Thriving Solo

Category: Real Life

  • The Art of the Solo Weekend

    For many people, weekends are synonymous with social events, family obligations, or date nights. But when you live alone, your weekends are entirely your own—free from external expectations or demands. This can be both liberating and overwhelming. Without structure, weekends can slip away in a blur of scrolling, binge-watching, and wondering where the time went.

    But solo weekends can be more than just empty time to fill. They’re a chance to recharge, be productive, and fully enjoy your own company. Here’s how to make your solo weekends more fulfilling, intentional, and enjoyable.

    Balance Rest and Productivity

    One of the biggest challenges of solo weekends is finding the right balance between rest and action. Too much rest, and you may feel sluggish and disconnected by Sunday evening. Too much productivity, and you may not feel like you had any weekend at all.

    How to Find the Right Mix:

    • Start with a Check-In: Before the weekend begins, ask yourself—What do I need most right now? More rest? More creativity? More movement?
    • Try a 50/50 Approach: Plan for half your weekend to be restful and half to be active or productive.
    • Set a Simple Focus for Each Day: One day could be for recharging, the other for getting things done.

    Example: My Saturdays normally start with a bit of a cleaning binge. By the end of the week, there’s nearly always something that I didn’t get around to doing through the week, and I know I’ll feel better if it’s not staring me in the face all weekend. So, I do that first.

    I try to spend the rest of the morning being a bit more creative – working on my writing, or maybe some blogging work. No rush, no pressure, just moving things forward.

    Afternoons, I’m open to what’s going on. Maybe I’ll spend time with family, maybe I’ll get on the motorbike and find some curves on the open roads. Maybe I’ll find some friends online, and we’ll go blow up some aliens or kill some zombies together.

    Sundays, I’m more about relaxation.I might put a big cook on in the slow cooker, then spend my time in a book, or a series of movies. Maybe I’ll game some more, maybe I won’t.

    Create a Weekend Ritual

    When you live alone, weekends can blur together with weekdays unless you create rituals that make them feel distinct.

    Ideas for Weekend Rituals:

    • Start with something small. A special breakfast, a morning walk, or an unplugged coffee break can signal that the weekend has begun. For me, this is bacon and eggs, and breakfast at my dining table.
    • A Saturday or Sunday tradition. Whether it’s movie night, an at-home spa session, or a long reading session, having a tradition makes weekends feel meaningful.
    • A dedicated reset time. Use an hour on Sunday to prep for the week ahead—clean your space, plan meals, or set intentions.

    Example: Make Sunday mornings your slow breakfast and journaling time, setting a relaxed tone before the new week begins.

    Explore a Theme for the Weekend

    Choosing a theme or focus for your solo weekend helps prevent it from feeling aimless. Your theme can be about rest, creativity, learning, or adventure.

    Weekend Theme Ideas:

    • The Rest Weekend: Pajamas, books, naps, long baths, no pressure to do anything productive.
    • The Creative Weekend: Writing, painting, photography, or working on a passion project.
    • The Learning Weekend: Watching documentaries, taking an online course, or diving into a new skill.
    • The Mini Adventure Weekend: Exploring a new café, taking a long drive, or visiting a museum alone.

    Example: Set a “Creative Weekend” and spend time on art, writing, or music. No pressure—just exploration.

    Plan One Outing—Even If It’s Just for You

    Solo weekends don’t mean you have to stay inside. Getting out of the house boosts mood and prevents isolation.

    In general terms, I don’t crave company. But sometimes, I do like being out and around other people.

    Easy Solo Outings:

    • Visit a bookstore, museum, or coffee shop.
    • Go for a long walk in a different part of town.
    • Try a solo restaurant experience—sit at the bar, bring a book.
    • Take a day trip somewhere new.

    Example: Pick one small outing, like grabbing coffee at a new spot or taking a scenic walk.

    Make Solo Weekends Feel Special

    When you live alone, it’s easy to treat weekends like just another day. Making small tweaks to elevate your weekend can make a big difference.

