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How do you spend your evenings?

March 5th, 2020 at 01:20 am

This isn't quite a financial topic, though everything is to some extent, but I'm looking for everyone's thoughts.

How do you spend your evenings? After work and dinner, what do you do for the rest of the day?

I've really been struggling with this for a while. I feel like we don't do much of anything except watch some TV and spend time on the computer or our phones.

We do go to the gym regularly, but not at night. My wife does a lot of sewing and quilting, but not typically at night. I really have no hobbies or interests that I engage in anymore.

I don't like shopping unless there is something specific that I need, which is rare. I don't actively collect anything like I used to. I occasionally list some items on ebay but that hasn't been a regular thing for years.

It's a bit easier in the warmer/longer sunshine months because I'll do a little yard work or spend some time cleaning the garage or go for a walk/run, but especially in the winter with the colder weather and shorter daylight hours, I just feel like a slug.

I don't expect anyone to have a magical solution for me but I thought that maybe hearing what everyone else is up to might inspire me.

Posted in General stuff - not money-related | 16 Comments »

16 Responses to “How do you spend your evenings?”

  1. Lucky Robin Says:
    March 5th, 2020 at 03:43 am 1583379791
    1583379791

    In the warmer months I am usually out in the garden, because that is when it has cooled off enough to work. The rest of the year I mostly read and write. I will go for a short walk if the weather is nice enough. I write a lot, actually, in the evenings. Sometimes I will crochet, but that is limited because of my RA. A couple of nights a week I will spend doing research online for the medical conditions in my family or stuff for my book. I also spend a lot of time looking at, combining, and testing recipes. If I am sick I just watch Netflix, Hulu, or Youtube.

  2. mumof2 Says:
    March 5th, 2020 at 05:50 am 1583387406
    1583387406

    We watch tv as well but i also love jigsaw puzzles it keeps my mind sharp and relaxes me..

  3. Greenleaf Says:
    March 5th, 2020 at 08:47 am 1583398041
    1583398041

    I like to read, catch up with friends (phone, email, online, sometimes actually write letters), sometimes do housework or ironing while watching TV if there is something good on, take a walk if it's nice out, or study to keep up with new things at in my field

  4. alliecat79 Says:
    March 5th, 2020 at 11:27 am 1583407678
    1583407678

    We don't eat until between 6:30 and 7. I usually spend some floor time playing with the baby before we do his bedtime routine. I recently purchased a kindle for the sole purpose of renting library books with it. I have been leisurely spending my evenings in bed binging on books. The kindle is opening me up to lots of new FREE literature that I don't have to worry about trekking over to the library to return Smile

  5. CB in the City Says:
    March 5th, 2020 at 01:44 pm 1583415896
    1583415896

    I think it's okay to just wind down in the evening. I do that, even though I am retired and home all day. I watch the news, read, play computer games, text friends, and I think about what I need to do the next day and write a simple list to remind myself. I do my real "work" during the daylight hours.

  6. lurker Says:
    March 5th, 2020 at 06:40 pm 1583433651
    1583433651

    Ah, poor man with a wife to do all of your cooking and cleaning. After working all day I come home and after preparing dinner have to do a chore or two so they don't all build up for the weekend. I'm lucky if I can sit down for 90 minutes before I have to go to bed so I can get up at 5 am and start over.

  7. rob62521 Says:
    March 5th, 2020 at 08:01 pm 1583438488
    1583438488

    Our evenings are usually pretty tame. After we clean up after supper, I usually do my devotions and we watch the news. Normally I spend the evening knitting or crocheting while we watch some programs. Used to be we watched Suze Orman on Saturday nights and I got kidded about that being so wild. I think since we don't do the night club scene, unless we meet friends either at a restaurant or take turns going to their homes to eat and visit, we basically stay around the house. In nicer weather my husband may be in the yard until it is too dark to see anything.

  8. disneysteve Says:
    March 5th, 2020 at 11:46 pm 1583452018
    1583452018

    mumof2 - I actually love doing jigsaw puzzles. I haven't done a real one (not on an app) for a long time. Maybe I'll hit the thrift shop and pick up a few. Great idea.

    lurker - I'm actually the one who does most of the cooking so on my short days and the weekends, it's typically me coming home from work and making dinner. My wife will typically wash the dishes (I'll dry). She does do the laundry as she's home during the day. Other chores are pretty evenly divided. For example, last night I swept and vacuumed the upstairs hall, stairs, and foyer after dinner.

