How much unstructured time do you have everyday? This would be different if you work for yourself or work from home, if you are a housewife with helpers to support you or if you work long hours six days a week? What do you consider free time and why do we all crave it? What is it that we really want to do that we feel we are not already doing? This is a short piece as I want to be true to the title and not have you spending too much of time reading articles online. It is only long enough to nourish and tickle your mind.
What do you hear yourself complaining about often? Have you noticed that you often say you don’t have enough time to do a lot of the things that you want to do and the things you feel you should be doing? I should meditate, I should walk, I should spend more time with my family, I should, I should but I don’t have the time.
Well, the first step in making the most of your free time, is to find ways to ensure more free time every day and every week. Next, notice all the things that you are waiting to do and the times you catch yourself using the “I don’t have the time” reason for not doing the things you so want to do. Next, work on eliminating the “shoulds”. If it is stuff you want to do to better your life, then realise that they are “want to dos” and not “should dos”.
What is important to you? Do you want to learn more, nurture your friendships and relationships, get more progress on a project you have held dear to your heart for years? I don’t mean to tell you not to watch TV, browse on social media or just chill, but I am saying that if you spend your free time doing stuff that you enjoy, that nourishes your mind, body or relationships, you will be a happier and more fulfilled person.
If you knew you only had a week to live, who would you want to meet and connect with, which places would you like to visit, what parts of nature would you want to spend time with, what unfinished work would you like to complete, which books or movies would you want to finish, what would you be wishing you had taken the time to do? If your health and body is failing would you be wishing that you had taken more time out to exercise and relax? Will you be regretting that you didn’t write or paint more or perhaps play more music?
What are your time-wasters? Are you really wasting that time, because these activities are fulfilling a need you have, perhaps they give you pleasure and you have fun doing them, I would not call it wasting time, unless you are not frugal in the distribution of this precious commodity which is time.
Do you just love helping people no matter what sort of help they require? If this is something that you hold as precious, then acknowledge it and don’t think of it as wasting time; it is time well spent.
Don’t be too hard on yourself, there was a time when if I was not researching or studying more about human potential and coaching, or any kind of personal development, I felt guilty. Now I choose to read for pleasure and it fulfils me and it is when I am not looking for insight and value where I stumble upon the biggest gems!
Leisure time is important, it frees your mind so you can be creative instead of always pumping it with all the things you SHOULD be doing. Guilt is a futile emotion. It is just our mind’s way of feeling better about doing or not doing something we think we should be. Eliminate guilt, and only do what you really want to do and let’s face it, either do it or don’t; feeling guilty is a waste of time.
It is not so much about not doing something, or doing more of another; it is about prioritising the activity and measuring it with the fulfillment it gives you. Then look at the value of this fulfillment, how much is it adding to your life?
This little exercise will give you insight as to what is truly important to you and help you not only plan what you will do in your free time from now, but also find ways to ensure you have more free time every single day to accomplish all this and more. Even sitting on the couch, watching a TV show with someone you love, while you paint your nails can be very fulfilling and great use of your free time.
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