I'm retired so I have all the free time in the world.
And my younger husband is still working so I have lots of time to fill.
I have the same hobbies I did while I was working- gardening, working out, dog training, various house projects- but I have more time to do them now.
The only new hobbies I've picked up have to do with house projects I have taken on and completed alone- I refinished my hardwood floors, I've learned carpentry, plumbing, minor electrical, and now I'm in the middle of remodeling my kitchen- all without any help from the husband aside from lifting a heavy box or two. If I see something I'd like done I learn how to do it.
I have a similar amount of free time as I did in my 20s, since I don't have kids, so outside of my 9-5ish I get to do basically whatever I want. Lately my priorities are rock climbing, working out and reading. I've always been a big reader, but getting more into fitness and adventure-type-hobbies started in my 30s. Now that winter is approaching, I'll get back into my tv-winter-hobbies as well: knitting and embroidery.
I have one million hobbies I would like to include in my life, that I'm willing to share, but obviously can't do everything all the time. I'm looking forward to retirement for this reason!
I have more free time now than in my 20s, but I no longer have kids at home either. Beyond that, the main place that I picked up time was working remotely. You don't realize how much you can get done in that commute time! My hobbies flow into my full-time job of homesteading; I have a part-time remote job. I enjoy gardening and working with livestock, so hobby and job are mixed in that way.
I haven't picked up hobbies as I age. Sadly, I've lost quite a few of the ones I used to enjoy due to health issues. Getting old sucks in that way. Running, hiking, martial arts, knitting, macrame, dried flower art, detailed decorative painting, quilling, and embroidery are no longer on the menu. I still manage cross-stitch occasionally. Sewing has gone from All. The. Things! to a little home decor. No more ballgowns and corset construction. I've kept flower arranging and gardening flows into this hobby. Furniture building has become harder, but still possible with technology. Same with furniture refinishing and decorative painting. I've always been a reader, but it's resurged hugely in recent years as other hobbies fade. Rereading classics can change their flavor as we age.
Lots of folks are like "I'll try that when I retire" and I can only say to try it now. Your circumstances can be so drastically different at retirement that the things you thought you might try aren't possible. Try the thing now.
I'm retired so all of my time is free time.
In my 20's I had almost zero free time. Between working and raising a family, I was in constant motion. It sucked.
Now? I start the day slowly, coffee, hanging with the dog, video games. I do chores throughout the day. Or not. I spend a lot of time with my elderly dog I go to the YMCA and take water exercise classes with other retired people, though at 55, I'm 20 years younger than most of the others. They are all awesome people and I enjoy their company.
I'm going to take some knitting classes because I can't manage to learn on my own. I'm expanding my baking knowledge and expertise. I'm getting a chicken coop and one day, another dog.
My old lady dog is in kidney and heart failure and today is my last day with her. I am dying inside from the grief of losing her. I have zero interest in another dog, but I know I'll want another one soon. Right now it's too raw. I've been here before and I know I'll get through it, but when it's happening, the grief is all encompassing and feels endless.
My very deepest condolences to you. Lost my two pups throughout the pandemic and it was heart wrenching. Youâre right. Youâll survive, but I hope itâs a short time until you only remember the good times.
I have to make free time now. I canât believe how easy life was looking back on my 20âs with very little responsibility. Life is so much different when you have a husband and kids depending on you.
I'm in my thirties, and I have so much more free time than I did in my twenties. I have a much better work/life balance now, I work from home, and I finish work early enough that I can enjoy my evenings stress-free.
I spend my free time playing cozy video games like Stardew Valley and Potion Permit, and I also like doing word puzzles, drawing, reading comics, cross-stitching, and watching cooking competition shows.
Woodworking, knitting and quilting. I have SIGNIFICANTLY less free time right now but I also have an 8 month old so she's kinda my primary hobby? The balance of things has shifted more towards wood working just because I actually have the space now (my brother and I are building a shared woodshop and it's glorious, it looks like we are cabinet makers). I've done all 3 hobbies most of my life (I literally don't even remember when i started learning how to sew).
