I’m pretty sick of my content addiction, like watching youtube or netflix all the time. I would rather be spending my time otherwise so figured fun things are the best to start. Do you have tips for fun things to do? Or how I could search for them?
Some I came up with myself:
- Learning some magic tricks
- Learning some origami
- Thrift shopping
Everything is welcome!
Learn an instrument.
I practice the skin flute daily.
The pink oboe.
Go for daily walks in nature.
Do yoga
Play a recreational sport that interests you
Read (I guess that’s still consumption)
Write
Volunteer for a cause you care about
I’m with the opinion that one should always read more than one writes. And they all kith and kin to reading out loud, speaking, memorizing text, and listening. All things one doesn’t need a teacher to direct.
I amuse myself with coding, and for the last couple of years, slowly teaching myself spanish. I know it’s a little thing that will probably never matter to anyone, but it feels kind of cool that I can open mexican newspapers and not go “Wtf is this gibberish?”
I like cooking, I get a lot from it, like the feeling of fulfillment etc
Turning cooking from a chore that needs to happen to something you enjoy is the best. Also makes you spend less eating out and to eat healthier. I live to Eat. Not Eat to live
Miniature painting, like for DnD and Warhammer is a great skill that starts easy and can ramp up in difficulty as you learn new techniques. It can get expensive however, but is great for relaxing and being creative.
Knitting is super fun. I used to do it every day until I started my masters. I keep thinking I should restart this hobby. As long as you don’t buy ridiculously premium yarns, it’s super cheap too. I used to find boxes of yarn at yard sales or thrift stores.
Nature photography, post results on iNaturalist for IDs, compare against what’s in your area, try and catch them all, Pokémon-style.
Learn Blender! I’m not joking, it’s full of cool things to do if you’re into computer graphics. Anywhere from hand-sculpting, to 2D animation, visual effects, 3D printing…
- Cooking / Baking
- Crochet / Amigurumi
- Gardening
- Jigsaw puzzles
- Learn a new language
- Take a course
I like sewing my clothes, I usually put on some content in the background while I’m doing my mending. It helps avoid fast-fashion and is helpful with thrift shopping, since it allows you to purchase garments that don’t fit quite right or are slightly frayed.
I like building models. Gunpla or wargame minis currently, but I’ve also recently taken up 3d printing as a hobby. Not the cheapest hobbies unfortunately, but ones I enjoy.
Whittling and woodworking are both extremely rewarding hobbies - depending on how much space you have.
My suggestion would be to reframe your thesis. Rather than consuming content, change your perspective to one where you are appreciating art.
The world is vast and full of amazing things, you don’t need to feel like you’re wasting time when you dedicate that time to appreciating art that you love. There are books, games, movies, short form video essays, podcasts, and all sorts of things that are real expressions of the human experience from different angles, which is what art is, and there’s nothing wrong with appreciating that art, learning something from it, and growing your understanding.
Unless you’re harming yourself or others by enjoying the art you enjoy, just keep on doing it.
That said, if you really want something else, gaming is (IMO) a great way to spend some time, tabletop or video. Learning a programming language is another one and can lead to very fulfilling paths where you can make things that you enjoy and easily share them with others.
Hiking.
I just went for a run. Up the hill.
