Weed does not have a reputation for productivity. Quite the opposite, actually. Most stoner stereotypes involve laziness, junk food, and forgetfulness over productivity and learning, but if you’re familiar with recreational weed consumption, you probably know that getting a little high can do wonders for your focus. And if you smoke weed medically, chances are it also makes it easier for you to perform some tasks.
I preach a lot about the importance of using weed to enhance your life rather than as a form of escapism. There’s nothing wrong with spending a few hours smoking on the couch eating Cheetos and keeping up with the Kardashians, but if that’s all you do when you smoke then you’re missing out on the opportunity to try something new or test your laser focus and get a bunch of shit done.
That being said, here are some hobbies and activities that are great to do while you’re high besides watch TV and listen to music.
Knitting & Crocheting
If you smoke to relax and unwind, knitting is a great addition to this ritual for several reasons. The visual and tactile stimulation lowers stress and anxiety levels, and the repetitive movement is easy to do while high once you get the stitches down and muscle memory takes over. It’s a mindless and relaxing activity with a bonus blanket/scarf/dog sweater at the end.
Interested in learning to knit or crochet? Skillshare offers online video classes for beginners to advanced students, in everything from basics and techniques to specific project knit-alongs.
Not sure what to knit or crochet? Knit for charity! Knots of Love accepts warm knit items for chemotherapy patients experiencing hair loss and premature infants in the NICU. Check out their website for guidelines, patterns, and lists of what products are needed in hospitals across the country.
Gardening
If you can’t grow weed, or even if you can grow weed, grow the next best thing – food! Or flowers. Or cactuses. Or trees, or whatever your heart desires. The point is to get your hands in some soil and experience the earth in whatever small way you can. I’ve always had a deep fascination with the colors, smells, and cycles of nature, but observing it all through a grassy lens has deepened my fascinations even further. Everything is connected to everything. All we are is dust in the wind. Nature is so weird.
Existential crisis aside, it is both meditative and rewarding to grow a garden and tend to it throughout the season. I grow a container garden on my balcony (the ideal spot for a smoke sesh) so I have fresh mint leaves to chew and tomatoes to eat fresh off the vine all summer. Heaven.
No space for a garden? This windowsill herb garden tub self-waters, looks nice just about anywhere and costs less than 40 bucks. I use one to grow spinach year-round instead of buying bagged salad mix every week. If you live in a city, another option is to look into community gardening projects to either volunteer services (and learn some skills in the process) or rent your own plot.
Cooking & Baking
If you smoke weed and don’t cook, you’re doing it wrong. (Kidding, you can do what you want) (for real though, you’re kind of doing it wrong). Cooking is another meditative process that’s even more enjoyable while stoned, and it’s just as rewarding to do by yourself at a leisurely pace while listening to music, or with a group of friends as a social activity. Plus, you get to chow down on something delicious at the end that probably contains a tenth of the amount of salt you’d get in a restaurant dish.
I have an obsession with cooking (and eating) Asian cuisine. I think part of it is because the recipes are pretty easy once you’re stocked with the staples (soy sauce, fish sauce, sriracha, chili paste, hoisin sauce), and the end product almost always tastes like a decadent takeout dish. Plus, it’s hard to fuck up rice and noodles. This recipe for honey sriracha noodle bowls will give your favorite takeout place a run for its money. If you want to get serious in the kitchen, Craftsy has a whole section dedicated to Asian cuisine. Get a group of friends together, smoke down, and master the art of dumpling making.
If that’s all more than you’re ready to take on, here are three recipes I love that are so easy, Donald Trump could probably make them as long as someone read him the directions:
3-ingredient chocolate cherry cake – You could make other cakes in the future, but you probably never will after this. I make this with my best friend whenever one of us gets our period. I will probably make it for the birthdays of all my future children. Same thing, right?
3-ingredient bagel toad in the hole – All you need is a bagel, egg, and some butter and you’ve got a delicious, filling, yolk-porny meal in less than 5 minutes. I like to top mine with hot sauce and green onions.
3-ingredient rustic crusty bread – Describe this recipe in three words: warm mouth pillows. Describe this recipe in one word: BREEEEAAAAAAAAADDDDD!!!!
Illustrating / Painting / Coloring
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why adult coloring books spiked in popularity during (and after) the 2016 election. Sometimes all you can do to keep your sanity is rage-color some reefer madness mandalas while watching Broad City, and that’s OK because it’s well known that coloring and painting are great for stress and anxiety. Not to mention, if you’ve ever done this with a group of friends you’ll probably find the conversations tend to get deep and interesting, especially when a joint is involved and you’re coloring cats and swear words.
If you want to step past the adult coloring books and learn some skills, all 403 episodes of The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross are available on his YouTube channel.
Learn Design / Photoshop / Illustrator
If you work on the internet, or even if you don’t work on the internet, it’s incredibly handy to have some basic design skills, if not full fluency in programs like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. It’s handy if you ever want to start a business, create a personal brand, or have an engaging social media presence that you’ve made yourself.
Skillshare offers expert-led classes on the basics of all of Adobe’s programs, plus more specific courses like logo design, a beginner’s guide to animating custom GIFs, lettering for designers, design tips using color and shapes, and much more. The best thing about online classes is nobody knows you’re high but you, so you can go through the course modules at your own pace and allow your cannabis-infused creativity to take the lead.
What’s your favorite productive thing to do while high?