I’ve opted to spend most of my nights in (including weekends) or go out and not spend money in order to afford a few extra vacations this year. Staying in is my least favorite thing to do in the world. As you know, FOMO is my most expensive hobby. I don’t have to go all out and party every night of the week, but if I could, I’d meet a friend or two of a meal or coffee or drinks every day. Unfortunately, this just isn’t financially feasible if I also insist on nourishing my travel bug, so I find myself trying to find ways to occupy my time at home. This is how I’m killing the hours:
1. House of Cards. Have you seen this show? Everyone is talking about it and since I’m all about participating in popular culture, I had to get on the bandwagon too. After the first episode, I was completely enthralled. My understanding of American politics is rudimentary at best, but this show keeps me on the edge of my seat nonetheless. Suddenly spending a night in can actually be described as “exciting” and “fun”. Honorable Mention: Zeitgeist and The Imposter. Netflix is the answer to all my woes.
2. Read some good books. I used to devour fiction obsessively, but for the past 3-4 years I’ve read almost exclusively non-fiction books. From popular literature to niche interest, I try to get as much variety in my library as I can. I’ve been on a Malcom Gladwell kick recently, so if you’re looking for a good read, his books are my first suggestion!
3. DIY. Everyone lets out a soft chuckle of knowing laughter when you talk about all the things you pin on Pinterest that you mean to do but never actually accomplish. Now is the time. From making edible glitter for baking to repurposing old t-shirts into cute tops, most good intentions only need an hour or two to make them a reality.
4. Learn to cook something amazing. If there’s something I like to eat, I make the effort to learn to make it at home. I don’t care if it takes six attempts, I keep turning out bad to mediocre batches over and over until I get a recipe perfect. This is why I know how to whip up hollandaise sauce from scratch that surpasses that of any restaurant, and how I know how to make a chocolate souflee that will bring you to tears. Because I dine out so often, I don’t make use of my kitchen skills — or my ruthless devotion to honing them — nearly as often as I should.Well, now I have the opportunity. Armed with an arsenal of cooking blogs, yours truly has whipped of enough macarons and quiche to feed the French army.
5. Clean all the things. You know how you never do things like scrub all the floors by hand or organize your pantry because you “don’t have enough time”? Well, once you have time you get those things done, and your home becomes a happy place. In my evenings off I’ve transformed my apartment. Maybe it looks the same to visitors, but if you make a close inspection you’ll notice all the drawers are organized and there’s not a speck of dust to be found anywhere. My mom would be so proud. Even if your house was spotless to begin with, now might be an ideal time to finish some household projects you’ve been procrastinating.
This is what I’ve been doing, and so far it’s filling the spending-void quite nicely =) How do you fight the FOMO?
I don’t have FOMO unless it refers to clothes, but I tend to do the same things you do.
My downfall is temptation. Just browsing, does me in.
I bought a ton of clothes in December & January so I’m feeling pretty good about not shopping for awhile… I stocked up on jeans in SLC so I feel like there’s nothing I need right now.
… but I’m not going to browse either. Funny thing is looking always creates a need, so I have to maintain my blissful ignorance that there’s nothing out there I could possibly want.
I don’t even want to think about FOMO as it applies to my life, because if I did, I’d just crawl in a hole and die, honestly.
but look at all the cooking and cleaning you can do!!
But what about traveling? And relationships? And …actually playing an instrument well?
*sigh*
I fight FOMO with the following: library books, free online courses (currently learning Python, which takes up tons of time for me), cooking, organizing/making to do lists of things that I never get to when I’m being social and busy, and working out obsessively.
hahaha I need to add working out obsessively… I think that would be good for me =\
Phone calls/face timing with out of town friends, obsessive cleaning/laundry-doing, rearranging my furniture, Netflix…
What does FOMO mean? I’m so out of the loop! Travel is my drug. Where are you going?
haha oh that’s my fault, I forgot to define it — linked to another post where I first introduced it. FOMO is “fear of missing out”. It dictates my whole life. I say yes to everything just because I don’t want to miss out on something.
I’m going everywhere ;) Just got back from Salt Lake City, now going snowboarding in Banff this week and off to Calgary the week after.. Vancouver in May, Toronto in June, big trip in August… 2013 is my most travelled year yet!
How many vacation days do you have in a year? Just wondering how you travel so much!
I already watched House of Cards! It’s an awesome show!
I have actually become a bit of a homebody. I workout 5x a week which makes me tired, so I end up passed on the couch in front of my computer. I used to hate it and always wanted to go out, but this is a new phase.
Check out coursera! Free online college level classes from places like Duke, Stanford, etc. I’m enrolled in a course on HIV/AIDS that started today.
I’ve heard so many good things about Coursera!! That is something I definitely need to check out ASAP
haha, fighting the FOMO! Go you! I know you can do it!
Getting away from Facebook helped curb my FOMO!
I just started watching House of Cards too. I’ve only seen one episode and am not sure if I love or hate it, but I am definitely curious enough to keep on watching. How weird is it that it’s made by Netflix?
It’s crazy! But I heard rumors this is actually the second Netflix original creation — the first one was a flop though.
Love Kevin Spacey <3
It’s hard to say no to FOMO. I fight mine off with Pinterest or having people over to play Apples to Apples. We replace all the boring cards with trump cards like “stripper heels” and “nipple tassles”… leave a permanent marker out so people can vote on their own :)
bahahaha that is an awesome game!
Funny – your list of activities looks very similar to mine. I’ve been watching House of Cards, I’ve tried baking with Fondant (didn’t go too well) and I just made soap!
Impressive!!
Fondant is delicious but looks tricky. I’m not ready for that yet!
LOL Netflix and hulu plus have been my fomo saviors! So many good shows to watch! I think I’m moving on to the walking dead next. I didn’t really get into the first episode of HOC, but maybe I need to give it more of a chance?
I’ve seen1.5 seasons of Walking Dead.. it’s on my list of shows to get back into!
Great tips! There are so many things you can do from home for free (or with a friend over at their house=not spending gobs of money) that will keep you quite entertained.
And yes…I have quite a few pins on pinterest to get through:).