27 Productive Things To Do In Your Free Time
The amount of free time we have is really limited.
Society, the species, and people all have a role to play. If you get seven hours of sleep and eight hours of work or school, you’ll have nine hours in the day to do what you want.
This does not take into account your regular routines, such as showering, eating, and commuting.
So, most of the time, when you find yourself with spare time, you haven’t given any attention to what you should do with it.
As a result, here’s a list of ideas on how you may use that time wisely.
#1: Writing
When it comes to writing, we’ve moved from the pan to the fire. When compared to the advantages of reading, the benefits of writing are more firmly established in an individual’s communication space.
It improves your ability to communicate effectively with others, as well as your clarity of thinking and use of words.
Writing also provides advantages for your emotional well-being. As a result, you’ll be able to express yourself in a healthy way and become more conscious of your own reality.
Journaling is the most popular type of personal writing. It’s also normal to find prose poetry and lyricism that inspires your imagination.
#2: Reading
There are several advantages and benefits to reading, especially for young people.
Stress is reduced and the mind is energized by the experience. In addition, it provides a means of being exposed to the greatest minds, ideas, and tales from around the globe.
It helps you become more knowledgeable by expanding your vocabulary, and it also enhances your writing’s originality.
In addition to improving your focus and memory, reading has also been shown to help. It’s a fantastic way to spend the time.
Further Reading: How To Love Reading: 3 Simple Ways To Make Reading a Habit
#3: Keep a journal or a blog.
It’s always a good idea — and a very effective one — to keep track of your ideas, activities, and lessons learned.
You may reflect on the last week or simply the past few days and think about what you’ve learned or what you’ve accomplished. In a notebook, you may accomplish this secretly on your computer or mobile device.
For those who want to go a step further, consider setting up a personal blog that chronicles your everyday experiences in the form of weekly or monthly entries. Either way, 15 minutes a day spent writing is time well spent.
#4: Establish a regular exercise schedule.
How long have we all been trying to get started on this new project?
The workout plan is essential for maintaining a good and consistent exercise regimen, as anyone who does it frequently would attest.
I don’t have to tell you about the health advantages of exercising and staying physically healthy.
You should be able to get your hands on a few basic gym supplies. If you follow some of the exercise videos on YouTube, you don’t even need any of this equipment.
Further Reading: 10 Sure Ways To Motivate Yourself To Exercise
#5: Learn a different language.
When have you expressed an interest in learning a new language? Doubtless on several occasions throughout the years.
As a result, the moment has come for you to do so. In addition to using applications like Memrise and Duolingo, you can also hire a private instructor on a network like Preply.
#6: Your personal development plan should be reviewed and updated.
Many of the suggestions in the preceding paragraphs are geared toward things you may accomplish outside of work while still being effective.
It’s a good idea to focus on your professional capabilities and talents that you can provide for your current job and potential employers in the long run as well.
Keep your personal growth plan close at hand and seek to better both your personal and professional circumstances.
Perhaps reading books and taking a course will suffice… You should know this ahead of time in case something comes up.
Further Reading: 15 Self Improvement Tips That Will Change Your Life
#7: Take up a pastime.
When you’re not working, you should be doing something you like that isn’t related to work. For example, Steve Wozniak plays Segway polo, Warren Buffett plays ukulele, and Bill Gates enjoys bridge.
The benefits of taking a vacation and broadening your viewpoint come in many forms, including the ability to ease stress.
As a bonus, they can increase one’s sense of well-being while also fostering closer ties with others.
Is this insufficient? They may help you develop abilities like leadership, inventiveness, communication, and the executive function of the brain depending on what type of interest you are involved in.
#8: Reflect on what you’ve accomplished in your life thus far.
Every day Benjamin Franklin had a well-oiled machine. What can I do today that will be of use to others?
He would ask himself at night, “What good have I done today?” Answering these questions not only helped Franklin stay on top of his daily tasks, but it also gave him a chance to reflect on his day’s successes.
Endorphins are released as you celebrate your successes.
As a consequence, your physical and mental health improves. It also strengthens the bonds between you and your coworkers, business associates, loved ones, and friends.
When you feel like a winner, you attract even more success.
Further Reading: 15 Success Mindset Ideas To Be Successful In Life
#9: Make a point of concentrating on what you want to achieve.
Leo Babauta, the inventor of Zen Habits, recommends that you spend 10 minutes a day thinking about your personal and professional objectives.
Get started on a list of objectives if you don’t already have one.” Check over your goals and make sure they are still relevant,” says the author.
“A list of action measures you can take over the next couple of weeks to achieve these goals.” After determining the “active step that you can do today,” says Babauta, he proceeds. Achieving your objectives is more likely to happen if you keep your mind focused on them.
Further Reading: 18 Important Reasons You Should Set Goals Today
#10: Walking
However, walking is a terrific way to get your mind off of things and just appreciate the beauty of nature.
After supper, you may go for a walk around your neighborhood or take a stroll around your local park. Moreover, it’s free and offers the same advantages.
#11: Affirmation and Meditative Practices
It’s a terrific method to relieve stress, recharge your batteries, and even increase your concentration. Every day, you read or hear an affirmation, which is short, memorable, and over-the-top.
Either one of them can assist you in overcoming a negative personality characteristic, behavior pattern, or self-perceived flaw. They may also make seemingly impossible ambitions appear more doable. Even 15 minutes spent meditating with positive mantras may be quite beneficial.
#12: Participate in Online Surveys.
