What do you do to relax? Is there a particular place or activity that replenishes your well of creativity? This can be on a short term daily thing or a longer term vacation kind of thing. Share what works for you and why you do it.
46 thoughts on “READER FRIDAY: What do You do to Relax?”
As I mentioned in a comment earlier this week, I re-discovered the pleasure of pure loafing. Out in the back yard, looking up at the clouds. Quiet time. Cessation of busyness in thought or deed. “I loaf and invite my soul” (Whitman).
Beautiful. I can relate to this during our state order to stay home in Texas. Confinement has given me choices on how I spend my time & what’s important to me. I get satisfaction from the smallest tasks & staying in touch with friends & family & giving back to my community during this time of need is high on my list of priorities. Your notion of quiet self-reflection is a worthy goal that goes hand-in-hand. Thank you.
Writing/research and the arts are my relaxation method (relaxing because you get to focus on what you’re working on). Also reading of course and while it may not sound like it, working out on a heavy bag is very relaxing.
A good sweaty workout, abusing a punching bag, is perfect. Good one, BK. Sounds like you have a good balance.
Since I work full time and do theatre at night (that part is hiatus for now) writing is what I do to relax.
Also garden time. And writing in my garden makes me supremely happy.
I especially love this time of year for my garden, Cynthia. Kindred spirits.
My well of creativity is often tainted by “stuff I gotta’ get done”. For example, after I get the tire pressures up to snuff on my wife’s car, walk the dogs around the block, set rice for dinner and pull a pack of chicken out of the freezer to defrost, check my boy’s homework, maybe pay a few bills, etc… I can feel creative. I’m sure it’s this way for most people. I cannot concentrate if there’s something undone looking over my shoulder.
I’m like you, Carl. I have a daily calendar with a growing list of things to do. All my home maintenance, bill paying, obligations & “hope to do.: It makes it easier to move things around when I want to squeeze something FUN into my To-Do list, appeasing my organizational gene.
Hang in there, Carl, and stay healthy.
Do a walkabout on our 5 acres of weeds with the frisky German Shepherd. Look at the dry hills surrounding us, clouds, the cloud’s shadows on those dry hills. Our 20-something pine trees, and the poplar trees towering. Wind usually blows here on our hilltop acreage, so I like to watch the trees waving back at the hills.
Never fails…
(And I wonder why I had to go looking for the post today. I didn’t get an email. Virus?)
Hey! Just got the email…
My TKZ feed was late today, too. Traffic jam on the net?
I have a beautiful tiered garden in my backyard. I overlook a great bike trail. My dogs love running up & down, smelling all the wildlife critters that have trespassed overnight. But I would LOVE wide open land for them to run in. Thanks, Deb.
I pour me a cold glass of Pepsi, put on my earphones to listen to Doo Wop music, open the book I am currently reading, and promptly fall asleep.
So I don’t really DO anything to relax.
My recreational reading is falling behind because I don’t do anything to relax.
I do the same thing! Except, I listen to Pink Floyd. There is a video on YouTube of David Gilmour (and friends) at the stadium in Pompeii. They perform ‘Comfortably Numb’. Takes me away to a different world every time. ‘Shine on you crazy diamond’ is also terrific
Sounds like if you relaxed any more than you already do, someone might need to slip a mirror under your nose to make sure you’re still breathing. Ha! Hang in there, Jim.
Take the dog for a nice walk through the ‘hood. The terrain is strenuous enough that I’m more busy breathing than worrying.
For me, I think “relaxing” is avoiding my Facebook feed and letting the Hubster edit the news, relaying only the significant parts.
And I read.
But, aside from cutting back on social media covidiots, even though we’re under a stay at home order, life is basically the same. Today is Friday, right? I washed towels.
Covidiots? Love that and will be glad when they all go away, including the virus. LOL
Absolutely
It’s definitely important to strike a balance with news. Too much can be exhausting & stressful. Thanks, Terry.
On sunny mornings this time of year, I read the newspaper in the greenhouse to get some Vitamin D and hope to readjust my insomnia sleep cycle. High pollen has made my outside time iffy so I’ll watch the wild birds at the feeders and the splash pool. I’ve been more into audio than reading recently so I’ll listen to podcasts and YouTube Redditt readers while I’m doing chores. Sarcasm–> Real exciting stuff.
I’ve been doing audio books at night, part of my bedtime ritual. Love it.
When I feel a break coming on, I get up from my writing chair, turn around, take one step, and sit down at the Yamaha keyboard and play contemporary jazz. In that I’m lucky to have two create outlets, the writing for my soul, and the jazz for my spirit. The piano work isn’t really DOING for me, it just flows. And getting lost in a theme, or finding a spontaneous riff that seemingly came from nowhere, is the delightful reprieve from intensity I need. Thanks, Jordan.
Very cool, Dan. You are blessed, my friend.
Yoga sessions at home with my wife where we follow an online video, have been very restorative lately, as have sessions of Just Dance 2020 on our Nintendo Switch. Watching great movies and television, such as the 2020 Emma film and the 2009 BBC Emma mini-series, have really helped. And of course, reading great books, like Lawrence Block Matthew Scudder series or Adam Robert’s compact narrative account of the Battle of Waterloo have also refilled my well and given me a much needed break.
I love British period movies. My whole family does. Thanks, Dale.
I’m reading a lot, including novels by authors on TKZ. I spend a fair amount of time either working out or on the treadmill. Although strenuous exercise isn’t relaxing, the afterglow is wonderful.
I *should* be playing the piano.
You might get me on my treadmill, Kay. Thanks for the inspiration.
For a shot of creativity? Walk. Putting on my coat to go outside last night, I thought of a twisty sniffer for the dog in my WIP. … Hope you’re all well.
Thanks, Nancy. Stay well & have fun.
I love to put my headphones on, listen to music, and smoke a really good cigar.
Also, nothing beats laying on the couch and reading a mass market paperback. Pure fun.
In this age of hot yoga and running marathons, I’m proud to be a sedentary man lost in my own imagination.
Me too. Shhh.
I usually sit on my front porch with a cup of Colombian coffee and a hand rolled cigarette (1-Q pipe tobacco, legal, of course) and watch cardinals, blue jays, and hummingbirds fly from branches to telephone lines to feeders, all in the name of natural glory. Sometimes squirrels will run ’round the bases of trees in the grassy yard and my two cats will creep from the porch toward them, thinking they have a chance. Less often a rafter of wild turkeys will strut from the wooded areas around my home and flow across front lawn in bobbing ancient silence.
Please forgive my poor attempt at poetics. 🙂
That sounds beautiful. Bob. Poetry & all.
Relaxation equals exercise equals stress relief for me. Walking outside. Zumba on You Tube (since the gym is closed). Gardening in sunshine and fresh air. Already bought vegetable seeds even though the ground is still a muddy mess. Pruning fruit trees. There’s plenty of cleanup left over from last fall to keep me busy until planting time.
Best of all, connecting with friends. Recently received phone calls and emails from people I haven’t seen in a long time. They were like beautiful surprise gifts. If there’s a silver lining in this crisis, it’s that people now realize the importance of keeping in touch with loved ones.
Sounds very fulfilling, Debbie. You’ve struck a nice balance.
Reading doesn’t relax me–I’m usually fast turning pages to find out whodunnit. 🙂 Working with clay relaxes me, especially hand building. The feel of the clay in my hands makes me forget everything else. I just cleaned up my pottery room with every intention of getting in there and making jewelry pieces and Christmas ornaments…maybe I’ll get them glazed in time for Christmas this year.
Omg. Can I help? That sounds like such fun.
When not reading, I play online games. For relaxation, I love adult coloring both in the physical books and online. I am not artistic in artwork but I’ve always loved to color even before it was popular for adults. The weather here in Las Vegas is nice right now. Not cold and not hot yet. There has been a nice cool breeze so I like to take small walks when I can.
I’ve taught myself how to play Sudoku & it’s oddly comforting.
I haven’t heard of online coloring but your comment reminded me of my nephew’s digital graphics software. It’s so intuitive & beautifully creative. He showed me the work on his tablet. I had no idea how talented he is.
Thanks, Rebecca.
Like many others, I walk for exercise and relaxation. Our property sits on a hill in the Snake River Canyon. It is a rural area, a collection of ranchettes, with acres of undeveloped land between properties. Poplars line the roads. Juniper and sage brush fill the acres between homes. Common areas sport lawns and ponds filled with ducks and geese. A local hatchery stocks the ponds (five in total and a small lake) with bass and trout. Free for residents and guests to fish. Since it is private property, no license is required. Two creeks fill the ponds and flow around our hill. Both have waterfalls.
I also add in gentle yoga for stretching and breathing, reading, and movies. In between I write and paint. (Landscapes in oil). Then, being retired, this is my life even without a crises. Once in a while I interrupt the fun to do some chores. 😉
Wow. That sounds idyllic, Cecilia. I want to be YOU when I grow up.
I am learning to play chess at Chess.com (free app). Taking lessons for three weeks. Played two games w/husband and one w/computer — fun and challenging. I now see story plotting in a different way. Never thought I could learn chess – since I am more the creative type. Sending good health wishes to you all. This site is my daily writer’s stop. Thank you all for adding good things to my life.
Good stuff, Audrey. Thanks for sharing. Keep it up.
As I mentioned in a comment earlier this week, I re-discovered the pleasure of pure loafing. Out in the back yard, looking up at the clouds. Quiet time. Cessation of busyness in thought or deed. “I loaf and invite my soul” (Whitman).
Beautiful. I can relate to this during our state order to stay home in Texas. Confinement has given me choices on how I spend my time & what’s important to me. I get satisfaction from the smallest tasks & staying in touch with friends & family & giving back to my community during this time of need is high on my list of priorities. Your notion of quiet self-reflection is a worthy goal that goes hand-in-hand. Thank you.
Writing/research and the arts are my relaxation method (relaxing because you get to focus on what you’re working on). Also reading of course and while it may not sound like it, working out on a heavy bag is very relaxing.
A good sweaty workout, abusing a punching bag, is perfect. Good one, BK. Sounds like you have a good balance.
Since I work full time and do theatre at night (that part is hiatus for now) writing is what I do to relax.
Also garden time. And writing in my garden makes me supremely happy.
I especially love this time of year for my garden, Cynthia. Kindred spirits.
My well of creativity is often tainted by “stuff I gotta’ get done”. For example, after I get the tire pressures up to snuff on my wife’s car, walk the dogs around the block, set rice for dinner and pull a pack of chicken out of the freezer to defrost, check my boy’s homework, maybe pay a few bills, etc… I can feel creative. I’m sure it’s this way for most people. I cannot concentrate if there’s something undone looking over my shoulder.
I’m like you, Carl. I have a daily calendar with a growing list of things to do. All my home maintenance, bill paying, obligations & “hope to do.: It makes it easier to move things around when I want to squeeze something FUN into my To-Do list, appeasing my organizational gene.
Hang in there, Carl, and stay healthy.
Do a walkabout on our 5 acres of weeds with the frisky German Shepherd. Look at the dry hills surrounding us, clouds, the cloud’s shadows on those dry hills. Our 20-something pine trees, and the poplar trees towering. Wind usually blows here on our hilltop acreage, so I like to watch the trees waving back at the hills.
Never fails…
(And I wonder why I had to go looking for the post today. I didn’t get an email. Virus?)
Hey! Just got the email…
My TKZ feed was late today, too. Traffic jam on the net?
I have a beautiful tiered garden in my backyard. I overlook a great bike trail. My dogs love running up & down, smelling all the wildlife critters that have trespassed overnight. But I would LOVE wide open land for them to run in. Thanks, Deb.
I pour me a cold glass of Pepsi, put on my earphones to listen to Doo Wop music, open the book I am currently reading, and promptly fall asleep.
So I don’t really DO anything to relax.
My recreational reading is falling behind because I don’t do anything to relax.
I do the same thing! Except, I listen to Pink Floyd. There is a video on YouTube of David Gilmour (and friends) at the stadium in Pompeii. They perform ‘Comfortably Numb’. Takes me away to a different world every time. ‘Shine on you crazy diamond’ is also terrific
Love this
Try this: https://www.instagram.com/hausercello.
Guaranteed to wow your auditory sensors…
Try this one for a chuckle:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M5azNpTwVk8
Sounds like if you relaxed any more than you already do, someone might need to slip a mirror under your nose to make sure you’re still breathing. Ha! Hang in there, Jim.
Take the dog for a nice walk through the ‘hood. The terrain is strenuous enough that I’m more busy breathing than worrying.
For me, I think “relaxing” is avoiding my Facebook feed and letting the Hubster edit the news, relaying only the significant parts.
And I read.
But, aside from cutting back on social media covidiots, even though we’re under a stay at home order, life is basically the same. Today is Friday, right? I washed towels.
Covidiots? Love that and will be glad when they all go away, including the virus. LOL
Absolutely
It’s definitely important to strike a balance with news. Too much can be exhausting & stressful. Thanks, Terry.
On sunny mornings this time of year, I read the newspaper in the greenhouse to get some Vitamin D and hope to readjust my insomnia sleep cycle. High pollen has made my outside time iffy so I’ll watch the wild birds at the feeders and the splash pool. I’ve been more into audio than reading recently so I’ll listen to podcasts and YouTube Redditt readers while I’m doing chores. Sarcasm–> Real exciting stuff.
I’ve been doing audio books at night, part of my bedtime ritual. Love it.
When I feel a break coming on, I get up from my writing chair, turn around, take one step, and sit down at the Yamaha keyboard and play contemporary jazz. In that I’m lucky to have two create outlets, the writing for my soul, and the jazz for my spirit. The piano work isn’t really DOING for me, it just flows. And getting lost in a theme, or finding a spontaneous riff that seemingly came from nowhere, is the delightful reprieve from intensity I need. Thanks, Jordan.
Very cool, Dan. You are blessed, my friend.
Yoga sessions at home with my wife where we follow an online video, have been very restorative lately, as have sessions of Just Dance 2020 on our Nintendo Switch. Watching great movies and television, such as the 2020 Emma film and the 2009 BBC Emma mini-series, have really helped. And of course, reading great books, like Lawrence Block Matthew Scudder series or Adam Robert’s compact narrative account of the Battle of Waterloo have also refilled my well and given me a much needed break.
I love British period movies. My whole family does. Thanks, Dale.
I’m reading a lot, including novels by authors on TKZ. I spend a fair amount of time either working out or on the treadmill. Although strenuous exercise isn’t relaxing, the afterglow is wonderful.
I *should* be playing the piano.
You might get me on my treadmill, Kay. Thanks for the inspiration.
For a shot of creativity? Walk. Putting on my coat to go outside last night, I thought of a twisty sniffer for the dog in my WIP. … Hope you’re all well.
Thanks, Nancy. Stay well & have fun.
I love to put my headphones on, listen to music, and smoke a really good cigar.
Also, nothing beats laying on the couch and reading a mass market paperback. Pure fun.
In this age of hot yoga and running marathons, I’m proud to be a sedentary man lost in my own imagination.
Me too. Shhh.
I usually sit on my front porch with a cup of Colombian coffee and a hand rolled cigarette (1-Q pipe tobacco, legal, of course) and watch cardinals, blue jays, and hummingbirds fly from branches to telephone lines to feeders, all in the name of natural glory. Sometimes squirrels will run ’round the bases of trees in the grassy yard and my two cats will creep from the porch toward them, thinking they have a chance. Less often a rafter of wild turkeys will strut from the wooded areas around my home and flow across front lawn in bobbing ancient silence.
Please forgive my poor attempt at poetics. 🙂
That sounds beautiful. Bob. Poetry & all.
Relaxation equals exercise equals stress relief for me. Walking outside. Zumba on You Tube (since the gym is closed). Gardening in sunshine and fresh air. Already bought vegetable seeds even though the ground is still a muddy mess. Pruning fruit trees. There’s plenty of cleanup left over from last fall to keep me busy until planting time.
Best of all, connecting with friends. Recently received phone calls and emails from people I haven’t seen in a long time. They were like beautiful surprise gifts. If there’s a silver lining in this crisis, it’s that people now realize the importance of keeping in touch with loved ones.
Sounds very fulfilling, Debbie. You’ve struck a nice balance.
Reading doesn’t relax me–I’m usually fast turning pages to find out whodunnit. 🙂 Working with clay relaxes me, especially hand building. The feel of the clay in my hands makes me forget everything else. I just cleaned up my pottery room with every intention of getting in there and making jewelry pieces and Christmas ornaments…maybe I’ll get them glazed in time for Christmas this year.
Omg. Can I help? That sounds like such fun.
When not reading, I play online games. For relaxation, I love adult coloring both in the physical books and online. I am not artistic in artwork but I’ve always loved to color even before it was popular for adults. The weather here in Las Vegas is nice right now. Not cold and not hot yet. There has been a nice cool breeze so I like to take small walks when I can.
I’ve taught myself how to play Sudoku & it’s oddly comforting.
I haven’t heard of online coloring but your comment reminded me of my nephew’s digital graphics software. It’s so intuitive & beautifully creative. He showed me the work on his tablet. I had no idea how talented he is.
Thanks, Rebecca.
Like many others, I walk for exercise and relaxation. Our property sits on a hill in the Snake River Canyon. It is a rural area, a collection of ranchettes, with acres of undeveloped land between properties. Poplars line the roads. Juniper and sage brush fill the acres between homes. Common areas sport lawns and ponds filled with ducks and geese. A local hatchery stocks the ponds (five in total and a small lake) with bass and trout. Free for residents and guests to fish. Since it is private property, no license is required. Two creeks fill the ponds and flow around our hill. Both have waterfalls.
I also add in gentle yoga for stretching and breathing, reading, and movies. In between I write and paint. (Landscapes in oil). Then, being retired, this is my life even without a crises. Once in a while I interrupt the fun to do some chores. 😉
Wow. That sounds idyllic, Cecilia. I want to be YOU when I grow up.
I am learning to play chess at Chess.com (free app). Taking lessons for three weeks. Played two games w/husband and one w/computer — fun and challenging. I now see story plotting in a different way. Never thought I could learn chess – since I am more the creative type. Sending good health wishes to you all. This site is my daily writer’s stop. Thank you all for adding good things to my life.
Good stuff, Audrey. Thanks for sharing. Keep it up.