hm... well i'm in the local SU's chess society and play interuniversity matches with the team. i wouldn't say it's spare time though, it's more like i take time off in order to squeeze that in. we PhDs don't have Wednesday afternoons "off" like undergrads! i'm further thinking of volunteering to teach children chess in my neighbourhood, saturday mornings.
most of my evenings i spend on the phone with my partner who unfortunately lives in a different country.
i'm taking it you're not referring to what we do for procrastination...
Aside form the procrastinating activities (email, youtube, important cleanings tasks etc) I learn Swedish (self taught, but start classes next month), knit a scarf and gawp at animals in pet shops. If only my stipend would cover a parrot
Please don't buy a parrot unless you plan being at home all the time with it. They need as much attention as a child otherwise they can become depressed and damage themselves, I speak from experience.
I know - it would require as much attention as a toddler and I just can't give it that. Or spare the stipend money to cover piles of fresh fruit and vets bills. I'll stick with the goldifsh!
I go to the gym quite a lot, but getting bored of that so might pick a new hobby. I want a sewing machine so I can make curtains. I painted my front door at the weekend, I'm so rock n roll I make Pete Doherty look boring.
We've got a fat mental cat who entertains in my spare time with his weird foot fetish and bum-waving, and the vet fees are worth every penny. He knows when I'm bored of writing by sitting on my laptop so I can't work. Apart from that yoga is a great way of unwinding and meeting non-Phd people (I used to think it was boring, but it just took me a while to get into it). Most of my PhD friends go to counselling as their hobby though!
katq - My mum bought me a sewing machine for finishing my PhD last week - she is such a wonderfully practical woman. Although she has always encouraged me to go to university and "have a career", I am sure deep down inside a small part of her wishes I was a 1950s, stay-at-home mum who sews curtains and clothes for my 5 children all day! First sewing target on my list - curtains! I am so excited and off to buy some fun material on my day off today.
John Lewis has a really good department, but I'm in London, maybe they don't elsewhere. Get a starter kit as then you will know you have the right thickness wool and gauge needles and stuff.
I'm a bit too enthusiastic about knitting - must get back to science
ooooh - i was going to resist the knitting 'thread' (sorry) but i can't (i'm like you katq!). please don't buy from JL until u know it's something ur gonna stick with though - just go to some charity shops (the source of all my stock) or beg off an old friend/relative while u learn. once u get used to substituting yarns in patterns for cheap ones you manage to get hold of, the results are truly unique! sometimes people donate whole knotting bags from some old dear whose clever fingers are past their prime - you can get sets of needles, stitch holders etc etc for next to nothing.