Solo Dates

One of my goals for this year is to take myself on more solo dates. I did this quite a lot anyway as I love spending time with myself. I wanted to make it more intentional, mindful and special. My minimum is one date per month but hopefully I can do more.

January

January’s solo date was a trip to the cinema, which is one of my favourite things to do that I don’t do enough of. I especially enjoy going by myself, as there is no compromise over the film you watch and no wondering if the other person is enjoying it taking you out of paying full attention.

I have realised one of my favourite types of films are ones about musicians’ lives – like Elivs, Bohemiam Rhapsody and Rocketman. I always find them interesting, inspiring and entertaining. So of course when I heard about the Whitney Houston film, I knew this was what I was going to watch. An added bonus was that I didn’t know much about her or her life so I was going into it blind.

I absolutely loved it from start to finish! Whitney lived an interesting but tragic life. This film had me laughing and crying. I learned so much about Whitney’s life and it broke my heart. I also discovered a new-found love and appreciation for her music and her voice.

February

My original plan for February’s solo date was to take myself out for dessert, however I had my first paycheck from my new job, got a bit over-excited by it and ended up with no money for the rest of the month so had to re-think my plan.

I booked some annual leave and decided to have a full day to myself, just doing things around the house that I find fun and relaxing and making the day special.

I started off the day by going for a run. I’m training for a half marathon later in the year and I’m really enjoying having the extra push. A run first thing is always a great start to my day. I got home, got ready for the day and decided to wear clothes that I felt good in but were also comfortable for staying around the house all day. I did my make up as I would on any other date.

For breakfast I made myself ‘spicy beans on toast’, which is slightly elevated beans on toast, consisting of fried onions and garlic and some spices. Although just slightly different from regular beans on toast, once you’ve had it, you will struggle going back to the original.

I spent a few hours reading and putting some photos in an album. I put food in the slow cooker for a comfort meal later of spag bol.

After my lunch of leftovers, I went for a walk to the local cathedral gardens. I spent time taking in the surroundings, the beginning signs of spring, and did some journalling. I decided to do some geo caching on my way home. For those of you who don’t know, geo caching is essentially a big, world-wide treasure hunt. People can hide small objects in public places for you to sign and tick off. It is so simple but so fun. And I found one!

I came home and did more of the above, before watching ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ whilst eating my spag bol and garlic bread. When this ended I had a relaxing bath, complete with candles and a bath bomb.

I have been enjoying spending more intentional time with myself, loving my own company and loving myself as a person.

Some of the future solo date ideas I have include:

• dessert
• museum trip
• picnic
• beach trip
• night away
• meal out

I would love to hear from you if you spend time with yourself like this and take yourself on ‘dates’. Maybe you do but you have never thought of them as ‘dates’ before. Will this shift your perspective on spending time alone? What are your favourite ways to date yourself or spend time alone?