    CB - Part of me feels like I work hard and it's okay to chill at night, but part of me also knows just sitting around isn't the greatest thing for our bodies or minds. But some days I am pretty wiped out after a busy day at work.

  9. mumof2 Says:
    March 6th, 2020 at 03:24 am 1583465066
    1583465066

    disneysteve i love doing them and have a few in the cupboard..I don't mind redoing them...get some you will love it...although a 1000 piece usually only takes around 12-24hrs depending on how i am feeing

  10. terri77 Says:
    March 6th, 2020 at 02:07 pm 1583503629
    1583503629

    I take dance classes once or twice a week. Visit my parents once or twice a week. Mainly just enjoy my down time, relaxing.

  11. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    March 7th, 2020 at 08:49 pm 1583614172
    1583614172

    When I get home from work what I do depends on how tired I am. But usually has a number of the following: read a book, go for a walk (either outside or treadmill), play the piano, watch Youtube videos or Netflix, work on classwork, or .. surf the net mindlessly.

  12. GoodLiving Says:
    March 8th, 2020 at 05:46 am 1583646369
    1583646369

    It depends on the night, one night a week I work late (8pm) but last Thursday we attended a circle singing event, it was lovely. Otherwise, it's the gym, homework (we're both taking a class) and now that the weather warms up, maybe a walk.

  13. LivingAlmostLarge Says:
    March 9th, 2020 at 07:16 am 1583738215
    1583738215

    um work, kids, activities. I'm dead tired. Right now it's busy tax season and i'm beat. It's girl scout cookie season and I'm dead tired trying to fix the books for my troop. I may never again let someone be cookie mom.

    Typically I'm lucky if i get 30 minutes to watch a show a night. Many nights not. I spend it walking dog, washing dishes, cooking, cleaning, homework.

    I'm in the midst of parenting. I better cherish it because before i blink I'll be not busy anymore and wonder where did all the hours go???

    I used to read and cuddle more. But as the girls get older I do it less. We are all busier.

    Bike riding we love. But i find i'm also exhausted by our jam packed weekends.

  14. ceejay74 Says:
    March 9th, 2020 at 03:24 pm 1583767494
    1583767494

    I took up guitar 2 years ago, so most nights I practice for 30 minutes or so. Sometimes (not as often as I like) I work on my fiction writing/editing, and I've also written a couple songs.

    I've also taken to going out to see live music a lot in the past couple years. I tend toward local or lesser-known acts at venues that have lower-price tickets or no admission fee at all! Going on weeknights also means there are usually lighter crowds, so it's a mellow atmosphere and I can just enjoy the music without things getting too crazy.

    When it gets warmer in MN, I expect to get back to taking walks at night. We live near some lakes so I usually head to one of those.

    Of course a lot of nights are taken up with budgeting and planning stuff for life, or prep work for future meals, etc., because it's easier to concentrate once the kids are in bed. Sometimes my partners and I have a check-in about plans or any household decisions we need to make.

    And there are weeknights where I'm just mentally wiped out, and then I usually drink wine, surf the net and chat with friends on social media. Sometimes I actively watch a show but usually if we have the TV on it's just in the background.

  15. LifeBalance Says:
    March 13th, 2020 at 09:19 pm 1584134367
    1584134367

    I do mostly kid activities too, often shuttling the non-drivers to sports and Scouts. Homework help. Cooking dinner. Playing with pets. Reading and hot baths if I can fit them in. Touching base with extended family. Sometimes organizational tasks, including financial planning. And reading your blog entries!

  16. Fern Says:
    March 16th, 2020 at 01:31 pm 1584365461
    1584365461

    Like you, I find it so easy to while away the hours between getting home after work and bedtime to TV and Internet. Sometimes I read, and usually what I read is books on diet and nutrition.

    I like to take a little time to plan/review what I want to accomplish the next day, and for the rest of the week.

    Sometimes I'll do a little ancestry.com research, but I don't usually have the mental stamina to do anything but "Research Lite."

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