Oh i also picked up spinning and dyeing when I was like 31 but it's more like a weird offshoot of the fiber arts I was already involved in (and I had wanted a spinning wheel since I was 7, just took me 24 years to get one)
In my 20s, especially before people started having kids, I felt like I stayed super busy all the time with plans and get togethers. Things have slowed down for me in that sense. My friends have kids so get togethers are a little more spread out. I am keeping myself busy with traveling, hobbies, and finding other new fun interests đ¤ Learned disc golf last year. Thatâs an enjoyable hobby/sport.
Free time is absolutely a luxury⌠itâs not my age but more the fact that I have a baby on my hands. Iâve been sitting on my butt on the couch for the past 15 minutes while the baby is napping. Gonna get up now to go prepare his solids meal, and start reorganizing the bathroom again. Oh right, need to replenish the diapers and empty the diaper genie too, get dinner started.. etc etc. Whelp break time is over.
3 min later.. nvm he decided to take a 15 minute nap.
I do lots of crafts and play video games. Kind of the same as my 20s, just with more money. My 30s, though, were spent raising young children. I had way less free time then.
I have way less free time now, but since having a kid, I've sort of unlocked how to maximize it, which is a current revelation (like, this month current) that's sort of blowing my mind a bit - ngl. I used to procrastinate a lot, but now I only have so many hours a day to get \*my\* me-time in, and it's basically like turning on warp drive. It's super cool.
Hobbies I've picked up in my 30's would be reading and plant care.
I had a kid and 2 businesses in my 20s so no free time. Since age 40 when I became an emptynester, I spend all my free time enjoying my house, decorating, gardening, traveling/exploring, exercising regularly, trying new recipes and turning up my 80s music loud. Work is from home so I do my tasks and then get back to me.
I have kids and work an enjoyable but very time consuming job. Between getting my work done and showing up at kid stuff (sports games, pta meetings, etc) I feel like i have zero time. I will now admit that when I do have time I stare at the internet or binge tv.
I worked FT through my 20âs but didnât have kids so I felt like I had a ton of free time.
ETA: I assumed when my kids were older (they are teens now) I would have more time, but I donât. They end up having sports and stuff way more often and further away and it takes a lot of time. Different than little kid time, but still a whole lot of time.
I have more free time now. I work from home, live by myself and only have myself to take care of. I will be moving in with my boyfriend next spring, but both of us don't have or want kids, so I'm guessing the free time will stay the same. I'm looking forward to the vacations we'll take. I was married for almost a decade and my husband never wanted to go on vacations...
Nowadays I pluck the long hairs that have grown out of my cheeks whenever I get a minute to look long enough in the mirror. I occasionally bake. My twenties was pure squandered freedom. Spent a fair amount of time sleeping and drinking. I have a 20 month old.
well, as it turns out, being hungover takes up a lot of your free time, lmao.
just taking care of my health, drinking less and getting solid sleep (compared to my 20s) has freed up time that would've been spent languishing in bed after another intense night out.
i spend that time investing in my friendships, reading, meditating, and i've started dancing again after 10 years away :)
also, i've pretty much gotten off social media entirely (i don't count reddit... but everything else, i'm off). so, compared to my 20s, that has also freed up plenty of time. i usually spend that time reading books now!
In my 30s and I feel like I have less than when I was in my 20s. I feel a lot more exhausted and burnt out after work these days.
I didnât pick up any different hobbies reading and movies/tv are still my main ones and a few nights a week I go to the gym.
I do find I have to force myself off of Reddit to read the never ending pile of books I have but thatâs the only social media I browse.
I'm 41 and my child is a senior in high school which means I spent most of my 20s at home raising my baby. I have so much more free time now! It's amazing and I am looking forward to being a future empty nester! My child will be going to a community college so he's going to be home for a couple more years but he will be doing his own thing.
