Filling time ideas
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Charleston, SC
Posts: 2
Filling time ideas
Hello SR!
I am new.. actually first post ever. I'm 33 days sober. Yes, made it through the holidays sober!
That was a first, especially for New Years Eve. And overall, I have really been enjoying and embracing my sobriety...it feels good to feel good 
Anyways, my main problem at this stage has been trying to find things to do to fill my time, mainly on the weekends. I'm active..go to the gym, take the dog on a walk, household errands, movies, books... I don't know, it just seem like there's almost too much time sometimes.. on the weekends. Didn't know if anyone else felt this way, or had some ideas
Thank you for any suggestions!
I am new.. actually first post ever. I'm 33 days sober. Yes, made it through the holidays sober!
That was a first, especially for New Years Eve. And overall, I have really been enjoying and embracing my sobriety...it feels good to feel good Anyways, my main problem at this stage has been trying to find things to do to fill my time, mainly on the weekends. I'm active..go to the gym, take the dog on a walk, household errands, movies, books... I don't know, it just seem like there's almost too much time sometimes.. on the weekends. Didn't know if anyone else felt this way, or had some ideas
Thank you for any suggestions!
Thriving sober since 12/18/08
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Orlando, FL
Posts: 3,115
Congrats on the 33 days! I got sober just before the holidays (a few years ago) too. It sounds like you've got some healthy 'stuff' to do, and it's great you're seeking out some ideas. I will say, however, that the longer you're in recovery and the more your body and mind heal, you'll find it less necessary to fill your time with distractions. I was the same way, oodles of movies, books, even video games (totally not a 'gamer'!), but somewhere along the line and with a touch of counseling and work on myself, I became comfortable just being in my skin.. I stopped desperately seeking out time fillers and gained more balance in my life. I started enjoying my down time, and only sprinkling in a few outings and distractions throughout the day/week. Hang in there, it gets better!
Last edited by flutter; 01-13-2012 at 06:11 AM. Reason: spelling
Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 133
You could get yourself a digital SLR, it doesn't have to be too fancy. An entry level camera and a few different lenses is a lot cheaper than they were a few years ago. There are a lot of websites with free tutorials on photography, lots of competitions too. If you get good at it, it can also be a nice second income, but you'll probably spend most of that on more kit 
Grateful to be free
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Arizona
Posts: 3,680
I am finding day trips a good way to spend some positive time on my weekends. There are a number of 'points of interest' within a few hours drive of me. So I choose one and head out, it is FINE to do this alone. I get out of my head, out of my same old same old surroundings and am reminded there is a big wide world out there.
I find out that something I was never interested in, is interesting. Even if I don't become a major fan, I've got a lot of new food for thought. Perusing the little gift shops, I often find a neat little card or surprise for a friend, then I take time writing to them and mailing it off...there is a sort of domino effect.
There are many little museums, national monuments, etc tucked away all over the place. All sorts of little tourist attractions, free concerts, display, even many libraries have changing art and history displays and interesting speakers.
I didn't realize just how much I had isolated myself, not just physically or personally, but mentally and intellectually from the world of ideas, history, etc.
A good weekend day trip gives me food for thought for the rest of the week.
I find out that something I was never interested in, is interesting. Even if I don't become a major fan, I've got a lot of new food for thought. Perusing the little gift shops, I often find a neat little card or surprise for a friend, then I take time writing to them and mailing it off...there is a sort of domino effect.
There are many little museums, national monuments, etc tucked away all over the place. All sorts of little tourist attractions, free concerts, display, even many libraries have changing art and history displays and interesting speakers.
I didn't realize just how much I had isolated myself, not just physically or personally, but mentally and intellectually from the world of ideas, history, etc.
A good weekend day trip gives me food for thought for the rest of the week.
Re-Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Posts: 7,583
First for me was determining what I wanted. If you have to ask what to do with your time you haven't asked the most important person, you!
Most of us never ever put aside what others said we wanted, or wanted for us or said that we "should" want, and found what we really want from ourselves, our lives and our place in our world, even what that world is or can be.
When we "grow up" we tend to throw the baby out with the bathwater. As we transition from HS and/or College to a separate life, whether that includes a significant other or not, we tend to bring along all the "shoulds" we believe from sheer repetition, when they are no longer relevant for us. If when I write "should" you read that as a word that rhymes with spit, you will get a basic feel for my disdain of the "shoulds" we bring along as baggage in our lives.
You see we at one point decide to grow up and leave the childish behind. Unfortunately we don't define terms and thus the baby gets thrown out with the bathwater. It is well that we stop the childish and the self indulgences and leave the immediate gratifications of the child behind. But we each were given a child like sense of wonder that we bundle up with the childish as, well, childish. If you threw yours out then you first need to go dig it out of the trash and clean the other childish and dirty things from it, press it, and put it back on.
We live and wonder why we don't succeed like (fill in the name of any real success) and we will never know until we dust of the ol child like sense of wonder. You see that allowed us to dream and believe in our dreams. And the real successes in life may or may not be gazillionaires but they have that with the exception of the few bullies in small ponds.
