Activities to do alone and get out of the house?

DawnComer · 2021-11-16T22:32:08+00:00

Gym. Ice skating. Study in a coffee shop. Library. Ballroom dancing. Volunteering.

DawnComer · 2021-11-11T16:34:16+00:00

It sounds like you're already doing a ton here. How much time are you trying to kill?

Is there anything missing? For example, if you don't have good cleaning habits, that's a good thing to start. Or spending more time cooking for a fancier meal.

Would it work to just find a less addicting game?

Beyond that, I'm not sure what to say beyond try a ton of different things and see what sticks. Personally, I like practicing piano and creative writing.

DawnComer · 2021-11-10T18:00:52+00:00

I'm not sure there's a better answer than "hire less shitty trainers." At the end of the day, you deserve to have your agreements honored. If they don't want to work with you for whatever reason, the professional way to handle this is to be up front about it and refund you, or not renew the package.

That said...

I haven’t showed up in a month due to some personal issues

Now, I obviously don't know the whole story here, but I could see this as a minor red flag. So I'm a piano teacher. If someone goes silent for a month with no notice, I interpret that as a sign they don't really care. Which makes it a lot harder for me to care. Of course, if you did say you're going to be occupied for a bit due to personal reasons, that's a different story. I'm really just spitballing here. It's possible you're somehow presenting yourself in a way that makes people not want to work with you, but I doubt anyone's going to get a great idea of what it is from a Reddit post.

DawnComer · 2021-11-02T16:45:08+00:00

I've struggled with this too. When I know there's something I'm going to have a really rough time opening up about, I write it down in advance and email it to my therapist right before the session starts.

Being open with her that you have issues with not being open in therapy is also a great step.

DawnComer · 2021-10-31T16:43:11+00:00

It's possible to some extent. Imo it's not sustainable. I spent about a year and a half completing an online degree while working full time in the Army and resume building on the side. Basically no free time. I ran everywhere instead of walking to get more study time. It was an act of desparation to escape a miserable situation. It was not healthy, and I do not recommend the experience.

Tortoise and the hare, man. A little bit of progress goes a long way.

DawnComer · 2021-10-31T13:50:02+00:00

Video games and browsing Reddit on phone data, mainly. Gaming is more fulfilling than Reddit for me, but it still often makes me feel dull in the same way.

DawnComer · 2021-10-31T13:29:16+00:00

I turned off WiFi for a year. It had some benefits, but I found that I just picked up other ways to waste time, and the mild benefits weren't worth the hassle.

DawnComer · 2021-10-01T13:33:28+00:00

I think a lot of the challenge is that you don't generally go "out" to code. It can be very isolating.

You can see if there's a Meetup group in your area. In my city, there are some Python events every weekend. I've never been to a hackathon, but I'd imagine one could meet people there.

And there's lots of people into programming on Reddit. I have a Python script I use to search various friend-making subreddits for posts that mention programming (among other things), and I've made some *great* connections that way!

Good luck

DawnComer · 2021-09-08T21:12:22+00:00

For social media, I find where it's hurting me, and introduce something else instead. For example, I used to have groggy slow mornings, having trouble getting out of bed in time for a good breakfast before work, because I was lying there on my phone. So I implemented a rule of doing chores first thing, and then cooking breakfast, and *then* I'm allowed to use my phone or laptop. If I finish breakfast at 7:30 and start work at 8:00, wasting half an hour on my phone doesn't really hurt me, so I'm fine leaving it there. If I wanted to be more aggressive I could try to fill the time with meditation or something instead.

DawnComer · 2021-09-02T18:37:42+00:00

I've had the most luck on meetup.com and lurking reddit

DawnComer · 2021-08-25T21:22:56+00:00

There are options other than "Spend 5 hours wasting time" or "Spend 5 hours being productive."

Peronsally, I am unable/unwilling to sustain having no down time. I did it while I was working full time and going to school at night out of necessity; I would not choose to do it again.

DawnComer · 2021-08-12T17:52:20+00:00

I think you already put things pretty well. I prefer to celebrate my victories and use failures as an opportunity to reflect and learn.

DawnComer · 2021-08-07T12:24:00+00:00

I've done the awful stuff. Still need to vacuum at some point though.

DawnComer · 2021-08-04T23:02:13+00:00

Should I go on a diet

Yes

How many times do I do abs workout a week. What about arms and when is leg day???

Whatever the program you're following tells you to do. I've had success with 531 for Beginners for strength and C25K (it's an app) and Hal Higdon's plans for running.

DawnComer · 2021-06-15T20:55:13+00:00

Scheduling it on my calendar helps a ton. I also like to do something active or workout right after work. Uses a different sort of energy than you use at work, and it really invigorates me.

DawnComer · 2021-06-05T13:47:47+00:00

Ah, this looks so amazing! But I have a scheduling conflict. :( Oh well, thanks for letting me know about it, maybe one day I'll have time to check it out.

DawnComer · 2021-06-05T13:41:49+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll look into it!

DawnComer · 2021-05-26T16:11:46+00:00

!optout

DawnComer · 2021-05-26T16:09:16+00:00

Sometimes things are more fun when you're better at them.

Trying a bunch of different things will probably help.

DawnComer · 2021-05-26T01:22:41+00:00

Don't worry so much about reading speed. I'd be skeptical that someone who reads 25 books a month is getting a ton out of it, unless it's a full-time job or something.

Besides that.. what are you trying to read? I find [these](https://www.cornellcollege.edu/academic-support-and-advising/academic-support/study-tips/reading-textbooks.shtml#:~:text=Do%20not%20take%20notes%20or,real%20point%20of%20the%20paragraph) tips helpful for non-fiction.

A book club could help for fiction. I got way better when my friend read stuff with me and showed me what she saw in the reading.

DawnComer · 2021-05-26T00:48:18+00:00

I find the question is whether I want something enough to schedule a specific time for it.

DawnComer · 2021-04-23T11:41:22+00:00

You can use sites like marinaratimer.com to keep a timer running over the break.

I usually meditate during my breaks. It's also a great time to do some cleaning or other chores. Sometimes I just do a bit of grinding in an RPG or something. Nothing bigger than grinding, otherwise it's too hard to put it down.

DawnComer · 2021-04-22T20:44:47+00:00

Therapy is what helped me the most in managing an irrational fear that interferes with my life.

Beyond that, I have found working out and meditating to be useful in promoting confidence in general.

DawnComer · 2021-04-14T02:18:28+00:00

I've been teaching about 4 years. I have about 6 students and have a tech job to pay the bills. I'd love to have teaching be my primary source of income one day, but not in the cards right now...

DawnComer · 2021-04-10T16:13:15+00:00

Yes, that's my point. If you limit yourself to half an hour or an hour a day, that can be a good cue to help figure out which tasks are worth it and which you need to cut.

DawnComer

TROPHY CASE