I hate having too much screen-time. It leaves you feeling unhealthy afnd drained. I think it interferes with what could have been a productive day. I’ve been seriously limiting my screen usage recently and in the spirit of that, I decided to compile a list of alternatives to using a screen:
Nature
Go for a long walk and leave your phone at home. You will realise how much more you notice the things around you when a phone isn’t absorbing your attention.
Go to a park, forest or beach and appreciate nature without interruptions. Collect items as little souvenirs. Draw pictures of them.
Paint a picture, outdoors.
Have a picnic under a tree with friends. Each bring an item to make it simple.
Have a hot drink on a bench, watching the sea and think.
Exploration
Find a car boot sale. Sell your own items or look for new interesting ones.
Go window shopping for books. Get ideas for your reading list. Read the blurb and see if you find something new. Buy them more cheaply online or look out for them second hand.
Go on a train journey, get off at the last stop and see what is there. Take pictures.
Go to an open farm and spend a quiet afternoon with animals. It helps to slow down your mind.
Culture
Go to a museum and take real time to read about the exhibits.
Listen to a podcast. Note down ideas you get from it.
Listen to music and read about it while you listen. You might find something new you like and learn some interesting facts about the band.
Go to the cinema and watch an international film with subtitles.
Read a newspaper, on paper, in peace in the library. They also have coffee mornings where you can do this and get free coffee 🙂
Imagination
Make your own flower arrangement with various cheap bouquets of flowers or flowers you find outside.
Lie on your bed and daydream like when you were a kid.
Try making home-made ice lollies. Freeze fruit inside ice cubes to make them pretty. Treat yourself to a fancy drink.
Research your family tree or record stories about relatives for future generations to read. Make photo albums and scrapbooks.
Draw out a design of your perfect room and then work towards making it look like the picture.
Make presents for people you know. Make up baskets with personal notes and items in them to cheer them up.
Create a new space out of an unused corner in your home. You could add in a mini office, a crafts’ corner, a coffee corner, a place for yoga, etc.
Collect shells on a beach and made a seaside display to remind you of summer holidays.
I hope this gives you some ideas of more valuable ways to spend time and relax. How do you like to spend your screen-free time?
