Asklemmy

Depends on the mood I'm in. Lately, I've been drawing in a tiny sketchbook I bought because a little sketchbook isn't very intimidating, and I can just do a few quick practice drawings or commit to a small but detailed piece for an hour.

Another thing I like to do is lay on my back with my headphones on, put on some music, and do literally nothing except stare at the ceiling and listen to all the little details of my favorite songs that I don't hear when I'm doing other stuff. It's my form of meditation since "normal" meditation has never worked for me personally.

I go out with my dog and kick a ball around. We both use some energy. The day doesn't seem as slow any more. I actually have more energy to want to do something after. It's not much but it works.

If I am by myself and don’t want to engage my devices or read, I will try to do something productive, like clean or organize a space that is messy. When I lay with my kids as they go to bed, I usually stare into the void and reminisce about them when they were younger. Thankfully they now fall asleep super fast, so I don’t have to spend 10-20 minutes with them. When they were much younger, I’d fall asleep with them until my wife (at the time) would wake me for my bedtime.

Read the Qur'an, or Ecclesiastes and reflect upon it if the former scares you. 😁

sit with your boredom for a bit, its healthy. or rather its unhealthy to be constantly bombarded with dopamine for nothing. enjoy your freedom from the screens.

It's fun to try to pick up some American Sign Language. The best resource I'm aware of is: https://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/lessons/lessons.htm

Try origami.

Origami is always the answer.

I mean if Im having a laydown I just rest or nap. I don't really think of it as staring into the void. I love naps or taking it a easy for a bit. Moreso if I can do it outside with nice weather or even in a chair near an open window. Closing my eyes and listening to the birds and other bits of nature. Granted various noises can make that more of a no go if the timing is not right. Evening is even better with stars and the moon. If you start looking at deep breathing and mediation and having a few minutes is like gold. All that being said I like suduko and its a nice thing to do throughout a day a few mins at a time. I think tastes may vary with suduko though. Crosswords to but I have to be a bit desperate as I find they are more about me learning about the puzzlemaker than language really.

You need to practice mindfulness. People should be OK with 10 minutes "staring into the void" and this is exactly the damage phones did to us

Edit: if I really want to look at my phone I open Wikipedia and check out the featured article or maybe the top read of the day list. It's not brain rot and it's not that fun either but it's time well spent

For instance as I lay on the bed for 10-20 minutes waiting for my child to take their nap. Do I just stare into the void?

Do you have any time that you just let your mind wander, or be mindful of your life?

If I'm sitting somewhere waiting for something and I know it's just going to be 10ish minutes I'll usually just take in my environment or let my mind wander. I usually do that when driving home/to work as well. I'm paying attention to the road obviously lol but I don't have music or anything playing to occupy my mind I just use that time to think.

It's said to be fairly healthy to give yourself some time for whatever thoughts might come up.

Find a new art, whether that’s creating or consuming. Or go to places where people hang out. Thrift shops/pawn shops can be fun to browse and sometimes you’ll find a hidden gem. Libraries are good too.

Puzzles. Mini crosswords, wordle, etc.

Lately I've been enjoying playing Tetris DX on my Gameboy in my spare time. Keeps the brain busy and social me away from my phone.

Have a pet? Also aquariums are nice for staring at and relaxing

Most foreign language apps teach in bite sized pieces. I use Mango, but there are a bunch.

Writing, movies, video games, going on walks, cooking, depends on whatever I feel like.

If it's 15 minutes or more, I try to clean. Or I take a nap.

Chess puzzles

Do you count audio books as reading?