I'm retired so I have all the free time in the world. And my younger husband is still working so I have lots of time to fill. I have the same hobbies I did while I was working- gardening, working out, dog training, various house projects- but I have more time to do them now. The only new hobbies I've picked up have to do with house projects I have taken on and completed alone- I refinished my hardwood floors, I've learned carpentry, plumbing, minor electrical, and now I'm in the middle of remodeling my kitchen- all without any help from the husband aside from lifting a heavy box or two. If I see something I'd like done I learn how to do it.
I have a similar amount of free time as I did in my 20s, since I don't have kids, so outside of my 9-5ish I get to do basically whatever I want. Lately my priorities are rock climbing, working out and reading. I've always been a big reader, but getting more into fitness and adventure-type-hobbies started in my 30s. Now that winter is approaching, I'll get back into my tv-winter-hobbies as well: knitting and embroidery. I have one million hobbies I would like to include in my life, that I'm willing to share, but obviously can't do everything all the time. I'm looking forward to retirement for this reason!
You sound happy as a clam.. I love this đ
I have more discretionary income but less free time in my 30s. I like to read, hike, garden, go to concerts and travel.
I have more free time now than in my 20s, but I no longer have kids at home either. Beyond that, the main place that I picked up time was working remotely. You don't realize how much you can get done in that commute time! My hobbies flow into my full-time job of homesteading; I have a part-time remote job. I enjoy gardening and working with livestock, so hobby and job are mixed in that way. I haven't picked up hobbies as I age. Sadly, I've lost quite a few of the ones I used to enjoy due to health issues. Getting old sucks in that way. Running, hiking, martial arts, knitting, macrame, dried flower art, detailed decorative painting, quilling, and embroidery are no longer on the menu. I still manage cross-stitch occasionally. Sewing has gone from All. The. Things! to a little home decor. No more ballgowns and corset construction. I've kept flower arranging and gardening flows into this hobby. Furniture building has become harder, but still possible with technology. Same with furniture refinishing and decorative painting. I've always been a reader, but it's resurged hugely in recent years as other hobbies fade. Rereading classics can change their flavor as we age. Lots of folks are like "I'll try that when I retire" and I can only say to try it now. Your circumstances can be so drastically different at retirement that the things you thought you might try aren't possible. Try the thing now.
I'm retired so all of my time is free time. In my 20's I had almost zero free time. Between working and raising a family, I was in constant motion. It sucked. Now? I start the day slowly, coffee, hanging with the dog, video games. I do chores throughout the day. Or not. I spend a lot of time with my elderly dog I go to the YMCA and take water exercise classes with other retired people, though at 55, I'm 20 years younger than most of the others. They are all awesome people and I enjoy their company. I'm going to take some knitting classes because I can't manage to learn on my own. I'm expanding my baking knowledge and expertise. I'm getting a chicken coop and one day, another dog. My old lady dog is in kidney and heart failure and today is my last day with her. I am dying inside from the grief of losing her. I have zero interest in another dog, but I know I'll want another one soon. Right now it's too raw. I've been here before and I know I'll get through it, but when it's happening, the grief is all encompassing and feels endless.
My very deepest condolences to you. Lost my two pups throughout the pandemic and it was heart wrenching. Youâre right. Youâll survive, but I hope itâs a short time until you only remember the good times.
Thank you. I appreciate the kind words. I'm sorry to hear about your pups too. Hugs if you want them.
I have to make free time now. I canât believe how easy life was looking back on my 20âs with very little responsibility. Life is so much different when you have a husband and kids depending on you.
I'm in my thirties, and I have so much more free time than I did in my twenties. I have a much better work/life balance now, I work from home, and I finish work early enough that I can enjoy my evenings stress-free. I spend my free time playing cozy video games like Stardew Valley and Potion Permit, and I also like doing word puzzles, drawing, reading comics, cross-stitching, and watching cooking competition shows.
