Asklemmy

I got into designing crosswords for a while. It was pretty fun to manually lay out a sheet of answers and think up clues for them. Also, reading theory.

Anything you enjoy that you could improve on!

Currently I'm spending more time learning guitar.

I think as long as you're genuinely interested, learning things becomes a lot easier.

Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Will keep you fit, you won't be able to think about your life problems for 1-hour ... guaranteed, you'll make new friends, you will build mental resilience and you'll learn self-defence. So many benefits as long as you train for the long-term and avoid injury.

Sewing is a nice thing to learn because you can always touch up your own clothes and if you like you can buy a cheap sewing machine and do your own shirts, pants etc

I started with crochet about two months ago (my 53'rd attempt at a new hobby) with the idea of wanting to make Amigurumi. But it kind of (d)evolved into just experimenting blindly with different stitch combinations and turning them into bracelets for myself. But I'm still having fun with it :)
It's relaxing, relatively cheap (for what I do with it) and I feel motivated to slowly try to improve myself. I still feel anxious trying to complete any major project though, but that's just me. There's a sad unfinished amigurumi monster in my drawer, waiting for me to work up the nerve to stitch him together :)

Making things, learning things.

E.g.:

• painting

• clay/ceramics

• learn a language

• learn the history of a region

• visit a museum

• grow vegetables

• make pickles

• learn a weapon

going outside, musing around, gazing at the clouds and plants and all

Fun ways to spend your time:

Walking, running, hiking, cycling, transitting to a nice spot in town you've never been. Fairly cheap, and fun way to get out and forget the rest of your problems for a bit.

Sports and Yoga, cooking and baking, sewing, learning an instrument like guitar, piano/keyboard.

For things that aren't mindless fun but useful long term: Try learning a new language! It's kind of difficult but it's cool when you start to figure out tiny tidbits of other languages.

I always recommend roleplaying games like DnD or pathfinder as a hobby since it has a built in social and private element to it. You can join a group at most local game stores or by looking for organized play. Both Pathfinder and DnD have organized learning sessions where you can learn to play. Both allow you to start for free.

The good part is there is a regular scheduled social element usually weekly and between time you can do things yourself. That includes reading rules, making minis, practicing voices, writing modules, reading old source book, watching live streams, making maps etc. You don't have to do all of those but you can really go in depth or as shallow as you want. All of the things you do my yourself will enhance the enjoyment of the group which is a great as well.

I went back to school. You can find tons of online courses in just about any subject, and some will count for real college credit if you ever want to turn it into a degree. Many are free, but some will cost you and most are worth it. A way to make your addiction productive.

You didn't rule it out, so my first thought is: play video games! It's certainly on the line between consuming something and learning to do something. Some individual games can be a whole skill to study and hone for years (eg, learning a fighting game or a speedrun, etc etc)

Spirit of the question though, that would probably be considered content.

Other ideas, most already covered by other comments: art, photography, music, writing, programming, cooking, woodworking, or learning a new language.

Instead of playing video games, I'm leaning frontend programming. I'm making a chatGPT movie recommendation assistant right now. Finishing projects supplants the dopamine hits I got from gaming.

The 'fun' adjective means everyone's answers will be different! For me, exercising is good even if many times it ends up being a VR adventure or workout.

I enjoy growing a small garden! You might not xD

Pick up some acting classes and volunteer down at the local theatre to learn more about yourself, your expression to others, learn the intricacies of a great classic story and make new friends!

Really, just pick something and go to the moon with it

I do a lot of creative writing. Remember that what you write doesn't have to be "good" in order to be worth the time you spent doing it.

music is life <3

Thrift shopping is great. Window shop at antique stores, goodwill, pawn shops, thrift shops. Even without buying things you can come across lots of interesting finds.

Find your local free community center. Your local library is a good start. There's bound to be countless free activities or events to join and also meet people at to make casual friends while doing new things.

I got into scratch/trash building and kit bash modeling crazy mechs and stuff last year and it’s been a blast.

Multiple times I have found satisfaction and joy in reading non-fiction or how to books about a certain topic and then deep diving. With a library nearby you can avoid spending any real money. Almost every book about a topic has other books as references or recommendations which leads you down a hole of information about things you can learn about and implement. I am currently deep into a research hole about plant identification, herbalism, wild food forging and permaculture. This is great since I can then implement these in my garden this spring but I enjoy the learning part just as much as the doing. Its a fun way to see what interests to you. It doesn't have to last forever but you will keep the knowledge

Playing any musical instrument. The feeling of your practice grindings pay off, no matter how still mundane it is to compared to social media professional musicians, is a pretty good feeling.

List of things you would do with friends like going to a bar, to a movie, eating wings/dinner, driving somewhere fun, or going on a trip then do the list alone.

Video games might not sound like much of a change, but they’re more active than watching movies. It’s a small step away from that totally passive mode.