Thursday Fun: How do you unwind when you're offline?

[#1]

Hi Everyone!

I’m back for some more Thursday Fun. Today’s question is all about unplugging from the many devices that we use every day.

How do you unwind when you’re offline?

I hope your answers will provide all of us some extra motivation to take a few minutes to disconnect this weekend.

For me, I love taking really long walks. People who live in New York tend to spend a lot of time underground on the Subway, but this is a city for walking. You can cover a lot of ground by walking just a few miles. I always find a restaurant I’d like to try, spot some cool architecture, or generally notice something I hadn’t before. It’s refreshing to slow down and see the city I’m always rushing through in a new way.

[Former_Member]

Working with my 6 horses. Feeding, grooming, training are all very relaxing adn great exercise too!! I love to go on a long trail rides. We did 11 miles just yesterday! Tennessee is great for trail riding. I also play in my veggie garden. Very excited about my Luffa this year ~ it's gonna be a better crop than last year.

[Retroland]

What a fabulous question! I try to start my day on my Pilates reformer with my two dogs sleeping close by. In the evenings my family and I enjoy walking at the beach. Between these two things I generally find a bit of peace at the beginning and end of each day!

[WhatnotGems]

I spend most of my time not working on my listing taking care of my husband. twice a week I spend 2 hours playing Mah Jonng with a few of my neighbors. Close enough that if my husband needs me I can get home quickly.
My recommendation, work on staying healthy. It is the most important asset you have.
Friday My husband broke his arm, I will not be able to actively work on my listing for about 2 weeks I will watch and renew listings. And hopefully once he starts therapy I can again edit photos, etc...

[sasajewelry]

I dance ballet..as often as I can...and just started on pointe shoes! Its not just exercise because the combinations keeps my mind in check and I can't be thinking of anything but what my body/feet have to do next...I dance to live music..a classical pianist..its food for my soul! I also love to go into my garden and listen to my fountain gurgle with one of my 3 cats purring on my lap or stretching with me on a yoga mat. Lastly..we live just a few blocks from the beach..in sunny santa monica..need I say more?....

[MariasWorkshop]

Oh, some of you live close to the water, others close to trees and open fields. That sounds so wonderful to me. I live in a small city in a hot, hot, hot State. So from June to the beginning of September (if we are lucky), I have to stay inside. For relaxation, and de-stressing I drive to my nearest YMCA and exercise. In spite of the traffic, the trip and exercise are very refreshing. I also practice my guitar and do yoga. In autumn, winter and spring, I walk my little dog in a gorgeous nearby park.

Thanks for posting this OP.

[DarcyHunterArt]

I love going to hot yoga, creating yummy suppers, reading, or just taking a snooze! Thankfully quilting and creating is my main down time activity. I cant get enough of it!

[DonnaLeeBags]

Ah... I just did a little unwinding today with a long nap. I was just going to take a short 10 minute nap but that didn't happen. I doze off into la la land. Oh well I guess I really needed to unwind. On other days I would get out of my sewing studio and go shopping...:-)

[UmlautGraphics]

people go off line?

[MyPrettyBabi]

I unwind by unplugging ALMOST all by devices... I can't unplug my sewing machine as I like to make my own clothes, something I have been doing since I was 15 y-o. I also go for a walk with my puppy :-)

[Indounik]

I quit my day job to run my little Etsy shop from beautiful Bali, Island of the Gods, my muse, and the source of most of the supplies I sell in my shop. Away from the computer screen, I use my "spare" time to teach for free a bunch of golden local kids from needy families who live around me. When I have a good week on Etsy, I invest in a new kids' book, preferrably bilingual, and add it to my modest little library. Sometimes I throw the books in a backpack, along with some craft supplies, and head out to a village to teach on the verandah of someone's home. We do a little English, a little puzzle-solving, and do something creative, often with paper, given I'm a bit of a paper addict. I'm a scrapbooker and I use those techniques and some of my supplies to create an All About Me book for each of the regular kids who range in age from less than a year up to 15. We do things such as their favourite colour - which then becomes the theme of their book - favourite food, animal, place, clothes, movie, etc and I dutifully paste in photos of them in action, either in my classes or in their daily lives. Those books, created using a humble school exercise book, really engaged even the very young kids in learning. It's a super rewarding getaway from the screen and hopefully does a small bit of good in the world too.

