Forget Facebook: Try These Activities Instead

We all know how easy it can be to drift into an evening of doing nothing but mindlessly scrolling through Facebook and other social media websites. It’s the new normal in a period when many of us are spending more time at home than ever before! But if we really think about it, we’d probably agree that it’s not the best use of our time. Looking at our social networks is good for ten minutes or so, but beyond that, the usefulness is questionable at best. So why not look at doing other things with your time? In this blog, we’ll look at some of the most fun and rewarding activities that you can do instead.

Meditation

OK, meditation isn’t going to be fun exactly, but it will be worthwhile. Indeed, there’s no shortage of benefits that can come from regularly practising meditation — it has been shown to reduce stress, boost happiness, and even make your skin look better. All that from just sitting there, watching your breath! It’ll help in another way, too: it’ll make you more mindful, which will help you to stay away from Facebook. Most of us reach for our phones absent-mindedly because we’ve been engineered to do so by the designers. Through meditation, you can put a gap between your impulse and actions.

Pick Up a Book

Remember books? They’re the things that people used to read before smartphones came along. OK, they’re not that much of a relic; in fact, they’re more popular than ever! So why not look at getting into reading yourself? A lot of people claim they don’t have the concentration levels needed to dive deeply into a book, and that’s fair enough. There’s no pressure to read for an hour, though. Start with a book you’re interested in for just ten minutes; over time, you’ll find that you’re reading for longer periods.

Look Out the Window

One of the misconceptions about “activities” is that we have to always be doing something. This is not the case! It’s just fine to sit back and do nothing at all. One of the best “nothing at all” activities is to look out the window. Obviously, this will be more interesting if you live in a cosmopolitan city and have a balcony, but you’ll likely find something worth looking at no matter where you live, especially if you’re in a rural area. Once you look closely enough, you’ll likely spot plenty of interesting wildlife passing by your yard.

Working Out

If we’re going to feel at our best, then we need to be physically fit. These days, there just aren’t as many opportunities to work up a sweat as there used to be. But does that mean that you have to just accept your physical fitness as it is? No way! While it’s unlikely that you’ll have a gym at your home, there are still ways to get fit. Indeed, if you do one hundred push-ups, a hundred sit-ups, and plank for a minute or two each day, it won’t be long before you notice that you’re more toned. And you’ll have the perfect selfies to put on your social media sites during your daily allotted time!

Yoga

As well as working out, think about yoga. Yoga has been rising in popularity in recent years, and with good reason: it makes you feel amazing! These days, a lot of us are spending more time sitting or lying down than we should do. It can feel comfortable, sure, but it’s not so good for our bodies! It can feel oh so good to stretch yourself out a little. Don’t worry if you’ve never done yoga before; there are plenty of beginner YouTube channels that’ll get you up to speed with the basics. By the time we’re all allowed back into the world, you’ll be confident enough to join a class.

Get Creative

Everyone is creative, it’s just that not everyone knows it. The beautiful thing about getting creative is that the end-goal is only half the fun; the sheer act of creating is rewarding and fulfilling. It is a terrific way to spend an evening. How you get creative is up to you. You could create art, write a poem, learn an instrument, or make clothes, to name just a handful of options. By the time the evening is over, you’ll find that you’ve got something of value in front of you — and of course, the more you practice, the better you’ll become at your creative pursuit of choice!

Watch a Documentary

There are plenty of great cat videos on Facebook, and we’d be fools to say that they’re nothing short of extraordinary. However, there is an upper limit to how many cat videos you can watch (sorry, but it’s true). Instead, why not load up a documentary? There are some brilliant docs out there that’ll educate, entertain, and delight. Indeed, if you watched one documentary a night for a couple of weeks, you’d find that you have plenty of new and interesting conversation-starters under your belt.

Make Plans 

Facebook and other social media sites will bring immediate pleasure, but not long-term pleasure. In order to make great things happen, you have to sacrifice the fleeting joy of social media sites and get planning. So instead of scrolling, think about the future and what you might like to do. The world may be buckling under the weight of the coronavirus pandemic right now, but it won’t be long before life is back as we know it. What will you do when that happens? If you’ve put in the work thinking about what you’ll do, you’ll have plenty of excitement in your future!

Conclusion

Facebook has its uses, but if you’re spending an hour or two scrolling through it every night, then you’ll have passed its usefulness a long time ago. Instead, reclaim your time (not to mention your mental health) and do something valuable. It can be hard to break the social media shackles, but you’ll be happy that you did!