    Ways to Make Your Weekend Feel Different:

    • Change up your space. Light candles, play music, rearrange your space slightly.
    • Upgrade your meals. Cook something special or try a new recipe.
    • Dress for the occasion. Even if you’re staying in, wearing something cozy or stylish can change your mood.

    Example: Have a “fancy dinner for one”—cook something special, set the table, and make it feel like an event.

    I do this once in a while – for a meal that I’ve spent a bit more time or money on. I’ll clean any detritus off my dining table (it does seem to attract it through the week), cook a good steak and matching sides, open a bottle of wine. I’ll put some good music on and just plain enjoy the meal.

    Final Thoughts: Enjoying Your Own Company

    Solo weekends aren’t about “filling time”—they’re an opportunity to design your own ideal rhythm. Whether you want to relax, explore, create, or get things done, making small adjustments can turn solo weekends into something you look forward to, rather than just get through.

    If you’re not sure where to start, pick one idea from this list and try it next weekend. Over time, you’ll discover what makes solo weekends feel rewarding for you.

  • How to Stop Wasting Time When You Live Alone

    …without Feeling Like a Productivity Robot

    Living alone means total freedom over your time—which is both a blessing and a curse. There’s no one to nag you about unfinished tasks, no shared schedules dictating when things get done, and no external structure keeping you on track.

    And that’s great… until you realise that you just spent three hours scrolling through Reddit, your sink is full of dishes, and somehow, you have nothing to show for an entire weekend.

    Time can disappear when there’s no one else around to anchor it, and when you live solo, it’s easy to drift between unstructured hours and low-energy habits without even noticing.

    So how do you stop wasting time without turning your life into an exhausting productivity checklist? The key is balance—finding a rhythm that lets you feel satisfied with your days without falling into the trap of over-optimisation.

    Recognise the Difference Between “Rest” and “Drift”

    Not every slow moment is wasted time. Resting is necessary: it helps you recharge, process thoughts, and reset for the next thing. Drifting, on the other hand, is when you’re not really resting or being productive. Instead, you’re just passing time in a way that doesn’t feel meaningful.

    The key is awareness. If you feel better after an activity (watching a show you love, taking a walk, reading, or gaming), it was rest. If you feel sluggish, guilty, or like the time evaporated with nothing to show for it, you were drifting.

    Quick Fix: Before starting any activity, ask yourself: Will this make me feel better or worse afterward? If it’s true rest, keep going. If it’s mindless drifting, shift gears.

    Afterwards, evaluate the truth of what you thought before you started, and learn something from that lesson.

    The “Accidental Time Sink” Problem

    Living alone means no built-in interruptions to break up your time. There’s no roommate coming home to snap you out of a social media spiral. No one asking, “What have you been up to?” to make you reflect on your day.

    That’s how an hour of “I’ll just check my phone” turns into an entire evening lost.

    Quick Fix: Use a Pattern Interrupt—when you catch yourself mindlessly scrolling or zoning out, do something physical for 30 seconds (stand up, stretch, get a drink). That tiny action resets your focus and helps you make a conscious decision about what to do next.

    Make “Soft Structure” Work for You

    Rigid schedules don’t work for everyone, and living alone means you don’t have to follow anyone else’s routines. But that doesn’t mean your days should be entirely unstructured.

    Soft structure means creating a flow to your day without forcing a rigid schedule.

    Instead of saying, “I will start work at exactly 9:00 AM,” try “I will start my first task after I make coffee and open my laptop.”

    Instead of “I will read for 30 minutes every night,” go with “I will read a few pages before bed, even if it’s just two.”

    Quick Fix: Identify one or two anchor points in your day—things that naturally happen (waking up, meals, getting home from work). Use those as triggers for small actions that help you stay on track.

    Stop Making Every Task a “Big Thing”

    When you live alone, tasks expand to fill the time you give them.

    Laundry doesn’t take three hours. It takes ten minutes to start a load, two minutes to switch it, and five minutes to put it away.

    Dishes don’t take “forever.” It’s a five-minute job unless you let them pile up. If you do let them pile up, it’s still only half an hour.

