​​​​​​​​Do you wonder what to do with your free time now that you're not drinking, using drugs, or gambling?

• Are you bored and worried you'll never really enjoy yourself again?
• Was most of your leisure time taken up with alcohol, drugs, or gambling?

Now that you're in recovery, you might want to consider how you spend your leisure time. You can feel good and have fun without alcohol, drugs, or gambling. The choices you make about how you spend your leisure time can help you get there.

In recovery, your challenge is to find things you like to do and to learn how to do them without using alcohol, using drugs, or gambling. Over time, it's important to have a good leisure routine that connects you with others and allows you to have fun in healthy ways.

What is leisure?

Leisure means different things to different people. For some, it’s playing sports or doing hobbies. For others, it’s taking a break from work, school, chores, or other duties.

Leisure might include:

• physical activities, like sports, running, or gardening
• relaxing activities, like reading a book or listening to music

You can do leisure activities alone or with others. If it’s something healthy that you enjoy and that helps you feel good, it counts as leisure.

When you're in recovery, making changes can be tough. It might take time and trying many activities before you find what you like and what you feel good doing without using alcohol or drugs. But the more you practice, the easier it will get to find healthy ways to enjoy your free time.