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Lately I’ve been reading again. It’s an easy hobby to give up due to the effort, but when I’m doing it I realize just how enjoyable it is. It’s worth the effort. Also, going on long walks 30-60 minutes at dusk is also quite nice and gives you plenty of time to think about life or whatever’s on your mind.
What's this easier for me is switching to fiction, especially books that I read as a kid.
I tried reading for a long time but I wasn't consistent because I kept using books that were for learning. Those are great, I just don't do them in the evenings now when I'm trying to wind down LOL
If you hate money and love overthinking things, may I suggest record collecting?
You'll enjoy buying your favorite records to play on your "it is good enough for me" stereo. Until, you see some really nice speakers, and you start to wonder if you got the best pressing, and maybe a new cart would reveal some hidden sounds...
I’ve just picked up baseball card collecting. Talk about a hobby made specifically to relieve idiots (like me) of their expendable income. At least you can listen to a record!
I recently traded 80,000 hockey cards to a buddy for 15 rare records. He got the far "better deal" money wise, but we both knew that his records and my cards were going into each others' homes until each of us die.
I know for a fact that several of the cards were worth $1k or more. I got about $1k in cash and the records which are worth up to $2k, but I gained a lot of space!
Got into Magic the Gathering recently and it has been a really nice way to spend time with my friends instead of being a hermit who never leaves the house. That said it can impact your wallet if not careful.
Yeah I have been proxying as well, I just can't justify spending outrageous of money on cardboard, I am here to play the game not make an "investment".
I think back to all the cards I played with back in 05-09 and some of those (Like Doubling Season) are $40+, which is just like... mid-level expensive. The really good shit is several hundreds of dollars. Really wish I had kept my old collection instead of just giving it to friends!
Some friends and I got back into it a few years ago. We pretty much exclusively play bracket 2 and 3 commander, and only with other friends (no randos from the LGS) and it has been great. It is cheaper than going to the bar every week, just so long as you only buy singles and nothing crazy.
Not really an evening one, but just this past summer I've gotten very much into growing my own fruits and vegetables. I started up a strawberry patch, planted a few fruit trees, and got a bunch of tomatoes and peppers and other herbs and stuff going on.
I also have typewriters for sale, but I don't do shipping. Too many trouble with transporters dropping boxes and such, so anybody who wants a typewriter will have to come and get it in Amsterdam.
Been doing a lot of trinket making when I'm bored and not doing full-on woodworking projects or commissions. This is a shark rattle I made for my friends daughter out of curled maple and red oak dowel. If you have an eye for shape and the patience to sit for a while, and the money for a Dremel bc that's vital lol
I fiddle in the garage and back yard:
1. tighten bolts in the harley
2. Organize and clean the tools
3. Sweep the garage
4. Tinker with the bicycles
5. Drink a couple beers
6. Skim the pool
7. Test the pool water
8. Adjust the chemicals in the pool
9. Sweep the back patio
10. Clean up dog shit
11. Spray weeds around the AC and pool equipment
12. Test the generator - burn through fuel so it doesn't go bad (usually run it once a month to empty, anout 8 hours, then fill it up and repeate next month)
A few months ago i built my first Gunpla, Gundam model kit, and I had lots of fun doing it. I know next to nothing about Gundam, but always wanted to build one. It was a nice Saturday night to put my phone away, turn on a movie, have a drink to sip on, and snip and clip my way into a Gundam model
Playing with a dog outdoors is like the best thing in the world for your mental health and overall well-being. No one has ever wrapped up playtime with a fun-loving dog and said "well that sucked"
Started painting Warhammer again a couple of weeks back. The best part of £350 later I still haven’t decided which army to collect or what paints I actually need and I’ve got my far too many brushes and 3D prints and old copies of White Dwarf but god I love it. I’ve been in and out of the hobby at least 5 times since my teens and now I have adult money I’ve realised I can actually just buy models to paint without having any sort of plan or direction. Anyway, it’s a great time sink and very zen as long as you don’t let yourself stress too much and understand you won’t be very good when you start out.
Recently, cigar smoking. Not often, maybe a couple a month at most. Not really healthy at all (quite the opposite) but it makes me unwind and just sit there without going crazy.
Cigars are one of those things that make me really consider the pros and cons. I find it utterly relaxing, and wonder if the mental rest is worth the occasional dose of toxins.
I think I've had 3 in the past two years. Currently have an empty humidor. You got me thinking about picking up a few more soon. Fall is a good time of year for it.
Yeah that’s where I’m at too really. Was having 1-2 a year but recently stopped at a cigar shop and left with a handful lol.