    When no one else is around to hold you accountable, small tasks can feel bigger than they are.

    Quick Fix: Use the 10-Minute Rule—set a timer for 10 minutes and start any task. If you want to stop when the timer goes off, you can. Most of the time, you’ll just finish the thing.

    I use my Air Fryer for a lot of my evening meals, and my personal rule is that I won’t sit down while it’s running – I’ll do something. That 10-15 minutes (depending on what I’m cooking) is when I take care of a lot of my simple household maintenance tasks.

    Use “Intentional Time-Wasting” to Your Advantage

    Sometimes, wasting time is exactly what you need—but it’s better when it’s on purpose instead of by accident.

    Binge-watching a show guilt-free is fun. Binge-watching out of procrastination and regret is miserable.

    The difference? Deciding in advance.

    Quick Fix: Set a “permission window” for things that might otherwise feel unproductive. “I’m going to spend an hour gaming, and then I’ll get up and do something else.” That way, it’s an active choice, not a passive drift.

    Final Thoughts: Living Alone Means You Set the Pace

    The best part of solo living is that you get to decide how you spend your time. No one else shapes your schedule, routines, or priorities—you have total control.

    That freedom is powerful, but it also means you have to be your own guide. The trick isn’t to cram your time with constant productivity, but to be intentional about where your hours go.

    You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to notice when time is slipping away and decide if that’s what you really want.

    So go ahead—watch that show, scroll that feed, take that nap. Just make sure that when you do, it’s because you chose it, not because the time just disappeared.

  • About Ozzy: Why I Started ThrivingSolo

    For a long time, I thought of solo living as something you just end up doing. A temporary state. A phase. Something you don’t really choose, but just find yourself in.

    Turns out, that was completely wrong.

    Living alone isn’t a waiting room for “real life.” It is real life. And, if you do it right, it can be one of the most rewarding, freeing, and downright enjoyable ways to live.

    But here’s the thing—most of the advice about living alone falls into two categories: overly practical (budgeting, cleaning, meal prep) or overly existential (embracing solitude, finding yourself, etc.). What I wanted was something in between. Real, useful, sometimes funny, and always geared toward making solo life better.

    That’s why I started ThrivingSolo.

    Who Am I?

    I’m Ozzy—a writer with a mundane dayjob, and I’m someone who knows what it’s like to build a solo life from the ground up. I’ve had roommates/flatmates, I’ve been married and I’ve lived alone. Throughout my various living arrangements, the times when I’ve been the most at peace, the most content, are the times when it’s been just me.

    In those times I learned a lot about what it takes to make solo living work—not just in terms of the practical boring stuff, but how to make your living situations truly your own.

    I know what it’s like to look around your apartment and realise that every mess is your mess (and that there’s no one else to clean it up). I know the struggle of cooking for one without ending up with a week of leftovers you don’t want. I know how easy it is to let the days blur together when no one else is shaping your schedule. And I also know how amazing it is to have full control over your space, your time, and your priorities.

    What You’ll Find Here

    This site isn’t about simply getting by on your own. It’s about living well, finding routines that work for you, and creating a home you actually enjoy being in. It’s for people who want to make solo life less of a survival game and more of an art form.

    You’ll find posts on:

    • Home & Space – How to make your home feel like yours, even if it’s a rental.
    • Solo Routines – Morning and evening habits that actually stick.
    • Food & Cooking – How to cook for one without wasting food or effort.
    • Mindset & Independence – Why living alone isn’t “lonely” unless you let it be.
    • The Fun Stuff – The joy of solo travel, solo date nights, and doing things your way.

    Why ThrivingSolo Exists

    I built this site because I believe living alone isn’t just something to “deal with”—it’s something to embrace wholeheartedly. Whether you’re someone who loves your solo space or someone still getting used to it, this is a place where you’ll find ideas, motivation, and maybe even a few laughs along the way.

    Because at the end of the day, you don’t need a full house to have a full life.

    Welcome to ThrivingSolo—let’s make the most of it.