[Former_Member]

I like to get in the garden, there is always something to do. I grow roses and some food crops like blackberries, tomatoes and bell peppers. i also have some herb plants such as basil, thyme and rosemary. If the weather is nice, I will exercise by riding my bike or getting in my pool.

[LesperanceTile]

I walk out of our studio backdoor to our yard with some cozy blankets and pillows and get comfortable on our hammock that is strung under an old maple tree. There's always a breeze and a ton of birds, and a creek that runs along the back of our property....ahhhh.

[Former_Member]

I love walking in NYC (whenever I've visited)! :) To unwind, I have to get my outside time every day (even in below zero weather); we've adopted two (formerly) wild burros, so taking care of them gets me out on our high desert land every day.

When it's nice enough, I also garden and/or knit outside :)

Here's to de-stressing!

[ParisBreakfast]

ICE CREAM ! The best relaxer around. Or I walkover bridges...living on an island surrounded by water helps. Watching the water works even better than ice cream.

[Former_Member]

My best way to 'unwind' is to go for a full adrenaline rush. I'll go to the racetrack and spend the evening racing the the quarter mile.

There is nothing more fun than the thrill of coming off the starting line at full throttle and feeling the thrust of the engine!

[Former_Member]

Its great to really get away into nature but if you are really, really busy even walking out the front door and around the block helps!
As a housebound young Mum with three kids on my back I used to leave a
book open on my dressing table and sneak off and read a few pages until I heard "where's Muuuuum".
And this can be done anywhere ( look away from the screen first!) - take a deep breath and breathe out, out, out - really work on the exhalation. Its the breathing out that counts.

[Ankahsa]

It may sound like not taking a break from work, but crafting is actually the way I unwind. Of course, that means I'm still making potential product for m shop, but I don't consider it to be "work". I really get in the zone and relaxed while I'm crafting.

I also like playing MInecraft. Great way to blow some time and clear the head spcae. Or going outside and sitting in nature, doing photography =)

[WhiteHartDesignCo]

I do not take many breaks, but when I do, I go to the park to feel my feet on the grass, or I go to the seaside to get a splash in the waves :) It is unforgettable!

[Former_Member]

loVe hiking inside the Great Smoky Mountains...magical to *hear* the silence...

[Former_Member]

As I am new to Etsy, my crafting is one of the ways I use to relax! I work 3.5 days a week (not through choice), so find time to run a bit, I also help out at a local cat shelter which is very fullfilling!

[tinysparklestudio]

A day trip to the Russian River with the family is the best way to unwind. There is no cell reception there, so it's a guaranteed unplug!

[eanjewellery]

These all sound so lovely! Thanks for sharing everyone.

I like to unwind with a book at bedtime and a cup of sleepy time tea.

Then when I have a bit more time I like to go for a walk or visit the local park and just breathe. I love cycling but mainly to get from A to B but I find it really relaxes me as i watch the world go by.

When I'm feeling really lazy I'll watch a good comedy.

Have a good weekend everyone!
Elizabeth

[ThirtySixDesign]

This is a great thread for me to read. My Etsy business is relatively new...I've only really been at it for a year and it's grown rapidly in that time. I need to remind myself to step away from all the screens in my life. I use to be an avid reader and I can't tell you the last time I actually read a book! I need to learn "balance" above all else. Thank you for that reminder.

[Former_Member]

Actually for me, creating is the way I unwind...but I also love to read, and i have also begun to work out regularly - sitting and sculpting for long periods of time, listing items , does not bode well for the body and going for walks, stretching, swimming devotes one hour to 'me' ....incredibly, it makes my whole outlook on creating new items more easy and the creative process flows better. I do not watch tv that much except for one or two favorite shows. I also love stepping away from the studio and going to antique shops, or day trips to the river or historical places nearby- inspiration comes to me everywhere, and it is relaxing.

[lipsandpieces]

Going to the quietest beach close by, on my own (there's always so many people around at ours) and having a long swim in the sea with my flippers on, to get the extra exercise...there are also great zumba lessons on the beach at the minute and that makes me sweat it all out, giving me the extra energy I need to finish the day. Although I don't get nearly enough time for crafting, that is an amazing way of relaxing too, my way of meditating I would say :-)