Hey everyone! So I’ve spent quite a bit of time in dorms over the last six months, and have learnt a lot in the process. When you’re studying away from home and living in a dorm, no matter how long the course you’re doing is, it is very easy to get sucked up in getting assignments done, studying and just focusing on work. So when downtime somehow appears, because you’ve miraculously either finished all your work, have nothing to do or nothing urgent to complete, you now have the chance to have some fun. Now living in a dorm can bring some limitations on exactly what type of fun you can have in your down-time, so I’ve compiled this list of fun ways that you can spend your dorm down-time. You can choose one, or all if you have a lot of down-time, and adapt them to suit your personality and what you enjoy doing, but if you find yourself unsure how to spend your gift of free time then look no further. Here are some fun ways that you can spend your dorm down-time.
SLEEP!
If whatever you are studying is intense and work-heavy, sleep might be something you’ve had to sacrifice to get everything done. Well, now is the opportunity to catch up on those zs. There is nothing wrong with wanting to catch up on sleep, especially in college years or while doing an intense short course, so if the time allows, then go for it. Grab your blanket, close your curtains and have a beautiful, long nap. Sometimes a nap can be the most refreshing thing, so if sleep calls, now is the chance to answer.
Movie marathon
Another thing that might happen when you are busy doing work is you might fall behind on movies that you want to watch. Work could also be preventing you from rewatching a favourite show. Now that you have the time, why not sit down with a drink and a snack (and a friend if they’re available) and have a movie marathon. It can either be catching up on everything you’ve been meaning to watch or just rewatching old favourites. Why this is a great way to spend your free time is because it’s giving you something else to concentrate on that you enjoy. Also, it is sometimes just much needed to sit down and watch a movie without worrying about doing anything else.
Have a ‘sleepover.’
This may sound a bit strange, especially if you have a roommate, but bear with me on this one. It is most likely that you have other friends who aren’t your roommate and sometimes it can be an entertaining idea to have a sleepover in your dorm room. Drag someone’s mattress into whichever room you are sleeping over in, get into your pyjamas, order takeout and enjoy an evening of relaxation and laughter. The advantage of having a sleepover is that you don’t need to worry about heading back to your room in the early hours of the morning if you and your friends end up staying up late talking, laughing and watching movies. Sleepovers are also a great excuse to binge-eat junk food without feeling too guilty about it, which is always fantastic.
Play a game
Playing a game, like a card game, board game or even a mobile game, (like hide and seek as a lame but still enjoyable example) can be a really fun way to relax and spend time with your dorm mates. You can let loose and do something childish like play one of your childhood favourite card games. It gives you the opportunity to laugh, but also because most games need more than just one person, it forces you to entice your fellow dorm mates to join you, and then you can all have fun and enjoy it together. Just maybe don’t play something like Monopoly if you all get competitive because that game has been known to cause relationship problems and spark all sorts of nasty conflict and tension when it gets competitive. So choose the game wisely.
Start an informal club
Who says every club you join has to be a formal one? It is more than likely that there are a few people in your dorm who have one common interest with you. Why not start an informal club with your friends? It doesn’t have to be structured or particularly well-organised, but it does give you an excuse to talk about things that you enjoy. Say you and a few others enjoy Harry Potter – you can always get together to watch one of the movies, play Wizards Unite or just chat about your favourite parts. It’s always fun to talk about things that you love with fellow fans so take advantage of all the people around you and your spare time, and knock two birds with one stone by socialising and talking/doing something you really like.
Get cooking
This may not be possible if you don’t have a kitchen in your dorm, but if there is, why not take this time to use it? There is nothing quite as satisfying as cooking or baking because you get something delicious to eat once you’re finished. You can either team up with a few others to make something or cook for yourself but either way, you’ll have something yummy and homemade to eat, and your dorm will have delicious smells floating around instead of sweaty people and stale air. Also, cooking can be counted as a productive activity, so technically, you are still productive in your downtime. Bonus right?
Do a puzzle
Puzzles can be a great way to spend your down-time, especially if you enjoy doing them. You can do one by yourself or with a group of others, and you can stretch it out and do it over a long period instead of trying to get it all done in one sitting. I personally quite enjoy building puzzles because I find them both fun and somehow relaxing. Now puzzles might not be your thing, so if not then ignore this suggestion, but if you too think they are fun then you might as well right?
Read a book
This is my absolute favourite and my top recommendation (but that’s just me because I love books). When you’re busy doing work, you forget about those books sitting on your shelf that you’ve wanted to read. Now is your chance to pull those books out and read them! Books are a great way to spend your free relaxation time because you can fall into another world and get absorbed in something that isn’t school-related. So if you’ve been dying to read something that isn’t for a class or academic purposes, I highly suggest you take advantage of this opportunity before you start having to put your nose back into textbooks again.
Start a 30-day challenge
30-day challenges are always fun to try because you can get involved or try something without it being a long or huge commitment. This isn’t something you have to do yourself because it can sometimes be great to have someone doing it with you – you two can motivate each other and make sure you don’t quit. What’s excellent about 30-day challenges are that there are so many different types so you can find one that suits exactly what you want, and it is usually not a tremendous amount of time out of your day to complete each little daily challenge. I know this one is only ideal if you are going to be able to do it for 30 days, but it is still fun to do when you can grab a few minutes of free time each day.
Do something fun with a friend
I’ve deliberately left this last one quite open-ended so you can decide what you’d like to do with it. If you and a friend happen to have free time at the same time, then why not do something fun together? This can be anything from learning a new skill or activity (such as a dance on Youtube or makeup or hairstyle) to merely going for a walk or sitting on the floor gossiping. You get to bond with your friend while taking advantage of your free-time freedom.
And there we have it. Free-time can be a rare luxury when you’re at college sometimes and so when you do get some, you need to make sure that you take as much advantage of it as you can and have as much fun as possible. You deserve to be enjoying yourself in the odd moments you have to breathe and not be worrying about academic things. So, I hope that all of you have enjoyed this blog post and if you are in college, preparing for college or are doing a short course that you have found at least one fun way that you can spend your dorm down-time. If you aren’t in college or living in a dorm, then you can still use these tips! You can use them if you are struggling to fill your down-time in any situation, and so I hope you have all been able to take something away from this post. If you’d like some more dorm related posts, you can click the link below for what not to do in a dorm room, or for some practical advice for short courses. You guys are all amazing, and if you ever have suggestions for a post topic, then please don’t hesitate to let me know. Please don’t forget to like this post if you haven’t already, and subscribe so that you don’t miss out on future blog posts. Happy relaxing and I wish fun times to all of you, irrespective of where you are.
Lots of Love
Blondey on a Mission xxx
Tall Blonde Tales 