See once we dreamed of being a (fill in your silly dreams as a child Fireman? Doctor Lawyer Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor?) and then reality supposedly crept in.
Once we stop drinking we have some money we did not have before, available for us to do. Do what? Whatever! Are we living out the expectations of our parents, our spouses or significant other? Have we always thought that sacrificing our wants for the wants we are told by a seemingly endless supply of parents teachers superiors bosses spouses whomsoever we allowed to determine what we "should" want.
Sit down and decide what you want first, dare to dream again except that it might be a bit different today. Don't worry, we all are rusty too, we fear stepping back and questioning because we aren't tickled pink all the time. That seems to be the over-riding childish thing we bring forward and don't lose. Sometimes we are left to ourselves, in the quiet, and we can think.
Me? I traveled and travel. Owned businesses I started up. Became a soldier for a career, also went to school nights and became several other things, and skied and scuba'd, walked and climbed, owned stuff and sold stuff, learned stuff and put that stuff to good use, and did stuff until I was good at that stuff and decided to add it to my keep doing it list or drop it for other fun stuff the try. Everything we conquer gets old. The real fun is in the planning and saving and anticipating stuff. Ever notice how that new fast car gets slow in a month? And in six months you don't talk about it any more? Like Threshold I like day trips and even more weekend trips of week long ones with an RV. I also love Museums, and parks, beaches and cities, unique shops and people I meet. I also walk my pups, and do the yard and upkeep, but that is just maintenance of pieces of stuff. What you actually see and do, experience, and learn are the only things that can't be taken from you. Remember a time when you were young and someone smiles at you in a special way that you remember to this day? Whether parent or friend, it was something special to only you? Go experience those that you want new and again. You might also realize your power to create those moments for others in your life too. Make your life special and the lives of everyone you touch become so too. But only if that is what YOU want.
What do you want? What are you waiting for? You don't need my or anybody else's permission, do you?
Most of us never ever put aside what others said we wanted, or wanted for us or said that we "should" want, and found what we really want from ourselves, our lives and our place in our world, even what that world is or can be.
When we "grow up" we tend to throw the baby out with the bathwater. As we transition from HS and/or College to a separate life, whether that includes a significant other or not, we tend to bring along all the "shoulds" we believe from sheer repetition, when they are no longer relevant for us. If when I write "should" you read that as a word that rhymes with spit, you will get a basic feel for my disdain of the "shoulds" we bring along as baggage in our lives.
You see we at one point decide to grow up and leave the childish behind. Unfortunately we don't define terms and thus the baby gets thrown out with the bathwater. It is well that we stop the childish and the self indulgences and leave the immediate gratifications of the child behind. But we each were given a child like sense of wonder that we bundle up with the childish as, well, childish. If you threw yours out then you first need to go dig it out of the trash and clean the other childish and dirty things from it, press it, and put it back on.
We live and wonder why we don't succeed like (fill in the name of any real success) and we will never know until we dust of the ol child like sense of wonder. You see that allowed us to dream and believe in our dreams. And the real successes in life may or may not be gazillionaires but they have that with the exception of the few bullies in small ponds.
See once we dreamed of being a (fill in your silly dreams as a child Fireman? Doctor Lawyer Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor?) and then reality supposedly crept in.
Once we stop drinking we have some money we did not have before, available for us to do. Do what? Whatever! Are we living out the expectations of our parents, our spouses or significant other? Have we always thought that sacrificing our wants for the wants we are told by a seemingly endless supply of parents teachers superiors bosses spouses whomsoever we allowed to determine what we "should" want.
Sit down and decide what you want first, dare to dream again except that it might be a bit different today. Don't worry, we all are rusty too, we fear stepping back and questioning because we aren't tickled pink all the time. That seems to be the over-riding childish thing we bring forward and don't lose. Sometimes we are left to ourselves, in the quiet, and we can think.
Me? I traveled and travel. Owned businesses I started up. Became a soldier for a career, also went to school nights and became several other things, and skied and scuba'd, walked and climbed, owned stuff and sold stuff, learned stuff and put that stuff to good use, and did stuff until I was good at that stuff and decided to add it to my keep doing it list or drop it for other fun stuff the try. Everything we conquer gets old. The real fun is in the planning and saving and anticipating stuff. Ever notice how that new fast car gets slow in a month? And in six months you don't talk about it any more? Like Threshold I like day trips and even more weekend trips of week long ones with an RV. I also love Museums, and parks, beaches and cities, unique shops and people I meet. I also walk my pups, and do the yard and upkeep, but that is just maintenance of pieces of stuff. What you actually see and do, experience, and learn are the only things that can't be taken from you. Remember a time when you were young and someone smiles at you in a special way that you remember to this day? Whether parent or friend, it was something special to only you? Go experience those that you want new and again. You might also realize your power to create those moments for others in your life too. Make your life special and the lives of everyone you touch become so too. But only if that is what YOU want.
What do you want? What are you waiting for? You don't need my or anybody else's permission, do you?
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