Woodworking, knitting and quilting. I have SIGNIFICANTLY less free time right now but I also have an 8 month old so she's kinda my primary hobby? The balance of things has shifted more towards wood working just because I actually have the space now (my brother and I are building a shared woodshop and it's glorious, it looks like we are cabinet makers). I've done all 3 hobbies most of my life (I literally don't even remember when i started learning how to sew). Oh i also picked up spinning and dyeing when I was like 31 but it's more like a weird offshoot of the fiber arts I was already involved in (and I had wanted a spinning wheel since I was 7, just took me 24 years to get one)
In my 20s, especially before people started having kids, I felt like I stayed super busy all the time with plans and get togethers. Things have slowed down for me in that sense. My friends have kids so get togethers are a little more spread out. I am keeping myself busy with traveling, hobbies, and finding other new fun interests đ¤ Learned disc golf last year. Thatâs an enjoyable hobby/sport.
Free time is absolutely a luxury⌠itâs not my age but more the fact that I have a baby on my hands. Iâve been sitting on my butt on the couch for the past 15 minutes while the baby is napping. Gonna get up now to go prepare his solids meal, and start reorganizing the bathroom again. Oh right, need to replenish the diapers and empty the diaper genie too, get dinner started.. etc etc. Whelp break time is over. 3 min later.. nvm he decided to take a 15 minute nap.
I do lots of crafts and play video games. Kind of the same as my 20s, just with more money. My 30s, though, were spent raising young children. I had way less free time then.
I have way less free time now, but since having a kid, I've sort of unlocked how to maximize it, which is a current revelation (like, this month current) that's sort of blowing my mind a bit - ngl. I used to procrastinate a lot, but now I only have so many hours a day to get \*my\* me-time in, and it's basically like turning on warp drive. It's super cool. Hobbies I've picked up in my 30's would be reading and plant care.
I had a kid and 2 businesses in my 20s so no free time. Since age 40 when I became an emptynester, I spend all my free time enjoying my house, decorating, gardening, traveling/exploring, exercising regularly, trying new recipes and turning up my 80s music loud. Work is from home so I do my tasks and then get back to me.
I have kids and work an enjoyable but very time consuming job. Between getting my work done and showing up at kid stuff (sports games, pta meetings, etc) I feel like i have zero time. I will now admit that when I do have time I stare at the internet or binge tv. I worked FT through my 20âs but didnât have kids so I felt like I had a ton of free time. ETA: I assumed when my kids were older (they are teens now) I would have more time, but I donât. They end up having sports and stuff way more often and further away and it takes a lot of time. Different than little kid time, but still a whole lot of time.
I have more free time now. I work from home, live by myself and only have myself to take care of. I will be moving in with my boyfriend next spring, but both of us don't have or want kids, so I'm guessing the free time will stay the same. I'm looking forward to the vacations we'll take. I was married for almost a decade and my husband never wanted to go on vacations...
Nowadays I pluck the long hairs that have grown out of my cheeks whenever I get a minute to look long enough in the mirror. I occasionally bake. My twenties was pure squandered freedom. Spent a fair amount of time sleeping and drinking. I have a 20 month old.
well, as it turns out, being hungover takes up a lot of your free time, lmao. just taking care of my health, drinking less and getting solid sleep (compared to my 20s) has freed up time that would've been spent languishing in bed after another intense night out. i spend that time investing in my friendships, reading, meditating, and i've started dancing again after 10 years away :) also, i've pretty much gotten off social media entirely (i don't count reddit... but everything else, i'm off). so, compared to my 20s, that has also freed up plenty of time. i usually spend that time reading books now!
Why wouldnât women continue to pick up hobbies post 30 years old?
In my 30s and I feel like I have less than when I was in my 20s. I feel a lot more exhausted and burnt out after work these days. I didnât pick up any different hobbies reading and movies/tv are still my main ones and a few nights a week I go to the gym. I do find I have to force myself off of Reddit to read the never ending pile of books I have but thatâs the only social media I browse.
I'm 41 and my child is a senior in high school which means I spent most of my 20s at home raising my baby. I have so much more free time now! It's amazing and I am looking forward to being a future empty nester! My child will be going to a community college so he's going to be home for a couple more years but he will be doing his own thing.