If you recently moved out, you might quickly realize that it can get lonely living alone. It’s very common to feel that way, so here are a few tips to make the most of your time and even embrace it!
This year I moved out on my own for the very first time at the age of 28. In college, I had lots of friends and roommates. Then I moved back home to California into my parent’s house for the next 5 years.
But finally, after much thought I decided it was time to move out on my own, and I made the decision to move all the way to Seattle, where I knew literally no one.
Moving out on your own is scary. Especially when you don’t know many people around the area. And even though now we are more connected than ever as a society, there is a loneliness epidemic in our country.
Making friends is hard. Dating apps can get repetitive, boring, and unsafe. And if you work remotely like me, then you are in for a whole other level of isolation.
Now that I have been through it, here are my favorite tips that have helped me feel less lonely living alone. Hopefully, you can resonate with some of these and use them to find ways to feel a little less solitary.
This Post Is For Anyone Feeling Lonely Living Alone.
CHECK OUT THIS POST: HOW TO MANIFEST USING THE 369 METHOD
7 Tips To Deal With Being Lonely Living Alone
Reflect On What You Want To Accomplish In Life
Living alone gives you a unique opportunity to focus solely on yourself. This is a rare time in your life when you don’t have any other priorities other than doing things for just you.
Often loneliness feels like a time you just want to bypass. But you have to remind youself that this is a chapter in your life. And you can either embrace it, or let it consume you.
Journaling is a wonderful way to get to know yourself and focus on the path you want to take in life. Are there goals you want to work towards? Whether it be career goals, focusing on your health or spending extra time reading or cooking it can be fun to spend this time doing anything and everything you want to do.
Right now you have no distractions, and therefor no excuses not to get ahead in life. So try focusing on that and seeing this alone time as an opportunity to grow and figure out your life’s big picture.
Use It As An Opportunity To Work On Yourself
Dedicate your alone time to work on yourself by working out, taking online classes, or learning to cook healthy meals.
A big part of the reason I dreamed of moving out on my own is to not have any distractions while trying to better myself. I wanted the space to start good habits. Now I spend my days stretching, journaling, working out, and having the space to cook my own healthy meals all without any distractions.
Use your time alone to focus on the things you can improve on. If you already have good habits, try adding new challenges. Try learning a new language, taking a class on Skillshare, or get into reading.
There is never a point in your life where you stop learning and living alone can be your opportunity to advance and step out of your comfort zone.
Set and Stick To A Routine
Having a healthy and balanced routine can be super beneficial for your mental health. Sticking to a productive and well-balanced routine will keep you busy and focused on yourself minimizing the feeling of loneliness. Especially if you get lonely living alone.
When implementing your routine, try incorporating healthy activities and focus on yourself and your hobbies. Also try to create a balance of both activity and downtime.
I love keeping busy because it makes me feel like I have my life together, and honestly makes it so that there’s no time to feel lonely. I try to have an active routine of focusing on my physical health by incorporating stretching, walks, work, and my various hobbies.
Sitting and watching TV all day is one thing, but try focusing on creating a healthy balance in your routine and incorporating different activities you enjoy. Living alone also gives you a great opportunity to focus on your health and make time to prioritize self-care. No matter what, try sticking with it. It’s difficult at first but in a couple of weeks it will feel great to stay busy and active and you may just start to feel a little less alone.
Explore Hobbies
Let me tell you, there are endless opportunities out there for hobbies! From gardening, crocheting, reading, and cooking to hiking, playing video games, and painting there is always opportunity to mix it up and get into something new.
Im not going to lie, for the majority of my life I never had many hobbies because I could never stick to anything long-term. But then I realized, who says you have to?! Now I bounce around from one interest to another.
This year alone I have a half-finished crochet project, a few puzzles I put together and my iPad procreate app filled with doodles. And I’m already planning ahead to start up my balcony garden and my homemade sourdough starter.
The point is, there is always opportunity for you to try out a new hobby or two. You don’t have to force yourself to commit to anything long-term. If you are not sure where to start, check out this list of 101 hobbies for some inspo!
Brainstorm Ways To Meet New Friends
Finding new friends as an adult is such a challange!! Why is that? If only it was as simple as it was back in elemetery school when you could bond over something as simple as your favorite color.
These days it’s a little more complex though. But it’s still possible, if you know where to look!
Try brainstorming ways that would make sense for your lifestyle. If you like crafts, try looking for a knitting group for example. (I was once in LA and i walked into a craft store, and there were a bunch of ladies sitting around doing crafts together… I havent been able to stop thinking about it ever since! It made me want to join one too.)
But you get the point, find activities that work for you. Join group fittness classes, a hiking group, an online forum, or even bumble friends!
Also, don’t expect to go to one group fittness class (for example) and walk out with a new friend group. It takes time. But my going consitently you may eventually turn your passion for the same activity into a lifelong friendship!
Find A Third Place
You may have heard the concept of a ‘third place’ recently. I feel like it’s a new buzzword floating around. But it honestly makes a lot of sense. Back in the day people would go to school or work, home, and then a third place such as a church, cafe, mall, or park. Think of the coffee shop in Friends or the bar in How I Met Your Mother.
Recently it feels like that’s become pretty uncommon though to frequently gather with friends out in public spaces. This makes day-to-day life feel more lonely since it takes away the social interaction that comes with a third place. Now you can hang out with friends online, or Facetime. And with Covid, this divide became even more prevalent.
Try finding ways to incorporate that third place back into your life. Invite friends to go out, and meet up somewhere new. Or go out on your own and explore a local coffee shop. Spend a few hours there sipping coffee and doing work or just hanging out and people watching. It feels like a weird concept, but it really does make it feel like you are having more social interaction.
I will say though, as life gets more expensive it gets harder to justify spending money sitting at a cafe, or going out to a restaurant every day. But you can try finding ways to make this more cost effective though such as by going to a local park instead though. The point is to get outside and start meeting new people. If you go somewhere enough, you will start to recognize the people there and hopefully start becoming acquaintances and maybe even friends down the line!
Remember, The Loneliness Is Temporary
Sometimes even when trying your best to stay busy, loneliness can creep up on you. And that’s okay.
Lately, I have been trying to sit with that feeling for a while instead of running away from it. Feeling those feelings has reminded me not to take life’s exciting moments for granted. Now I get extra grateful when I do see my friends, or when I’m so busy working on something that I don’t mind that I’m alone.
Try to remind yourself that these feelings are temporary and just part of the human experience. It’s natural and normal to feel a little down occasionally. But also keep in mind that seeking help is also an option. And a friend or family member is always just a phone call away!
In conclusion, it’s important to remember that at one point or another, most of us go through periods in our lives that feel lonely. It’s a part of life and for a lot of us, it’s a part of our early adulthood. College ends, friends move on, and we are stuck in a transition period that feels lonesome and difficult.
Use this unique time to work on yourself and become the person you want to be. The loneliness won’t last forever. You have a whole future ahead to meet friends, get into relationships, have kids if you want, and many more joys yet to explore.
Above all try to remind yourself that just because you are feeling lonely living alone right now, you are never truly alone! 
