I have a few friends who have sworn off all substances due to various issues in the past and they are honestly some of the most productive people I know.
Always working on various projects, getting things done, and with a positive attitude, to boot.
Sober folks, what do you do to pass the time?
Here’s how people responded on AskReddit.
1. This and that.
“Play online/video games.
Work out.
Socialize.
Read a book.
Watch documentaries or mindless videos.
2. Procrastinate.
“Scrolling social media is my time killer.
I’m on Reddit right now in fact because I’m procrastinating on a writing project.”
3. WOW.
“I quit drinking 10 years ago, I quit sm**ing 7 years ago, and I quit dip 4 years ago.
Upon my first desire to quit drinking I took up World of Warcraft and dove in head first to get addicted to keep my a** out of bars. It worked, trading one addiction for another.
Quitting sm**ing was rather easy since I was still dipping, but transitioning from sm**ing to vaping really helped and I was done vaping after like 3 months. Dip was the hardest to quit because at my job they wouldn’t even allow me to use fake dip.
So I gradually made my dips smaller and farther apart. Went from 1 can a day to 1 can in 2 weeks, and after that point it was easier to quit so I did.”
4. Good stuff.
“Make speaker boxes for people. Take care of unwanted dogs, Yard work.
Volunteer to help others. Home improvements.
Mainly spend most my free time with my son ..Biking, fishing, Pokemon Go. Whatever he wants to do.”
5.
“
6. Staying busy.
“Exercise, play sports, watch sports, go for walks, car rides, music, talk to friends and family.
Also art, drawing, and crafts.”
7. Try to figure it out.
“Try to focus on the mental garbage I was trying to avoid by doing both.
Read a little bit.”
8. Good motivation.
“Quit sm**ing and drinking not long ago (2 weeks and going strong). If the weather is nice I go outside and listen to music. If I can’t do that, I watch Netflix or read books.
I honestly prefer reading books as I then feel like I’ve educated myself to some extent which makes me feel good about myself. When I used to drink and smoke I never read anything as my mind was always too dazed.
Oh and also counting the money that I’m saving and imagining what I’m gonna spend it on (nice furniture, new electronic gadgets) is a very nice motivation.”
9. Run!
“Ex smoker here. I used a vape to quit smokes and then went cold turkey on that. I took up running since you can’t have both. I love running now.
I still smoke very occasionally on nights out but I’ll never buy a pack and I had to completely quit for 6 months to get to the point where it doesn’t trigger a relapse. Try not to be too hard on yourself about it. It takes effort and discipline but you’ll quit when you’re ready.
I can’t even count how many times I tried and failed but I ultimately succeeded and it’s been a year and a half since I quit now. I had one major relapse in that time due to a culmination of shi**y life circumstances but after a couple months I realized I didn’t want to go back to that so I stopped again.
It’s so worth it. I can’t even describe to you how much better you’ll feel. “
10. Relearn your hobbies.
“Listen to podcasts, do puzzles, work on my yard, cook/try new recipes, play with my dog, play video games, watch movies, read…
I was never a smoker, but when I cut out drinking, I basically had to relearn my hobbies and that I liked the hobbies for themselves and drinking didn’t actually improve upon them/make life less boring like I had become dependent on thinking.
In fact, I get a lot more out of my hobbies sober – I learn and remember more in general and I wake up productive every day so I have more time to do new things.”
11. Time for a pause.
“Drink water, drink tea, find a cup of coffee.
If it is meant as a pause, I feel the heat or cool in the glass, enjoy the steam or fragrance, really taste the water there are many different waters. It can be a mini meditation to search for a water fountain or find a coffee shop with cucumber water.
This is my pause, and the desperate reach for my water bottle as I process whatever just happened. Drink the water, pause, respond.”
12. Battling the behavior.
“I quit sm**ing by eating more. I substituted one addiction with another. Now I eat sugar.
The human psyche is so prone to addiction and the only way to battle that is to accept whats happening. And then you realize you weren’t battling nicotine all along. You were battling the behaviour. The mechanism that gave you instant relief.
This came in with a chemical holding you hostage. Then do the first thing that comes to your mind. Walking around the block, taking a shower, etc.
Replace the addictive behaviour with a less harmful or harmless one.”
If you’re sober, what do you do for fun?
Talk to us in the comments.
We’d love to hear from you!
