What to do with spare time...

[JapanRed]

If you had 4-5 days per week off work what would you fill your time with?

I'm about to gain this extra time and am conscious that I don't want to turn into a big fat lazy slob. Some ideas below;

Become healthier
- Run more
- More weights sessions in gym
- Yoga
- Buddhism
- I've been recommended the 'headspace' app

Have more fun
- Take up a new sport (fishing? Golf?)
- Play on my PS4 a bit more
- Drive my Porsche a bit more (I've driven it once in 15 months)
- Take up a hobby (but what?)

Relaxation
- See family and friends more
- Learn a musical instrument

So come on boys and girls. Give me some inspiration. I'm 34 years old with a wife and young child. I'm reducing my hours at work with the goal of becoming a better person, being healthier (both in mind and spirit) and by spending more time with my wife and child. I've spent the last 6 years working 50-60 hour weeks and its time I worked to live instead of living to work. I will still be working a couple of days a week so long term travel isn't an option.

Thanks in advance...

[Riley Blue]

Do some voluntary work, it's very rewarding.

[didelydoo]

Weight training
Meditation
Reading- fiction or non, philosophy, something you want to know or understand about.
Learning a craft, skill or language (something you can pass on to your kid too?)
Help people (may tie in with something you learn above?)
Maybe most importantly- become passionate about something and pursue it relentlessly.

[Captain Smerc]

Drive the Porsche of course ! Quality PS4 time as well .

[Saleen836]

Remember, just because you are not working during the week everyone else will be

[essayer]

Have another child, then your spare time will magically disappear

Stigproducts said:

Is there a community bus near you? Volunteer to drive that or help with management.

This is a good idea. Or locally, see if there's any groups who volunteer to drive people to hospital, doctors etc.

Edited by essayer on Friday 22 March 17:24

[Stigproducts]

Is there a community bus near you? Volunteer to drive that or help with management.

[mcelliott]

Litter pick your local park.

[Trophy Husband]

Furious wking?
Works for my mate.
He's a proper wker though.

[Mr MXT]

I wanted to learn a new skill and have a hobby that didn’t involve spending money on cars / track days, so I started to learn to play the banjo like a hipster wker.

It helps that I actually enjoy the music so it doesn’t seem like practice, and commiting to having lessons keeps (only an hour a month) keeps me motivated to get better.

[Captain Smerc]

Trophy Husband said:

Furious wking?
Works for my mate.
He's a proper wker though.

[JapanRed]

Riley Blue said:

Do some voluntary work, it's very rewarding.

I imagine it is, but I just don’t think this one is for me unfortunately. Thanks though.

didelydoo said:

Weight training
Meditation
Reading- fiction or non, philosophy, something you want to know or understand about.
Learning a craft, skill or language (something you can pass on to your kid too?)
Help people (may tie in with something you learn above?)
Maybe most importantly- become passionate about something and pursue it relentlessly.

Meditation and reading about philosophy are a good shout. Any idea where I would start with books on philosophy?
Also like the “learn something” recommendation. I’m very good at my desk job and learn thinks quickly, but I’ve always been absolutely rubbish at DIY. I’m definitely a thinker and not a doer. I probably could do DIY I’ve just never been shown, which means I’ve avoided it and it’s been a downward spiral from there. How do I learn DIY? Just read books? Or attend a couple of courses?

Captain Smerc said:

Drive the Porsche of course ! Quality PS4 time as well .

I’ve toyed with selling it a few times but the wife says I’ll regret it. Definitely want to get out in it a bit more this summer.

Saleen836 said:

Remember, just because you are not working during the week everyone else will be

My wife and child will be about for the majority of it. Whilst I want to spend more quality time with them I’m keen to do my own thing(s) too. Seeing friends will probably have to be done on weekends as they all work full time.

essayer said:

Have another child, then your spare time will magically disappear :hehe

I wasn’t going to mention anything but my wife is in the early stages of pregnancy with our second I definitely need to make the most of the next 6 months by the sounds of it haha.

Litter picking and volunteering just not up my street but thanks for the ideas.

You laugh at furious wking but the reason I created this thread is so that I’m not just sat pulling end off it all day every day

Good shout on the musical instrument. Piano/guitar are up there near the top of the list. Any other instruments I should consider?


Excellent ideas so far guys. Definitely given me food for thought. Keep em coming.

[henrycrun]

Find your local Heritage Railway/National Trust/Museum and join the staff.

[anonymous-user]

henrycrun said:

Find your local Heritage Railway/National Trust/Museum and join the staff.

He's already mentioned he wants to do something for himself and foook the volunteering a couple of times.
A shame really but it's a good job not everyone has that attitude or we would be foooked but it's horses for courses.
At his age he seems a bit young for those "interests".
Worth considering a bit of "house renovating" either your own or buying them and flipping them on if cash allows and you have the free time to work on it as and when to suit yourself.
If you get over the volunteering hang up maybe help at a local library if you have one teaching people how to use technology etc. It may help you become "that better person" you want to be.

[JapanRed]

speedyguy said:

henrycrun said:

Find your local Heritage Railway/National Trust/Museum and join the staff.

