Perhaps in your university days, you came home from lectures and studied some more. Now you come home from work and you’ve got free time on your hands (unless you have kids, perhaps).
Many people find themselves stumped when it comes to filling in their free time. That doesn’t need to be you.
Here are some fantastic suggestions on how to entertain yourself at night:
Plan the next big holiday
Going on a trip is immense, but planning it is just as much fun. Discovering the deals. Seeking out the less frequented destinations. Reading travel tips. It all adds to the experience and you don’t have to plan an immediate trip either. It can be something further down the line. Meeting with a friend, organising what you want to do, setting money aside and chatting about it are all exciting.
Have a poker night
If you don’t feel like going out to the casino, you can bring the casino to you and play some poker online. You and your friends can all dress up, grab a few snacks, organise some drinks and make a night of it. Even if you’re alone in the evenings, you can still log on and play a game.
Start on the book pile
Buying books is pleasurable, yet sometimes we buy them but don’t bother to read them. We don’t find the time or, maybe by the time we do, we’re just too tired to give them our full attention. Don’t leave your books looking sad and unused and gathering dust. Create some time to wind down on your evening and open one of those modern classics.
Explore
Just because some of the shops close around 5 or 6 pm, it doesn’t mean the day is over. If you live in a massive city like London, there’s still lots going on in the evenings, so why not get out there and get in amongst it? Walk the streets and see what you can see. Watch buskers playing on their acoustic guitars or other instruments. Do some window shopping. Maybe you’ll bump into friends or work colleagues also out enjoying the city vibe and the summer air.
Go to a comedy show
You don’t have to stick to BBC re-runs or comedy box sets on Netflix. You can visit a local comedy club and enjoy a night of stand-up. Be careful not to sit at the front, though, unless you can handle a roasting from the comedy. If you live in a city like Edinburgh, which has comedy clubs such as The Stand, you’re sure to see a comedian who makes you chuckle.
Go to an outdoor concert
Can you beat the excitement of a live outdoor gig? The sun is shining, everyone’s in a good mood and you’ve got a band giving it everything they’ve got on stage for their audience. You can even attend some gigs for free, especially if the gig is taking place during a festival. How about a nice evening of jazz and blues?
Night hike or cycle
Soaking up the sunny weather is all well and good, but sometimes the heat can get a little much. Why not wait until the temperatures drop a little and go on an evening hike or cycle? It’s a chance to enjoy nature and the outdoors. You can go down to some local woods or a local park. Remember to keep safe, though, and put on some reflective gear when it gets dark.
A sports evening with the lads
You’ve got two options here. You can all pile into one of your mates’ homes who has a sports package and follow a live event, such as boxing, a big football match or even some motor racing; or you can all head out and play some sports of your own. You could play five-a-side football. You could go head to head with each other on the golf course. You could play basketball. Failing all that, you could even play tag.
Girls spa evening
If the guys can have their sports evening, then there’s no reason why the girls can’t have a spa evening. You can bring your favourite nail polishes and varnishes for manicures and pedicures. You can take turns to salt baths. You can even indulge in some extra self-care and do some yoga together. You can exfoliate. And you can do it all while having a good chat about what’s going on in your lives and/or in the world.
Work on a side hustle
A side hustle is something of a passion and if you’re working full-time during the day, then you won’t often get the chance to work on it (except for on your lunch break, perhaps). Make use of your evenings to follow your passion and, at the same time, pursue some financial goals (or even pack in your day job and make a go of your side hustle further down the line).
Volunteer
Evenings don’t always have to be about you and entertaining yourself. You can use them to give back to the local community by doing some volunteering. That could be serving dinner at a local homeless shelter, helping out at a local hospital or spending some time with the elderly. There will always be organisations which are looking for volunteers to support their cause and will appreciate any time you can offer them.
There’s no need to sit and spare into space in the evenings. All it takes is a little creativity and you can come up with some excellent ways to entertain yourself. Just which one will you choose?
