Our favourite “me time” activities at the cabin

A good hike is an introspective, meditative experience, which makes it a pretty great solo activity. Going for a good long walk can clear your head, and give you a chance to slow down and appreciate the natural world around you.

Cooking for others can be a pleasure, but cooking a great meal for yourself allows you to focus entirely on your own culinary favourites. Does your partner hate olives but you love them? Put a double-dose on your pizza! Cooking is often done in a rush, but getting to slowly create a beautiful meal is a wonderful luxury.

A spa day is the perfect way to pamper yourself, and it’s a great opportunity to focus on yourself. Get a massage, sit in the hot tub, or do a nice, long workout at the gym. Whatever you choose to do, you’ll come out of it feeling relaxed and recharged.

With the endless stream of articles, thinkpieces, and rants online, it’s easy to forget that reading can be a relaxing experience. However, digging out an old favourite or a new book that you’ve been meaning to get to, and taking a few quiet hours to yourself to dig in will reintroduce you to the pleasures of the page.

So many amazing writers have found inspiration during time spent alone at cabins. Thoreau wrote Walden in a simple cabin by a pond; Roald Dahl wrote in a quirky little hut, crammed with photos and knickknacks; Virginia Woolf composed her masterpieces in a simple shed. Being at the cabin gives you a clearer outlook on the world around you, and that is the perfect mindset from which to write.

Music is the backdrop to our lives. It plays in elevators, in shops, at restaurants, on the phone as you sit on hold. However, the opportunity to sit and listen deeply to music arises rarely. Next time you an unclaimed hour or too, why not dig out a favourite album, turn on your best speakers, and really listen? You might just reawaken a love affair with music.

Looking at art has been proven to decrease stress and engage pleasures centres in the brain. Most of us don’t get enough time to appreciate art, so make a date with yourself to check out a local gallery or museum.

While looking at art is good for your brain, making art is actually even better for developing neural pathways. It can also be a great way of getting to know yourself better. Whether you prefer painting, doodling with markers, sculpting, or some other mode of creative production, you’ll feel the benefits from taking time to express yourself through art.

Yoga is great for both your body and your psyche. However, it’s rare to have the space, silence, and solitude required for a good yoga session. The cabin is a simple solution to all of these problems. And if you need to be led through a workout, you can find lots of classes online or on DVD.

The cabin is a great place to develop your carpentry, crafting, and cooking skills. Perhaps you want to put together a birdfeeder for the back yard, or maybe you have some old pallets that are dying to be made into planters. Perhaps you have a pile of berries that you want to make into jam. Whatever you feel your cabin needs, you can probably take steps toward doing it yourself. And if you don’t have a project in mind, well, that’s what Pinterest is for.