It’s no secret I love my job. I get to blog, and interact with people and build a community around a very unique social radio community. It’s right up my alley and a lot of fun to boot.
One of the things I love best is that I have more time to spend with my family now. We go for a swim in the pool in the evenings or have game or movie nights, and on the weekend we go for hikes, picnics do a little gardening, and my house isn’t looking so much like a tornado lives here anymore.
Oh I have my blogs. I have three personal blogs to update, which I do early in the morning or on the weekends but I made a vow to enjoy this summer. Freelancing had me working too many nights and evenings. I’m loving my downtime.
I enjoy roasting marshmallows with my six year old on our outdoor fire pit, or playing Jenga or Monopoly on the kitchen table. I like reading a good book or watching a bad movie with my husband. I’m growing tomatoes and corn and people see flowers in front of my house instead of weeds.
I like making evening trips to the ice cream parlor or crocheting while listening to my favorite music. I enjoy a raucous time at the bowling alley - or even bowling on the Wii. My favorite ways to spend my down time are reading, movies, and cooking and baking - though Nutrisystem has sort of put a damper on the cooking and baking thing. I also enjoy taking the dog for a walk or playing frisbee with him in the back yard.
So instead of talking about how we don’t have much time off, let’s go off topic a bit. What do you like to do during your down time? Do you have hobbies or prefer a snooze on the couch?
We talk a lot about the negative parts of our jobs, lets take today to talk about the postive things in our lives! What do you like to do when you’re not working?
August 8th, 2008 at 7:28 am
Travel is number one for me. If I can get away for even a weekend to change my environment, I love it.
On a more daily basis, I like taking mind/body classes at the gym and getting in my daily workout. I love reading a good mystery and thumbing through health and lifestyle magazines.
I have to admit I often enjoy just watching tv too. It makes me laugh and gives me new ideas both which are important to me. Right now a lot of my free time is taken up by learning Portuguese which is proving to be very difficult for me even though I am living in a country where I hear it constantly.
August 8th, 2008 at 7:31 am
Well, we’re gearing up for football season here. 3 weeks people! That takes up much of our time in the fall.
I’ve also just gotten back into running and am training for a 5K. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed the feel of running in the early morning hours.
I also read, though not as much lately as I once did. We also are game players. I bought hubby a game called Mancala, which we enjoy. I also made a promise after my recent illness to spend some time with the kids outdoors, so we’ve been playing soccer, weeding, playing hide-and-seek, or something each day. That’s really enjoyable, and it lets them get out the overload of energy they have built up.
August 8th, 2008 at 7:59 am
Gardening, reading, goofing off with the kids, gabbing with my husband—I love all of these things.
I started making an effort to not touch the laptop at all after 6 pm or so, and it’s made a huge difference. Life seems a lot more balanced now. I work like a mad woman during the hours I have scheduled for work, and then I get to enjoy the rest of my day.
August 8th, 2008 at 8:10 am
Down time… I think I may have forgotten what that is. Even when I turn the computer off, I find myself grabbing work related papers and writing out articles so that all I have to do is type up the article the next day.
I read a lot. Usually at least one book per day for my review site and for a couple paid book reviewing jobs. Last night, I spent my “down time” working my way through a biography of Carly Simon, Carole King and Joni Mitchell. Long book but I learned a lot.
I also make sure I walk at least a mile per day. Not easy when just about every day this summer has been downpours, thunderstorms and even a freak tornado. (Vermont usually doesn’t see tornado activity, but in the past two years we’ve seen one confirmed and two that most likely were though National Weather Service is still deciding between straight sheer winds or tornado.)
I have a vegetable garden, which at this point has gotten way ahead of me, but I’ve been spending a lot of time freezing excess veggies for the winter and making a ton of zucchini bread.
The rest of my time involves catching up with housework, having a beer and kicking back with my husband and playing with my kids. My son’s a Guitar Hero addict and likes to have us join him, while I recently got my daughter addicted to the card game Milles Bournes, so we’ve been playing a lot of that when I can fit it in.
August 8th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Watching sports. I am a reformed sportswriter after all.
August 8th, 2008 at 9:02 am
I think a lot of you have spouses and kids - not me! So my hobbies are a little more tame/made for one. I like to curl up with a good book or do cross stitch or crochet projects. My biggest challenge is ignoring distractions enough so that I get my work done with enough time left to actually HAVE down time.
For example, our city road crew has ripped me from my slumber no later than 7 a.m. all week long (I know many of you get up much earlier, but I haven’t been getting to bed until after 2 or 3 each day, so I am *tired*). This morning has been the worst so far. There are no fewer than three backhoes, two jackhammers, two utility trucks, and 10 workmen on the street. My first thought this morning was, “I don’t know what they’re doing, but for all this racket, it better involve paving the street in gold bars.” I’ve been having a hard time working when they are out there, which is why I have been up until 2 or 3 - trying to work when it’s quiet.
August 8th, 2008 at 9:04 am
Hi Deb,
I spend my downtime with my son. I have a day job so my time after is spent with him. After I put him to bed, I spend time online with my writing groups buds. I also play guitar in church on sundays and have a blast doing it. I love to read, too. I’m rereading the Harry Potter books right now.
August 8th, 2008 at 9:41 am
Once I learned how to turn off the computer I’ve been able to establish a regular workout routine, discover different recreational activities (hiking, outdoor concerts, etc.), take care of things around the house, and most importantly, spend time with my husband on the couch with a movie.
