39 Amazing Things To Do Instead Of Watching TV

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If you are wanting inspiration for some amazing things to do instead of watching TV, then look no further!

Did you know that the average person watches over 30 hours of TV every week?  That’s almost as much time as we spend at work (or the same/more if you work part-time!)  Add to that all the time many of us spend scrolling social media and that’s an awful lot of non-productive time.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good Netflix binge as much as the next person, but researching for this post really got me thinking about all the amazing and interesting things we could be doing instead of watching TV.

Here’s a selection of some inspiring ideas to get you started.

Self-Care

Self-care means different things to people but basically, it’s about taking some time out for yourself to relax and do something that nurtures your soul.

Here are a few ideas.

Mindfulness and meditation – you don’t need to sit cross-legged for hours humming ‘ohm’ to practice this.

Mindfulness can be practised pretty much anywhere and is all about bringing yourself into the present moment, even if only for a few minutes.

You can do this by focussing on your breath, sounds around you or the food you are eating.

Check out my easy to follow beginners’ guide to meditation to get you started.

Make yourself a self-care box – fill it with your favourite things.  Here are some ideas of what to include.

Plan an at-home spa day.

Practice yoga – there are loads of brilliant free videos you can try online.  I highly recommend Yoga With Adrienne.

Photo by Dane Wetton on Unsplash

Go for a walk or hike – getting out in nature is brilliant for the soul.  We need daylight in our lives!  And fresh air.  Even a quick walk around the block at lunchtime can be beneficial.

Play with a pet – research has shown that bonding with animals can lower our anxiety levels.  It’s also good fun!  Get out on the field with the dog or pull out the cat toys (ping pong balls are a great cheap toy I discovered recently).

Watch the sunset or sunrise – there’s nothing better than the brilliant colours of a beautiful sunset or sunrise.

Photo by Rachel Cook on Unsplash

Be Productive

Do a DIY project – have you been meaning to decorate a room for ages and not got round to it? Get your overalls on and start painting!

Tidy out a drawer, cupboard or sort out your closet – I don’t know about you, but I find this very therapeutic?

Related post – How To Declutter At The Speed Of Life

Plan your meals for the week and go and shop for the ingredients – even better, pull out your recipe books and try some new meals.

Plan out your meals for the week with this handy magnetic meal planner to stick on your fridge.

Start a herb garden or a flower garden.  Or if you don’t have a garden, you could make an indoor one.

 Grow your own herbs indoors with this hydroponic indoor herb garden kit

Spend Time With Others

How often do we say we are too busy to spend time with those we love?  Here are some ideas to spend more time with others instead of watching TV or otherwise procrastinating!

Make a candlelit meal for your other half – they will love you for it!

Meet friends for a coffee

Play a game together – why not have an old-fashioned board games night?  Or pit yourself against each other in a video game battle.

Gather your friends and family round for a good old fashioned board game.

Volunteer together – volunteering has been shown to boost your confidence and give you a sense of achievement.  Why not share these benefits with someone you love?

Make Extra Cash

Sell on Amazon or eBay – clear out your junk and sell some of it to make yourself a bit of extra cash.

Start a blog – it’s easier than you think to get started- check out my handy guide.

If you are in the UK or Ireland, try your hand at matched betting (may work in some other countries too).  I did this a few years ago and made £600 which I spent on a trip to London!  I’ve recently started it again and have just hit £1000 profit.  A nice little side hustle!  Find out more about what this is and how to get started.

Sell your skills on fiverr or people per hour – I was amazed at all the different categories in which you can sell your skills.

Become a virtual assistant – if you’re handy with admin tasks, writing or social media, you can get paid to do these things for other people!  Here’s a handy guide on how to get started.

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

Surveys – there are many websites and apps where you can make a few quid from surveys.  I like Streetbees which pays rapidly in cash to your PayPal account.

Mystery shopping – I haven’t done this for a while since I started this blog and ran out of time, but I used to make some pocket money from mystery shopping.

There are lots of sites out there to get you started.  I got most of my assignments through MarketForce.   Assignments included free meals at restaurants, reviewing the service at mobile phone shops and cash off my supermarket shopping.

Learn Something New

Since I discovered Udemy I have been forever learning new things!  There are courses on every topic you can imagine on the internet nowadays.  Or search YouTube for free tutorials.

You could even go the old fashioned route and sign up for a class locally, why not?!  Here are some ideas for things to learn.

• A dance routine
• A language
• How to read tarot
• Learn to sew
• Watch some YouTube videos and experiment with hair and makeup

Photo by Scott Broome on Unsplash

Explore Your Local Area

Walk through a part of town you’ve not been to before.  I’m always amazed when I discover streets I’ve not walked along before despite having lived in the same town for years!

Explore local museums – we often don’t appreciate what is on our own doorsteps.

Find out what you can do for free in your area and go and do it!

Dream

Plan your next holiday – even if you haven’t got the money to go on your next holiday it’s fun to do the research and dream!

Make a vision board – a vision board is a great way to concentrate your dreams in one place.

A vision board can evoke the emotions and feelings that come along with your dreams and this can help you manifest what you really want in life.  Find out more about how to make your own vision board.

Write down your goals for the next 3 months.  Plan how and when you are going to achieve them.

Here’s how to rock your goals by making them SMART.

Make Something

Make a photo collage – collect all your favourite photos together, print them off and put them all in a frame to stick on your wall.  Alternatively, you could make an online digital collage.

Put together a playlist of your favourite tunes.  Then switch it on, turn it up and dance and sing like no-one is watching!

Make a homemade card for someone you love.

If you are the crafty type, pull out your knitting, crochet or sewing.  If you’ve always fancied learning to do these things, then find an online or a local class.

Colour, paint, draw or doodle.

Write someone a heartfelt letter – It’s lovely to receive an old-fashioned, handwritten letter through the post.

Bake a cake or some cookies.

Here is an amazing chocolate cake recipe – looks yummy!

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

I hope that I’ve inspired you to get out and do some things much more amazing than watching TV.

I’d love to hear how you get on.  Let me know in the comments.

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