Ask Lemmy

Photo walks. Your whole point just becomes to go out and take in the scenery. Makes you slow down and appreciate your surroundings in a way that a walk doesn't. If you're after wildlife you have to move with intention, lest you scare the subject. If it's a more static subject you've more time to take in the light and shadows, frame your background.

Turning on music and cooking something. Watch me scramble my eggs while belting out some System of a Down. "DISORDER! DISORDER!"

Smoking weed, hooking into my mp3 player, then going to the park to vibe on the swing

Reading and hiking are the two main ones for me.

Walking, biking, hiking, going to concerts, reading, even going to the gym. Science fiction conventions, comic-cons, going to the beach.

My main one is building with my Lego. I know, I know they are expensive NOW but back in the day they were cheap ways to play. Now, I've got ALL my Lego from when I was a kid and I'm building everything. Well, not EVERYTHING but a bunch! :-)

This might sound weird but, before bed I try to do basically nothing, I just sit on the couch & let myself relax, maybe with a little reading on the side.

I like downloading a couple hundred tiktoks and scrolling them offline for a couple hours at a time

Running. Just one foot in front of the other. Bonus points for running in a new place and taking in the sights.

Walking in park, calisthenics, theatre, concerts.

I recently started teaching myself piano. There are great adult method books that make the process pretty straightforward. Modern digital pianos are fantastic and be can used with headphones too, which lets me practice without annoying the rest of the house.

On the one hand I'm a volunteer for the Red Cross which is a very satisfying and "in the moment" activity.

On the other hand I put on a mask and pretend to be a dog for a while

Playing music! I always feel better after sitting down at my drum kit for half an hour or so. I think it works with any instrument though.

I haven't dreamed when sleeping for a few years really now

Been reading dungeon crawler Carl and it's the first time I'm dreaming mostly every night now. Just more relaxed

I've been working on a chainmail tabard for a year or so now, it's pretty cathartic

I mean, do video games count? Theres millions that aren't online.

Otherwise, reading gardening sewing woodwork music singing drawing painting walking cleaning board games calling a friend write a letter cook food

The Internet and tech bros have fried everyone's brains.

Nature photography. I'm not particularly good but I have my camera always charged and when I feel down I just go to the jungle and shoot up some birds. Makes me feel better every time - there's something in our old lizard brains that get relaxed by exposure to visuals of outdoor beings be it birds, trees or just grass fields.

Seek is great app for this which is basically Pokémon Go for nature photography. People are often surprised by how much diversity they have in their own neighborhoods and a bit of gamifications is all some need to finally get out!

Not much. It feels like everything has to involve the internet. Reading i guess?

Spending time with my horse is my favorite activity. It's so relaxing and I forget all of my troubles when I'm at the barn

Make music. I’m technically still on a computer, but I don’t need to be online for it, so that counts I guess?

I adore watching movies. I own so many physically and don't mind using streaming services (especially free ones like Kanopy). Just being taken to another world for a while or even learning a bit more about our own in documentaries is nice. Even if the movie sucks or is mid I'd still rather watch than keep 100% focus on life.

Cooking. I truly enjoy it.

Don't get to do it that often though. My family hates my cooking.

I bake. I like to try out new recipes, usually cookies, since they travel well and can easily be given to multiple people and enjoyed wherever. I'll be making cinnamon rolls today, though, since there's a breakfast thing at work tomorrow.

I'm currently stood in a forest many km from the nearest inhabited place hunting for moose.

A few birds chirping in the distance. The leaves falling off the trees one by one. The sun slowly rising.

Playing old versions of Tetris. Retro puzzle gaming in general, but I find improving at Tetris really satisfying.

Reading. I end my evening reading in bed with a tumbler of wine.

Bike rides

Hikes

Making love

Cuddling

Wanking

Reading

Taking a nap in a hammock

Exercise

Fishing

Video games (single player)

Movies

Petting our dogs

Getting a massage

Wildlife and macro photography

Meditating

Just not doing anything at all for a bit

I volunteer at a wildlife rescue and study music. Both are challenging physically and mentally, and it takes my mind off of other things when I'm doing them.

They give me pride and a sense of satisfaction when I have success, and my coworkers or teacher give me support when I'm having trouble.

Having a strong support structure while doing something that requires my full attention just does something good for me mentally.

Volunteer work I strongly recommend to anyone. I avoided it for years even though I thought it might be fun because even so, why would I want more work?

What I do at the clinic is more challenging and demanding than my real job, but unlike my real job, this is actually something I'm passionate about, everyone I'm there with also wants to be there 100%, and all our effort goes into saving the lives of animals and making our local environment a better place. Every time I go, I can actually see the world becoming a better place then it would otherwise be if all of us weren't there.

I imagine this would be applicable to most any type of volunteering like helping kids or the elderly, cleaning up neighborhoods, or feeding people, etc. A lot of activities can just serve as distractions, but the intense work makes me physically and mentally feel I actually did something, and every animal that recovers and goes free is a result that is inarguable.

I go out to a pile of log rounds that were collected from downed trees around the yard that have dried all summer and have a go at them with my splitting axe.

It is the second warming from the wood. First warming was sweating while stacking the rounds, third warming will be hauling them from the piles to the front door during winter, final warming is the wood warming the house in the stove.

Not doing anything is great.

Absolutely unscheduled time when you don't have anything planned.

Get away from the mindset that tells you that you have to be 'productive' or 'active.'

Biking is pretty fun and freeing. There's no gas to buy or heavy traffic. Writing is also great. I've been journaling recently and it's helped a lot

Studying, walking/hiking (depending on weather), farming (weather again), single-player video games, gaming with wife (video and/or table games), listening around with an SDR (amateur radio), and probably more. Several depend on how my mental state is at the time

Riding my bike to the coastal parks in my city and watching all the people watch the ocean.

If both of those are inaccessible I usually just play video games. Right now my favourite is Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core. Other times I'll play Factorio or Satisfactory if I'm in the mood.

I also like to study a lot, but usually that means going to a cafe which is expensive. >_<

Watering and repotting my plants ☺️☺️☺️ my first peppers are ripening and I'm so jazzed

I wanna set up a planted aquarium and then I can tend to those plants too