Additionally, you may make good use of your downtime by participating in online surveys. It’s a terrific method to make money in your leisure time by participating in internet surveys.
In return for taking surveys on their websites, companies such as Survey Junkie and Swagbucks pay you with money (or gift cards).
You don’t have to pay a dime to participate in these surveys, and you may establish an account and do a couple at a time as your schedule permits.
#13: Bake or cook
Take a look at your old cookbook or search for a new recipe online, and get to baking or cooking! (or old).
When you’re done, you’ll have a tasty snack to chew on as well as a terrific way to pass time productively.
It’s never a bad idea to give baking or cooking a shot if you’ve never done it before. Trying again isn’t mandatory if you don’t appreciate the experience; nonetheless, you have nothing to lose by giving it another shot.
#14: Go for coffee with someone you’ve known or met recently.
Are there people with whom you always say “we should really go out for lunch someday!” but never do?
Another option is that you meet someone new this week and think to yourself, “What a perfect moment to reach out to them and learn more about them!”
So, if you want to spend your spare time relaxing, you may phone them and schedule a coffee date for a couple of days from now instead of immediately inviting them over.
#15: Get your inbox in order.
Take advantage of your free time by going through your email inbox thoroughly. Over time, an overabundance of promotional emails and newsletters may clog up email inboxes.
Set up folders, categorize your emails, and then unsubscribe from any that you no longer want to receive.
Because our online lives tend to get out of hand, this is a good way to regain some kind of control over the chaos.
#16: Spend some quality time with yourself.
Do something you like in your spare time, whether it’s a self-indulgent spa day at home, a movie you’ve been meaning to see for a while, or simply sitting and resting.
For the time being, focus on whatever it is that you enjoy and find relaxing, and put off dealing with the more pressing matters of the day.
#17: Set yourself a goal.
A challenge is an excellent way to use your leisure time productively, but bear in mind that you’ll need to find creative methods to incorporate the challenge into your daily life until you complete it.
De-cluttering challenges (like this one) or reading challenges (like this one) can be done over the course of a few days or weeks, depending on your own preferences.
Further Reading: 23 Goal Setting Tips and Tricks To Boost Your Productivity
#18: Organize your home.
Even while I understand that decluttering isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, it doesn’t mean that you have to devote a whole week to the task.
In order to really declutter your home, you’ll need more time than simply 10 minutes. However, if you only have 10 minutes and notice that a certain room or area in your home needs to be cleaned up, take advantage of that time and get it done as quickly as possible.
#19: Taking a course on the internet
If you want to learn more about a certain subject but don’t want to leave the house, try searching for online classes on that topic on Google.
To get you started, there may even be a few free online courses.
#20: Paint
To unwind in a creative way at home, consider taking up painting as a hobby. It doesn’t matter if you’ve tried painting before or if you’ve never done it before.
Try your hand at watercolors, acrylic, or oil paintings if you’d like. A wide variety of methods and styles are available for practice and experimentation.
Restoring and painting antique furniture or customizing ornamental objects are some options for adding some color to your house.
Isn’t it exciting? Betterly has a Paint and Color series that includes everything you need to get started with chalk paint to decorate your own home and personal belongings to a high standard. For inventive ways to pass the time during downtime, check out this series, which includes over 30 hours of original projects.
#21: Listen to podcasts
Listening to podcasts is a great way to keep yourself entertained and stimulated at the same time. Regardless of what you’re interested in, there are countless podcasts to choose from.
The other activities on this list can also be paired with listening to podcasts. While you’re organizing, decluttering, walking, cooking, or crafting, listen to your favorite podcast. It’s a great way to spice things up!
#22: Self-assessment meetings are a great idea!
In our hyper-busy lives, we don’t take time to check in with ourselves to determine if our course is correct.
Sit down with a notebook if you have a few extra minutes and plan out some ideas. You need to know what you want and how you can get there.
Consider how much effort individuals devote to organizing special occasions like parties and weddings, compared to the time they devote to making long-term plans for their future. Focus on what’s important in your life.
Further Reading: How To Plan Your Future Life
#23: Rework Your Finances
Take a look at your finances and see if they’re still working for you. Time to update your budget if you haven’t done so in a while.
Managing a budget is not a one-time errand. You have to keep an eye on it all the time.
Further Reading: How to Stop Your Toxic Money Habits and Get Rich Quick
#24: Inviting Friends to a Party
As far as I’m concerned, hanging out with pals is likewise a constructive use of time! Evenings spent at a friend’s house or weekends spent with pals who live far away bring me great delight.
Make plans with a buddy you haven’t seen in a while and go out for dinner or drinks!
#25: Remove Your Email Subscription
Make the most of the time you’re clearing out your inbox by unsubscribing from unwanted emails. Most of us are inundated with promotional emails on a daily basis and pay little attention to them. We simply delete them without reading them or giving them a second thought in order to stop receiving them.
If you find yourself deleting all of a company’s marketing emails without even reading them, unsubscribe immediately.
#26: Make a Copy of Your Data
The last time you made a copy of your data is probably long gone. In the past several years, I’ve learned a hard lesson when my computer was submerged in water and I couldn’t retrieve anything!
I now meticulously back up all of my data on both my PC and my mobile phone to ensure that this never occurs again! “
#27: Examine Your 90-Day Calendar.
Today, time flies past in a matter of seconds. There seems to be something going on every weekend, and it may be difficult to keep track of it all at times.
A good time to check your schedule and make sure you haven’t forgotten anything is right now if you’ve got a lot planned for the next few months.
Next Read:
