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You dream about it, crave it, and when you finally get it, you don’t know what to do with it… alone time. So here you are trying to look for some inspiration for how to spend it. There are so many ways to spend time alone, I’m sure you’ve seen a million suggestions already. You’ve probably seen suggestions like: do some self-care, watch a movie/tv show, go outside, read a book, etc. These are all great suggestions! However, if you are not in the right headspace or if you are looking for something a little bit more interesting, these suggestions can be a little uninspiring. 

Luckily, we have shaken up some of these standard suggestions with some fun twists and thrown in a couple of other interesting ways to spend time alone. This post is all about inspiring you with fun ways to spend time alone so that your next bit of alone time can be both fulfilling and entertaining. 

11 Unique And Fun Ways To Spend Time Alone:

Beyond Bucket Lists- Plan Your Dream Adventure

Hello fellow travel bugs! Bet you’re itching to get away on your next adventure right? Why not spend your time alone planning your next trip or even better your dream vacation?

Planning for your next adventure is a great way to spend some time alone. You get to have complete, uninterrupted research and planning time to seriously get lost in your future travel plans- how exciting! If you’re someone who likes their trips to be super planned out, now’s your chance to sit and meticulously work out all the little details of your future trip. If you’re more of a spontaneous person it’s your chance to let yourself go wild exploring potential places to go, things to do and see and eat etc. (here’s your excuse to lose yourself in all the gorgeous travel accounts on Instagram and TikTok).

Huge bonus points if you actually go and book right away!

A Twist of Flavor- Explore Some Uncharted Foodie Territories

Ready to challenge yourself and explore the world through your kitchen?

Find yourself a random country generator like this one and let it give you a country to inspire your next dish. Once you have your country, it’s time to do some research! Pop over to Google and find your selected dish by looking up things like “popular meals in ____”, “must-try foods in _____”, and “traditional dishes in _____”. Select your meal, find a recipe and some ingredients and away you go. 

Doing something like this is a great way to learn about other countries and cultures, as well as try something new. What better way to spend time alone than to connect yourself to the world? You never know, you may even find your next favourite recipe, or at the very least have a recipe to add to your collection.  

Tricks And Treats- Teach Your Furry Friend A New Skill

Teaching your pet a new trick can be a really fun way to spend a night alone at home. If you have a pet in your life, why not spend some time with them working to achieve something new together?

Pet tricks are not limited to just those dog owners out there. For you cat lovers, there are definitely lots of videos on TikTok and Instagram of people teaching their cats to do tricks. There are even videos about teaching chickens to do tricks so don’t feel like you can’t do this activity if you don’t have a dog. You can also get super creative with what tricks you teach your pets. For example, teaching them to act shy or offended, teaching them to clean up their toys, turn themselves into a burrito using a blanket and so much more! 

A Turn Of Events- Go For A Wander

Sometimes being alone at home can be a bit much and might feel overwhelming to some people. You may also be the kind of person who likes to be out and about rather than curling up indoors. Just because you are by yourself does not mean you can’t go out into the world… take yourself on a walk. Find your perfect soundtrack to match your current vibe or one that’ll inspire you and go for a wander by yourself.  

Okay yes, going for a walk is a common suggestion for ways to spend time alone, so why is it on this list? Well, we suggest going for a walk but with an added twist. Every time you reach an intersection or a crossroad, flip a coin or use a coin-flipping app (bonus points if you bring an actual coin though). If the coin says heads turn left, if the coin shows tails turn right. Alternatively, you could also buy a game such as this one which has a specific walkers edition that gives you prompts that’ll be sure to turn a boring old walk into an adventure. Expect to see creative prompts that really have the potential to send you in all directions- for example letting your shoe size dictate the length of time you head in a certain direction. 

Unscripted Narratives- Unleash Your Inner Creativity

Spending some time doing something creative like writing can be a great way to spend time alone. To a lot of people, writing is a practical and task-focused activity, they don’t normally write for the enjoyment of it. Sound like you? Fair enough, you’re definitely not alone, but how about you change this in your moment of alone time? How about doing something you probably haven’t done since you were in school and writing yourself a short story? 

Here’s where the fun part comes in. You are not going to be just writing any story, you are going to turn this activity into a creative writing game for yourself.

Here’s how this works:

First, you need to pick a genre e.g. western, horror, adventure, romance, action, comedy, thriller, etc. (try to make it more interesting by randomly generating/picking a genre). Then you are going to craft yourself a 6×6 table of random words using a random word generator (you’ll need 36 words in total). Here is my example I created using a random word generator (feel free to use this one if you want): 

Once you are all set with your table, it’s time to start writing. For this, you will need a pair of dice. If you don’t have dice lying around your house, you can always use a virtual dice roller like this one. Roll your dice one at a time, the first dice you roll will tell you what vertical column you are going to look at, the second dice will tell you the horizontal row. Use the two numbers to find the corresponding word. For example, if I rolled a 3 and then a 4 the word I would get from my table would be “officer”. You then have to include that word in some way in the next sentence you write. Repeat this for every sentence of your story until you have yourself a wee literary masterpiece. Trust me, you get some pretty fun stories out of doing this. 

Detours and Campsites- Take Yourself On A Solo Road Trip Or Camping Trip

Spontaneous adventure anyone? Nobody said you had to spend your alone time at home!

If you have a decent amount of alone time coming up, then taking yourself on a road trip/camping trip could be the perfect way for you to spend this time. Pack all your favourite camping/roadtrip essentials, curate your perfect solo adventure playlist, and hit the road! You can either set out with your ideal route or camping destination or simply be spontaneous and see whether the road takes you. 

Going on solo adventures can be a really enlightening and empowering experience. It’s a great way to spend some time with your thoughts and start learning to enjoy your company. Plus, it can be a super peaceful and relaxing escape from a busy life. If you haven’t tried it yet, you should definitely add it to your list!

From Flour to Flavor- Handmake Yourself Some Fresh Bread Or Pasta

Mmm, carbs! Nothing like filling your home with the delightful smell of freshly baked bread or sinking your teeth into a bowl of handcrafted pasta! 

If you are looking for a super satisfying, hands-on activity with a tasty result, then this activity is definitely for you! There is such a wide variety of bread and pasta recipes available, so you are almost guaranteed to find something that’ll tickle your fancy (my personal go-to is spinach, cream cheese, and pumpkin ravioli- it’s honestly so tasty). Making bread or pasta is truly an entertaining way to spend an evening, so put on those tunes, bring out some mood lighting, and get your hands dirty. 

Beyond Covers- The Magic Of A Blind Date With A Book

Read a book. This is the absolute classic suggestion people give you when you ask for ways to spend time alone. It’s still a great suggestion don’t get me wrong. Reading books can be a fantastic way to spend your alone time. They’re super convenient to cart around with you- you can basically read anywhere. This is great because it means you can really pick a spot to match your vibe whether that be under a tree, in a bathtub, or while you’re curled up on the couch. There are also so many genres on offer so you can definitely find a story that you’ll be keen to get stuck into. 

This post is all about unique ways to spend time alone, so here is our twist on the classic read-a-book suggestion: go on a blind date with a book. This is a great way of exploring new authors, genres, and stories that you may not otherwise expose yourself to. It’s a super fun way of finding your next read. 

Here are a couple of ways you can do this:

•  Go to your nearest library and get a librarian to pick out a book for you based on your criteria.
• Go to a second-hand bookstore and pick out a book at random
• Get a friend to pick a book out for you that they think you might like to read
• Go on Etsy or Google and search “blind date with a book” (there are several online shops that specialise in this)

Dreams on Display- DIY Your Perfect Mood/Vision Board

Another great way to spend time alone is to spend some time creating a vision or a mood board for yourself.

A mood board is a collection of pictures and even words that have a similar style, colour palate and work together to make you feel a particular way when you look at it. Mood boards are a great tool for creative projects, but they can also make gorgeous decorations to personalise your living spaces. They can fill your living space with thing images that you enjoy looking at and that inspire you to feel a certain way. 

A vision board on the other hand is a visual collection of all your goals. For an example, check out the picture below. The idea is to fill it with images of all the things that you are working towards and all the things you want out of life.  The vision board will then act as your purpose. It can serve as your reminder and your motivation to keep going and keep striving to make those dreams of yours a reality! 

Create Yourself A Fortress Of Relaxation

It’s time to unleash your inner child by crafting yourself your very own blanket fort! It’s a super cute way to spend an evening by yourself. Get creative! Get your couches involved, make a mountain of pillows or a nest full of blankets, whatever makes your heart content. Don’t forget to string up some fairy lights for that enchanting ambiance!

Then once you have assembled your perfect snuggly fortress of peace and quiet, it’s time to go enjoy it! Make yourself your favourite hot drink and curl up with your favourite book. Pour yourself a glass of wine, create yourself a spread of cheese and crackers and enjoy a little impromptu indoor picnic. Gather all your favourite snacks and settle in for a good old movie night. Anything goes really, it’s up to you to how you intend to enjoy your new fort.

Dear Future Me – Write A Letter To Look Back On Someday

A wholesome little activity to do on a night alone is to write a letter to your future self. It’s a beautiful way to capture a moment in time and make a wee time capsule for yourself to look back on. Tell yourself about what is going on in your life right now, things you have achieved, the friends you currently have, what you like to do with your time, and what is important to you. Feel free to include any details or memories that mean something to you and that you think you would like to look back on. Its also a great chance for you to to reflect on your life. In your letter, you can reflect on things that are going well, changes you want to make moving forward, and your dreams and aspirations for your future. 

Then once you are happy, seal it up, write yourself a date for when you can open the letter (I’d suggest at least 5 years), and find a safe spot for it. When you open the letter in the future you will be able to see how much your life has changed in that time, how much you have grown, and how far you have come in life. 

In the busy world we live in, finding moments where you can spend time alone can be few and far between. So when you get some time alone be sure to cherish it. It does not have to be a daunting activity, rather it is something to treasure. It is time that is completely yours and you are free to spend it how you please. There are many fun ways to spend time alone, so don’t feel like your time is wasted just because you aren’t with other people. Take control of your alone time and fill it with things that you enjoy!