While free time is there to spend as you please, a lot of people feel guilty for not optimizing their spare time in a way that benefits them or their lifestyle. There is a lot of pressure to make your spare time count and use it to add enjoyment and meaning to your life. While that means something different to everyone else, it may be that you lack motivation or inspiration regarding what you can do to optimize your downtime.
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Here are 5 tips for making the most of it.
Find a Casual Hobby You Love
Everybody needs a frivolous hobby which doesn’t require much energy or thought, but which brings the most joy. Forget about comparing your hobbies to what other people are doing, and find something simple which brings you joy, even if it’s a guilty pleasure. Your downtime is for you to relax and do something simple, which makes you happy.
Find a Serious Hobby to Develop Your Skill
Alongside a more casual hobby, you may also want a pastime devoted to learning and practicing a new skill. This could be:
- Leaning a new instrument
- Learning how to draw or paint
- Learning a new language
- Practicing your cooking or baking
Hobbies that require more time, attention, and devotion are great ways to develop something you’re passionate about, but be sure not to put too much pressure on yourself and burn yourself out, which can easily happen with a hobby as much as it can with your career.
Make Extra Money
If you’re someone who likes to earn any extra cash they can alongside their full-time job, then using your spare time to look for additional opportunities and add to your savings pot can be a boon.
You can easily find opportunities online and from home to do in your spare time, such as paid online surveys to earn rewards.
Or you can use your spare time to seriously plan a side business.
Help Others
Perhaps you want your spare time to have more meaning and more emotional reward for you by helping others. There are many ways you can help those in need by offering your spare time, such as voluntary work on your days off, visiting local charities, or stopping by shelters or community projects.
Or, it doesn’t even have to be a mainstream charity. You may want to help family and friends more by offering to help in your spare time, such as if an older relative needs assistance with their chores or grocery shopping.
Concentrate on Self-Care
Your downtime should also be about focusing on your own wellbeing, so make sure you always make time for that. In your spare time, be sure to set up a self-care routine in which you can allow yourself time to relax, heal, or whatever else you need to always feel your best.
Work out what self-care means to you and be sure to always implement that.
