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4 Productive and Useful Things to Do in Your Free Time

For many people, free time can be a bit of a two-edged sword. On the one hand, more free time means more space just to be you. On the other hand, without the pressure of a packed schedule, all that freedom can rapidly transform into boredom, listlessness, and a sense of “treading water” in life. Who needs that? The tricky question is, how do you structure all that delicious freedom just enough to make it productive and life-affirming? Here are four options you might like to consider.

Build a Side Income

I know, I know. You just escaped the clutches of capitalism. Why on earth would you march right back into the moneymaking maelstrom? Well, here’s the thing. If you do it right, building a side hustle can be as fun as it is profitable. The trick is to find an approach you enjoy, and which meshes well with your personality and skills.

Learning how to make money online is not a one-size-fits-all deal. You’re going to want to employ a healthy level of skepticism as you research the possibilities. Still, you’ll also benefit from reflecting carefully on the kinds of activities that excite you. If you’re an extrovert and love online networking, lead generation may be nirvana for you. Building a name as a writer may well be the hustle for you if you lean more to solitude.

The point here is, now may well be a rare opportunity in your life to pursue an income source you genuinely enjoy! You can’t get much more productive and useful than that.

Set a (Well-Chosen) Fitness Goal

Before delving into why setting a fitness goal can make a lot of sense, I think it’s essential to get one disappointing reality of fitness goal-setting out into the open. Fitness goals are famous for not being achieved. Many gyms base their whole profit model on the assumption that more than half the folks who make a new year’s resolution to get fit will give up some time around mid-January.

So perhaps your challenge is to set the right fitness goal. Instead of aiming for the stars, consider setting a specific, measurable, achievable, and time-bound goal. For example, you might decide to hit 50 push-ups or run your first 5K. By giving yourself a practical purpose, it becomes much easier to stay motivated and focused.

Another option that works for a lot of people is to build a support network around you. Family and friends are a great go-to, but if you prefer something a little less confronting, consider joining a fitness community like Daily Burn.

Discover a New Hobby

It’s one of the unfortunate paradoxes of existence that, just as we enter a stage of adult life where we have the disposable income to fund a hobby, it suddenly becomes somehow irresponsible to spend time pursuing it. But with a sudden treasure trove of time on your hands, now may well be the right time to pursue that pastime you’ve long admired from afar.

Are you struggling to think of a hobby? One mind hack to circumvent this kind of creative block is to think back to what you loved doing as a kid. Chances are, some small part of your adult brain can experience that same childish glee — if you let it!

Another trick for making a hobby truly rewarding is to avoid thinking of it in sensible terms. You needn’t have goals. It needn’t be profitable. You shouldn’t have to prove to the world that you are terrific at it. Most importantly, there is no earthly reason why your enjoyment of your newfound hobby should depend on anyone else’s opinion.

A hobby is one of the best ways to let go of the world’s daily practical stresses. All you have to do is give yourself time and permission to enjoy it.

Build Up Your Friendships

Friendships are easy when we’re children. As a general rule, our innocent version 1.0 selves tends to be open to all kinds of associations, and maintaining these friendships is as easy as spending time with one another. Adults, as a general rule, have a tougher time with attachments. Work responsibilities get in the way, life baggage happens, and it’s all too easy to find a thousand petty judgments and preconceived notions casting a gray shadow over the potential for meeting someone new.

With time on your hands, now may be a golden moment to push through that. This article in Psychology Today may offer some useful insight, particularly in focusing on quality over quantity, embracing the challenges of adult friendships, and finding a way to integrate more meaningful relationships into your daily life.

Ultimately, free time is a gift. And like any gift, you’ll get the most out of it if you use it wisely and savor every moment. Whether you choose to spend that time building an income, getting buff, finding a new passion, or making a new friendship, do what you have to do to make that precious time count.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sarah Sasani .