Unwind in the Five to Nine: Relaxing Hobbies to Recharge
Alarm. Shower. Eat. Work. Sleep. Repeat. How is this my real life now? I feel like just a few years ago, that list included bar hop, sleep in, date a cute boy, repeat. Oh, how I wish I could relive those college days, but instead I am on the corporate hamster wheel, the daily grind, the making money to live in the one-bedroom apartment lifestyle. Sometimes I catch myself daydreaming about those carefree nights, and it makes me smile and sigh all at once. Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful to have a job. Hello, 2025, where no one can find a job, and I'd better be thankful I have one. BUT…goodness, I have to mix in relaxing hobbies to stay sane, and if you have gotten through this first paragraph and your hand is raised in the air, join me on this journey to find our peace. We’re all in this together, trying to squeeze a little joy out of our busy lives. Now let’s not get ahead of ourselves, it's still going to be hamster wheel life from 9-5, but I challenge you and me, for that matter, to find the unwind in the 5-9.
Find Your Peace
If you think you are finding your peace in the 9-5, give your head a shake. We have to focus on the 5-9, four glorious hours of peace-producing, work-not-working hours. If you want to go after the lowest-hanging fruit of peace. WALK. Literally, lace up your comfy HOKAs (not sponsored by the way), throw on a fun little workout set (I mean, we could still find a cute boy), throw on your headphones or AirPods (depending on your pref), and walk. Walk it out, jam the tunes, and detach from reality. Walk in a park, in the dark, by the sea, near a tree, just keep the pace, heck-walk in place. (Yes, I grew up loving Dr Seuss.) Take a friend if you want company, or go solo and let your brain wander. Even ten minutes counts. Peace isn’t complicated; it just requires a little motion and a lot of permission to slow down.
Stretch Your Mind in the Unwind
Let’s be honest, exercise isn’t for everyone. If stretching your legs isn’t of interest, try your brain. I have recently taken up the Ukulele, and thanks to YouTube, I have my own private and free music teacher. YouTube is literally a gold mine for all things “Teach Me How to…fill in the blank. Teach me how to bake a cake, play the ukulele, paint with watercolors, to dougie (obviously couldn’t resist), I swear, sometimes I spend more time watching tutorials than actually doing the thing, and that’s totally fine too. The great thing about a “How To Hobby” is it's totally customizable, at your own pace, and easily fits into the 5-9 window of opportunity. If you are a 20-something like me, we pretty much grew up on YouTube, so it's familiar, no strings attached, and a great way to find your passion, or maybe just a weird little talent you didn’t know you had.
Connection is Key
The truth is we spend all day on the hamster wheel but we are rarely building deep connections with co-workers so putting together friends + 5 + 9 + unwind=social hours(s) And the great thing is you have a time constraint and its in essence a school night/work night but that doesn’t mean you can’t make simple celebrations part of your unwind routine. The girls in my apartment complex have planned all kinds of funky mini celebrations, from book club to welcome fall, to a Christmas cookie exchange, to a Taylor Swift Album release. Probably tried all the relaxing hobbies in the book. The celebrations can be simple, aka grab a store-bought meat and cheese tray, two bottles of wine, and some cute decorations, and the next thing you know, you have an Instagram-worthy post and a fun night to unwind. Curfew at 9 pm, of course, because even celebrations need a little structure.
Prioritize Yourself
If all else fails, find your peace or relax in taking care of yourself. The self-care market has exploded in the past ten years, and there is a good reason for it. People are realizing that self care=time for yourself=confidence=mental health boost. Self-care can be as long or as short as your time allows. A bubble bath, face mask, pedicure, or even the famous “everything shower.” Research and invest in good products. Everyone is focused on financial investments. I say invest in yourself! Yes, buy that $30 one-time-use face mask. Your pores will thank me later! I have recently been uber-focused on my calming self-care routine. Pop a magnesium gummy, warm up my lavender scented heating pad, color in my coloring book, and bam–I am relaxed and ready for 8 hours of sleep. Joking, joking. I hope to get at least six!
Let’s Review
Serious tone incoming. The bottom line is we all take life too seriously and live in the constraints of working from 9-5, making enough money to pay our bills, and to some degree, we are all climbing this invisible ladder of success. If we don’t stop and smell the roses (literally or figuratively), we are going to age ourselves faster than a banana with brown spots. We have to make the 5-9 a priority, and this blog post challenges us all to do that. Find your peace, go for a walk, plan a fun celebration, learn something new on YouTube, and just take care of yourself! You deserve all those relaxing hobbies, I promise you, you do! Remember, even small pockets of joy count, and they add up faster than you think.The good news is that 5-9 actually comes twice a day, so you can take advantage of the morning hours or the night hours. Just take advantage and put yourself first in this rat race of life.
