You find yourself with free time. How are you going to spend it?
Time is a limited resource for all of us. If we had more time we’d prioritize our self-care or spending time with loved ones or working on our dream goals.
We all feel like we don’t have enough time to spare, and yet, when we do find ourselves with a rare afternoon or evening off, we somehow find a way to misuse our time. Scrolling mindlessly through Instagram’s Explore page or reading online articles that we can’t seem to recall afterwards. Before we know it, our free block of time has passed and we feel guilty for not having much to show for it.
This isn’t to say that we should fill up every minute of our days, but if you’re tired of feeling like you’re wasting valuable time, then you need to start re-evaluating how you spend it.
It will help to start assessing how you’re managing your free time so that you can learn how to replace those distracting activities with more meaningful ones.
How to make your alone time more meaningful
First things first, you’ll want to clearly define how you’d like to be spending your free time. What does an ideal morning, afternoon, or evening off look like for you?
- Maybe your ideal morning is calming and positive. Doing gentle morning stretches. Writing in your journal. Preparing a healthy breakfast for yourself.
- Or maybe your ideal afternoon is going for a long run in the park or a hike with your dog.
- Or maybe your ideal evening is spending time alone, working on your dream projects, or brainstorming ideas for your business.
It’s helpful to spell out how you’d like to ideally spend your free time so that you can actually prioritize and see yourself doing those things.
Establish the right conditions for yourself
Another way to make time with yourself more meaningful is to make sure that your internal and external state are in harmony. Let’s take a closer look at what we mean by that.
Your internal state is your mindset or attitude. If you’re aiming to be productive with your alone time then you’ll want an internal state that is focused, motivated, and energized. Or if you want your time alone to be about self-care, then you’ll want your internal state to be one that is ready to slow down and be attentive.
Your external state is your physical environment like your office space or home. A calm and organized space also makes you feel more calm and organized. An environment that is cluttered and messy, on the other hand, can make you feel stressed and disorganized.
As you can see, your external state can affect the way you feel internally. So it’s really important that you set up your physical space in such a way that it’s conducive to focus or productivity or self-care.
So the next time you’re looking to make your free time more meaningful, spend a few minutes the day before to set yourself up for success the next day. Whether it’s clearing your desk at the end of the day or tidying up your living room, this little prep work up top will go a long way toward using your time more wisely.
How to discover your “cues” to transition into the right state of mind
So you have a free night to yourself and you don’t want to spend it on your phone. What can you do to ensure that your time alone is well spent?
If you’re looking to spend your time working on your dream goals or being focused and productive, then don’t try to jump into that activity right away. It’s much easier to start off with a simpler activity that will “cue” your mind and prepare it for doing focused work.
For example, lots of people find it useful to wash the dishes before doing something that requires focus and efficiency. Maybe it’s because the act of washing dishes and doing something mundane puts you in a state of mindfulness. This rote activity can help center your mind and make you feel more relaxed. Afterwards, you’ll be in the right frame of mind to do an activity or task that requires your full focus and concentration.
Here are some ideas for transitional activities:
Organizing your calendar. There is something deeply calming and meditative about planning your schedule on paper. Adding deadlines, special events, and reminders is a low stakes way to get all your ducks in a row and give yourself a feeling of accomplishment. It’s also a simple activity to get yourself into a calm and relaxed state. Organizing yourself is a great way to spend your free time, and it can also help you segue into a more challenging task like editing a paper or drafting a report.
Writing in your journal. Getting all your thoughts and feelings out on paper is a great exercise to do before transitioning to another task. While scrolling on your phone to destress is a go-to option for many of us, it can also feel incredibly mind-numbing or even make you feel more anxious. But with journal writing, you get to dump out everything that’s floating through your mind and organize your thoughts on the page. The care and attention you give to yourself is always time well-spent.
Going for a long walk. Another activity that will help you achieve a state of mindfulness is a long, leisurely walk. Use this time to empty out your mind and pay attention to what’s around you. You might be tempted to toil away at your desk but it’s important to step away, get some fresh air, and get the blood flowing. And when you return to your desk, you’ll even find that the walk has helped you unlock solutions to problems or discover new ideas.
Feeling inspired? You can find more ideas on what to do with your downtime in this article.
Written by JiJi Lee