He's already mentioned he wants to do something for himself and foook the volunteering a couple of times.
A shame really but it's a good job not everyone has that attitude or we would be foooked but it's horses for courses.
At his age he seems a bit young for those "interests".
Worth considering a bit of "house renovating" either your own or buying them and flipping them on if cash allows and you have the free time to work on it as and when to suit yourself.
If you get over the volunteering hang up maybe help at a local library if you have one teaching people how to use technology etc. It may help you become "that better person" you want to be.

I don’t know what you mean by “if everyone has that attitude we’d be fooked. The country doesn’t depend on volunteers. I don’t know why it doesn’t appeal, I guess I associate volunteering with old people, rightly or wrongly.

We’ve already got a buy to let and I don’t particularly enjoy being a landlord so renovating houses isn’t high on my agenda. I’m a bit of a workaholic and if I was successful at it, it would just take over my life like my work has done for the past decade.

In terms of being a better person I don’t particularly mean I want to donate to charity or become a volunteer (bad as that may sound). I sort of mean having a better, more relaxed outlook on life. I think the focus on mental health is going to be huuuuuge in the next 20 years. I’m not sure yoga, meditation or Buddhism is right for me (I more than likely will hate them all haha) but in theory I like what they stand for.

I don’t know whether I’m getting across what I mean very well. I’m not even sure I understand what I want from this process, but putting pen to paper is helping clarify my thoughts a little.

[wazztie16]

Become an amateur referee in a sport. I recently have in football, it's great fun, if it's your thing.

Being paid to keep (relatively) fit.

It's not for everyone mind, but you have to learn to ignore the shouting etc from the side, if you're married that shouldn't be a problem...

Edit - there are midweek amateur games, it's not all weekends.

[untakenname]

Ride a bike, best way to exercise without it seeming a chore.

[Riley Blue]

JapanRed said:

speedyguy said:

henrycrun said:

Find your local Heritage Railway/National Trust/Museum and join the staff.

He's already mentioned he wants to do something for himself and foook the volunteering a couple of times.
A shame really but it's a good job not everyone has that attitude or we would be foooked but it's horses for courses.
At his age he seems a bit young for those "interests".
Worth considering a bit of "house renovating" either your own or buying them and flipping them on if cash allows and you have the free time to work on it as and when to suit yourself.
If you get over the volunteering hang up maybe help at a local library if you have one teaching people how to use technology etc. It may help you become "that better person" you want to be.

I don’t know what you mean by “if everyone has that attitude we’d be fooked. The country doesn’t depend on volunteers. I don’t know why it doesn’t appeal, I guess I associate volunteering with old people, rightly or wrongly.

I feel you have the wrong idea about volunteering. There are tens of thousands of young volunteers across the country and abroad. My local hospital has some in their teens who are hoping to follow a career in medicine and a couple of nights ago I saw a group in their 20s on TV rebuilding paths, dry stone walls and fences - it's not all about driving OAPs around in mini-buses

[67Dino]

Some other ideas:

1. Online trading. Takes a good 3 years to get remotely good at it, with the ongoing encouragement of haemorrhaging cash whilst you learn.

2. Buy a wreck of a car and do it up. Or save buying one by deliberately wrecking your Porsche.

3. Get involved in local politics. Not only will you be doing good, but you’ll gain the appreciation and respect that politicians everywhere enjoy.

4. Collect something. Pick an offbeat item like American Tablecloths, Elizabethan weapons, or Monchrome Manga comics and it’ll bring you into contact with lots of other people who also don’t get out much.

5. Astronomy. Given you have a new baby on the way, you’ll be up most of the night anyway, so why not take advantage and learn your way around the night sky?

Maybe I’ll stop there...

[jonspectre]

JapanRed said:

I don’t know what you mean by “if everyone has that attitude we’d be fooked. The country doesn’t depend on volunteers. I don’t know why it doesn’t appeal, I guess I associate volunteering with old people, rightly or wrongly.

I think it grates slightly that you seem to have completely dismissed volunteering as in your first post you've said you want to become a better person. Volunteering would certainly help with that and give you a different perspective - as someone else mentioned, it doesn't have to be about driving Doris to the shops or working in a charity shop, you could use perhaps use the skillset you've gained from work to 'give back', even if it's just a few hours a week (or less).

I'm the same age as you and am in a successful career and a fairly fortunate position (which I assume from your post you are too). I volunteer usually between 2 and 10 hours a week depending how busy my actual job is.

Some things I've volunteered for in the past to give you an idea of the variety out there:

- Kid camps, helping disadvantaged children have a break from their inner-city life. This certainly opened my eyes and took me far beyond my comfort zone, not having any experience of children.
- Setting up a brand new school. This exactly matched my career experience and I was one of a small group of people that set up a new school, dealing with the Department for Education and many other government and other stakeholder bodies. My role was primarily around the financial and operational planning but became involved in the building. The school is now rated as 'Outstanding' and is oversubscribed.
- Separately to the above, I became a governor, then Chair of Governors at my local village primary school. I really enjoy this and I'd heartily recommend.
- I became a parish councillor with the intent of helping my local community. This was hideous in every way possible in my experience, but gave a certain insight into local government politics that I'd never have had otherwise.

I'd strongly recommend that you don't just dismiss it out of hand and at least have a look into doing something valuable.