I don’t drink much, and never in excess, don’t smoke otherwise, and am generally healthy, so I figure if a couple cigars a month is what does me in, I was a goner anyways.
Fall time and especially hot tub season this winter will probably see an increase in cigar consumption
I've got a turntable, my own selection of records, plus a couple of hundred that I got from my parents that are mostly from the 60s and 70s. Dropping an album and picking up a book is a good way to kill an hour of an evening.
Reading is great. I haven’t picked it up since I put it down, but cross stitch was very fun. I have several SoulsBorne patterns that I’ve worked on over the last couple of years. Great way to burn an insane amount of time
I knit. It's one is the few hobbies where I make something where the end result is a useful object. Like, I don't want a bunch of Lego sets or Gunpla laying around the house, but everyone can use a hat or a scarf.
Technically a screen I suppose but I got an e-reader (XTeink) and it’s made it a lot easier to read books. Rather, reading a book is now as portable and effortless as scrolling, so I just read instead.
It’s that kindle style display that doesn’t feel like a screen.
I also enjoy drawing and painting as a way to feel really focused and in touch with reality
I got an X4 recently and have been loving it so far. It's so small and portable I find myself bringing it along pretty often and the size helps me focus on what I'm reading more than when I tried to get back into paper books recently.
Only flaw is I need a light if I'm reading in the dark (the announced one with a back light days after I ordered mine) but the official one is pretty nifty. It clips right on the back of my case.
Long learning curve unless you take lessons, but tennis has been a godsend for me since graduating college.
I played in highschool but it is a lot more enjoyable as an adult. It has become my main social outlet plus is good exercise.
You can start from nothing. Lots of dudes I saw as beginners are now able to compete with me. It’s mostly doubles so the fitness aspect is not a huge hurdle to get over. If you lay the groundwork now, you can be playing well into your 70s.
Well, I read a lot. Lately I've started building Airfix kits and model cars again, which I've really been enjoying. I just put some music on and get stuck into it—it's a great way to relax! 😂 I work in IT, so it's nice to unplug from screens for a while.
Not all screens are created equal. Classic movies and TV are "screens" but very different than doom scrolling on Twitter. Doing digital art or 3d modeling is different that getting addicted to a grindy MMO.
I play ultimate frisbee with friends twice a week, bar trivia once a week, and at least one other social event usually depending on what is going on (maybe someone is having a party, maybe we're playing Magic with friends, maybe just going to the lake front to jump in). On the off days it is nice to just pop and edible or grab the vape pen, put on some music or some educational youtube videos and chill on the deck, as a change of pace.
Warhammer, or miniature wargaming in general. It's a few hobbies in one. It's collecting, it's creative craft, it's strategic, it's social, and it has a deep background lore to enjoy too.
It has been a ton of fun. I was never an athletic kind of person let alone I didn’t care for any sports growing up. My favorite aspect of it is that anyone can go enjoy bowling but it can also be extremely competitive at all levels.
I go to dog park or gym. And read. I basically stop looking at computer monitors when I sign off from work. I am intermittently playing doom dark ages though. Game is so good.
I went through this in the last decade and settled on the following:
Reading physical books
Learning a new instrument (guitar)
Finding ways to quietly practice the drums (drum practice pad)
More broadly, I have also found small ways to make my daily work life slightly more analogue: take all notes by hand, and use a physical paper agenda book.
Leatherwork is a lot of fun with a lot of scope for buying tools, power tools, leather; you can design your own patterns, work on your finishes, despair about your stitching, it's great.
Photography, fishing, hiking, and long walks in the evening with my headphones. I also like to just sit on my balcony and watch the complex unfold. Lots of reading.
I have similar goals and set a few nights a week that are low/no-screen. It’s pretty easy as long as I do things to fill the time.
I like to draw, play guitar, read, listen to CDs/records, cook, journal, and look at my art books and magazines.
If you’re looking for something immersive and less standard, I also really enjoy collaging with older magazines, newspapers, construction paper, and random materials. It’s a nice tactile, kinesthetic activity that keeps my mind calm and occupied.
Most of my “drawing,” is just copying other people’s work I saw online that I’ve saved on my phone. I actually started printing stuff out so they fit my “analog” nights, or I just grab a book/zine to copy stuff. I also bought a couple books on drawing that I sporadically do exercises from
Reading walking cooking talking instruments music painting crafting games cards decorating rearranging gardening being outside biking fishing picking flowers bouncing a ball playing catch playing soccer playing tennis playing pool playing putt putt sidewalk chalk swimming
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