potter about/around (American English, putter)
verb phrase

- to move about without hurrying and in a relaxed and pleasant way

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

The verb potter originally meant "to poke again and again," from poten, meaning to "push, poke," and stems from the Old English potian "to push". The sense of "occupy oneself in a trifling way" is first recorded 1740. In this context, potter is often used together with the prepositions "about" and "around."

The phrase "pottering about" draws up images of retirement activities, whether shuffling around in the garden, the garage or the workshop. Some research suggests however that pottering around might even help combat rising weight, particularly for people who spend most of the day strapped to an office chair.

A study led by Professor Marc Hamilton from the University of Missouri-Columbia in the United States, has discovered radical differences in the way the body’s metabolism behaves when people stand, compared with sitting, with fat more likely to be burnt than stored. The researchers said that an enzyme that helps the body break down fat is also suppressed, close to the point of shutting down, after a day without movement.

It seems that many of the changes in the body between total inactivity and "pottering about" were more extreme than those between pottering and more vigorous exercise. So,... just take it easy!

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SYNONYMS

muck about, muck around, mess around, tinker, monkey around

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation:

"I like POTTERING AROUND the garden at the weekend."