August 8th, 2008 at 11:15 am
On the computer but not writing for money: I write fiction. I become absolutely possessed by fiction, and can spend 4 hours straight typing away, scarcely realizing how much time has passed, until one of the dogs gives me a nudge and that plaintive “REALLY need to go out now, Mom” look.
Off the computer: I became addicted to knitting a few years ago. I began knitting sweaters for my ever-chilly Chihuahua (the sweaters available in the stores are junk). Then I decided to learn how to knit socks. MAJOR addiction there, as I cheerfully add the craziest, most wildly colored socks to my collection. Knitting while listening to books on tape or disc allows me to appease two addictions at once, as I’m a big reader, too.
I’ve recently become a foster mom for a local animal rescue organization, so for the past two months I’ve had kittens ricocheting around the house. Great fun, but not terribly helpful with the knitting. I created a blog about fostering, which I hope will grow, but right now it’s mostly silly antics and cute photos. I also have a small veggie garden that is somehow managing to hang on in spite of the drought. I dink around with polymer clay, tie-dye, making candles and jewelry. I’ve been making handcrafted soap for going on 20 years now, and absolutely cannot function unless I have at least 30 bars of soap in the house. DBF says I should list “getting organized” as a hobby, because I’m forever reading books/websites/watching TV shows on how to do that, and then attacking areas of the house that seem to defiantly revert to a disorganized state the instant I turn my back. I’m also a big fan of Alfred Hitchcock films and old horror films, so when I have nothing better to do, I’ll sit down with my knitting and watch an old classic.
August 8th, 2008 at 11:20 am
Great question, Deb. I write — fiction, creative nonfiction, and performance — and have a regular workout routine where I get to the gym 4-5 times a week, 45 minutes at a stretch. I play around in our nascent garden. I harass the cat. I love to cook. I hang out with friends. I wait for my husband to come home so I can share all these activities with him.
August 8th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
I like to read, write for pleasure, watch TV, and look at silly Internet sites. I take a vacation every few months and go on day trips to the beach. I go to church and visit with family. When the weather permits, I walk through town. Because I’m between jobs and single with no kids, I have lots of free time now. It’s my late summer vacation.
August 8th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
I spend all of my downtime away from the computer. The internet is so addicting that it’s easy to spend a few hours in front of the comp screen.
Whenever possible, I try to get out of the house - hitting the beach, visiting friends, or whatever. When you’re indoors all of the time, you can get really restless.
August 8th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
My downtime is kid time. I love working from home because I can be with my children all day, sometimes on a busy writing day I spend time with the kids, but it isn’t what I would call real quality time. So, I enjoy getting down on my hands and knees and playing tea-party and dress up with my girl, or kicking the soccer ball around with my son. Day trips are a big deal around here when my work schedule allows it.
I love playing with my kiddos — its the most fun and relaxing thing I could possibly do when downtime hits. Spend all my free time with them.
My personal pastime, away from the kids, is contesting. I *love* it! Unfortunately it keeps me on the computer — so now I tend to do that a wee bit less than I have in the past. Still, once the kids are in bed, if all the deadlines have been met — that is what I’m doing. Contesting and blogging about contesting.
August 9th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
I enjoy reading, baking, and relaxing with my daughter and husband. I started Olympic weightlifting this year and that forces me to get physical activity, which has improved my sleep tremendously. I’ve taken up coffee drinking lately as a form of recreation.
August 13th, 2008 at 12:37 am
Most recent books I read: “This Is Your Brain on Music” by Dan Levitin, “Eleven Minutes” by best-selling author Paolo Coelho, and I’m currently in the middle of “Love in the Time of Cholera,” the nobel prize-winner :-)! I love to read, and I listen to all types of music constantly. I write songs and sing as well, and am pursuing a music career… lately I’ve been all over Haitian Kompa music and Bollywood/Bhangra… iTunes had a GREAT DEAL for “The Buddha Lounge All-Stars,” a collection of 50 tracks for $5.99… amazing! Brazilian, Greek, Latin, Salsa, Funk, Middle-Eastern, Jazz, Electronic/Lounge, meditation and soundscapes… everything. I’m loving it, best thing I have bough in a long time. But I’m done advertising :-).
I also workout anywhere from 1 to 2 hours per day (yoga, pilates, weights, cardio, dancing especially - you name it!) and try to get a social life in whenever possible… my workaholic tendencies must be overcome by friendly get-togethers and the like.
I love to read other blogs or magazines, while listening to music, post-workout… so great.
I also recently started reading the Evelyn Wood speed-reading course… I’m hoping to move from about 400 words/min reading to speed to the 1500 to 3000 words/min range and above… then I think I’ll be dangerous ;-). (That’s worth checking out too, by the way everyone! Many of us love to read, and all of us have to read quite a lot every day, increasing your speed is only going to make life better; I’m SO excited that the book arrived!)
And the summer is a great time to declutter… although the fun involved there varies :-).
August 13th, 2008 at 12:38 am
P.S. Barnes & Noble is definitely my favorite place to be.
August 14th, 2008 at 1:51 am
Hello!
I’m a big fan of Paulo Coelho! You will love this! He’s the first best-selling
author to be distributing for free his works on his blog:
http://www.paulocoelhoblog.com
Have a nice day!
Aart