I don't know who all is like me in the fact that they live alone. Some single people have roommates. Some are still living at home. Some have children. I'm one of the ones who has lived alone for the last ten years. I've lived in the same apartment all this time.
I've worked 40 hours a week (barring vacations) for all this time. I've dated on and off with nothing serious ever developing. I don't have as many close friends as I used to (many have moved away, gotten married, etc., and some have even passed away).
It's debatable whether or not all this time alone is good or bad, but I really try to make the most of all this time. If you'll indulge me for a minute, I'll tell you about what I spend my time doing.
THE GOOD:
I got into reading a lot about four years ago and have read probably a book every month since then. It started when I bought an Amazon Kindle but I've also gotten back into reading physical books. I read a lot of mysteries, some sci-fi (but usually only Star Trek), and various other types of fiction.
About a year ago, I started practicing Spanish on DuoLingo a few times a week. I'm at 40% proficiency in Spanish now.
I got a musical keyboard in September. I've been practicing that quite a bit since then. I can play Mary Had a Little Lamb, Old Saint Nicholas, Happy Birthday to You, and a few other small-time songs. Still trying to get the hang of it.
I've written two novels during National Novel Writing Month (November of this year and last). Both earned a "winner" stamp for surpassing the 50,000 word minimum.
Five years ago I signed up for an account at KhanAcademy.org. I study math there and am 73% of the way through the entire math cirriculum now (it goes from simple counting all the way to multivariable calculus).
I have taken several classes at Coursera and have earned several certificates for them. I have also done a few at Udacity (before it became expensive), edX, and Udemy.
THE BAD:
I try to exercise... but I don't do it enough, or for long enough.
I spend too much time mindlessly browsing the Internet (watching YouTube videos, reading pointless Wikipedia articles, etc.).
I have cable TV and I spend a lot of time just flipping through the channels. I also have a Netflix subscription, and I spend more time playing with that darn queue than I do watching anything.
Sometimes I get really down and depressed and I just lay on the bed or the couch and stare up at the ceiling. I also dwell on stuff too much in my mind.
I try to get out of the house in the hopes of meeting people. I go to the store and buy stuff I oftentimes don't need. I go to the mall and browse. I go to the bookstore.
The house is oftentimes quite messy. Clothes on the bedroom floor, dishes in the sink, junk mail on the coffee table, a shower that needs to be cleaned, etc.
So... with that said, tell me what you people who live alone do with your spare time?
I've worked 40 hours a week (barring vacations) for all this time. I've dated on and off with nothing serious ever developing. I don't have as many close friends as I used to (many have moved away, gotten married, etc., and some have even passed away).
It's debatable whether or not all this time alone is good or bad, but I really try to make the most of all this time. If you'll indulge me for a minute, I'll tell you about what I spend my time doing.
THE GOOD:
I got into reading a lot about four years ago and have read probably a book every month since then. It started when I bought an Amazon Kindle but I've also gotten back into reading physical books. I read a lot of mysteries, some sci-fi (but usually only Star Trek), and various other types of fiction.
About a year ago, I started practicing Spanish on DuoLingo a few times a week. I'm at 40% proficiency in Spanish now.
I got a musical keyboard in September. I've been practicing that quite a bit since then. I can play Mary Had a Little Lamb, Old Saint Nicholas, Happy Birthday to You, and a few other small-time songs. Still trying to get the hang of it.
I've written two novels during National Novel Writing Month (November of this year and last). Both earned a "winner" stamp for surpassing the 50,000 word minimum.
Five years ago I signed up for an account at KhanAcademy.org. I study math there and am 73% of the way through the entire math cirriculum now (it goes from simple counting all the way to multivariable calculus).
I have taken several classes at Coursera and have earned several certificates for them. I have also done a few at Udacity (before it became expensive), edX, and Udemy.
THE BAD:
I try to exercise... but I don't do it enough, or for long enough.
I spend too much time mindlessly browsing the Internet (watching YouTube videos, reading pointless Wikipedia articles, etc.).
I have cable TV and I spend a lot of time just flipping through the channels. I also have a Netflix subscription, and I spend more time playing with that darn queue than I do watching anything.
Sometimes I get really down and depressed and I just lay on the bed or the couch and stare up at the ceiling. I also dwell on stuff too much in my mind.
I try to get out of the house in the hopes of meeting people. I go to the store and buy stuff I oftentimes don't need. I go to the mall and browse. I go to the bookstore.
The house is oftentimes quite messy. Clothes on the bedroom floor, dishes in the sink, junk mail on the coffee table, a shower that needs to be cleaned, etc.
So... with that said, tell me what you people who live alone do with your spare time?
