start so the prompts would help.
Im going to get the one you've mentioned, its very cheap on vinted! Ill let you know how I get on
🙂

Also self employed and have five retired horses so A/L is a nice dream!

We tend to have long weekends away within Portugal rather than 'formal' holidays – plenty of places to go and Spain is only an hour away.

@gudetamathelazyegg If you husband wants to deal with the fear of flying tell him to try hypnotherapy or remedial hypnosis (what I do) as it's generally an easy phobia to fix.

Childfree and retired here. I spend my days swimming in the sea, cycling to lovely places with a picnic and walking in the hills. I volunteer for several charities - one of them is a litter picking group on our beach, another is the National Trust where I work in a castle garden and have made friends at both groups.

I sew, knit, paint and have just renovated my cottage which has taken two years as it was a wreck when I moved in - I've done courses to learn how to do some of the jobs that I've done e.g. repair the windows. I garden and have made my whole garden wildlife friendly so I now watch the birds, bats, hedgehogs and insects enjoy the pond and food I put out for them. I grow my own veg, have rescue hens for eggs and run a little honesty stall of eggs, veg and flowers in the lane outside my cottage.

In the winter when I'm not gardening so much I buy and sell antiques and vintage things at fairs to make a bit of pocket money.

It's a very quiet life but I am ever so content.

You're life sounds like my dream!

I also work a 4 day week and it's amazing!

Work in a school so have fixed time off. But I use it to try out new experiences/ places. Practice hobbies, see friends and catch up on life admin and household chores. Occasionally I may just sit with a cuppa and watch the world pass by.

I've just come back from 12 days leave (sob), spent 5 in Valencia, 2 having a nice rot at home and the rest with visiting family. I don't want to be back at work!

It varies. I like to go on day trips to places of interest and try to include at least one of those in any A/L period where DH and I are not going away on holiday. I like mooching round charity shops locally or nearby. Sometimes I will commit time to a household task such as decluttering. I'll also visit one of the nearby citiy centres or outlet villages to have a look round the shops. I like to include at least one intentionally lazy day where I get up late and lounge round in my dressing gown reading, but other than that I try to 'do something' with each day.

Catching up on my lunch, had to get away from my desk and chill by the canal - loving all the 4 day week advocates! 💜 Definitely on my list once I am more settled in this role, so thank you for the inspiration! @StressyMessyJess hope you enjoy the journal, it does help to have some prompts and sometimes it helps me have a bit of a realisation. There's a few out there and I do my own bullet journal thing as well which is more mental health focussed after finding that helpful during therapy.

Also a big fan of a cuppa and watching the world go by, sometimes I think not having kids you feel a pressure to be Really Interesting all the time, jetsetting and always on the go - I have anyway. But really I am someone who needs and values quiet! Trying to remind myself that simple moments of calm are also something I am grateful for and particularly when work is very hectic it's necessary. Thanks folks, keep them coming x

I really feel the pressure to be exerting and achieving as a childfree person.

I sometimes feel like such a failure for only working 4 days, not earning brilliant money, not being a gym bunny, etc etc.
I love a relaxed slow life but it makes me feel very guilty

@StressyMessyJess why on earth do you feel guilty? You love a relaxed slow life and that's what you have, enjoy it!

I am newly retired and my days are my own . I’m enjoying travels and am off to Japan in 3 weeks time. I’m a Lego fan so if I’m not walking the dogs , gardening or socialising I’ll be building Lego .

I’ve got a super long weekend this weekend - Thursday to Tuesday and I’m using it to sit and read, walk the dog and cook. I could clean the house, garden and do the bits of DIY that need doing - but I’m knackered. Work is super busy and massively stressful (senior manager in NHS England). I’ve got an elderly parent who lives with me and is ignoring medical advice re a health issue and a teenage dog who’s acting like a complete twat. I’d like to take myself off for a weekend in my favourite hotel, but I can’t because the elderly parent can’t cope with the teenage dog and my brother, who is my usual go to for dog sitting, has a broken arm so can’t do it.

Usually going on holidays, but also day after some events to recoup or if I want to go somewhere where it is rammed during weekend.

I don't work anymore but when I did it would often depend on whether my husband and I could match them. If I was on my own I would do my own thing, I might just need a good old rest or shopping, crafting, go and visit my Mum. If my husband and I were off at the same time we would have some quality time together. If we could afford it we would go on holiday or just days out around home, spring cleaning, in the summer if the weather is nice we might take a book each and go and sit in the park sunbathing, sleeping (or not) late.