With the new year here, working on ways to improve yourself and your use of time is not uncommon. There’s something about a fresh start that makes us want to better ourselves.
If you fall into this camp, read on to find ways to be productive in your free time that will support your health, wellness, work and personal life to be the best version of yourself. Let’s take a look!
Care for Your Health and Wellness
Caring for your health and wellness is always a productive and valuable way to spend your time. It can be done in all shapes and forms and can even look different from person to person. Generally speaking, though, activities like the ones below are productive ways to care for your wellness:
Exercise
Whether you walk, run, hike, swim or rock climb, moving your body is a simple and effective way to care for your physical and mental health. In fact, it’s been found to reduce stress and depression and even enhance self-esteem.
Practice Mindfulness
Slow your breathing and heart rate, and reduce stress with mindfulness activities like meditation, gratitude practices or journaling.
Visit Family & Friends
Catching up with loved ones is a simple way to support your mental health and strengthen these relationships.
Create
Taking the time to do something creative, be it painting, knitting, crocheting or building a model, benefits your mental health.
Earn An Extra Income
If you’d like to save for a trip, support your favourite hobby or simply reach your savings goals faster, this is an excellent use of your free time. Below are a few ideas for how you can make a little extra money in your free time:
Start a Dropshipping Business or Etsy Shop
Etsy and dropshipping businesses are easy to set up and can help you make extra money towards your goals. If you have an internet connection and laptop, you have everything you need to get started on this.
Start Freelancing
Platforms like UpWork, Fiverr and Behance make it simple to start freelancing and finding projects based on your existing skill set.
Play Professional Poker
If you’re a skilled card player who always seems to win the pot, why not try to take it to a professional level with online poker? You can find over 160 games available at PartyCasino.
Take Online Surveys
Online surveys are a simple way to earn extra cash without using all of your free time. You can find paid surveys through websites like Swagbucks.
Polish Your Professional Life
Polishing your resume or professional skill set is not confined to your nine-to-five. You can take on tasks in your free time that will benefit your professional life. A few ways to polish your professional life include:
Update Your Resume & LinkedIn Profile
Brush up on resume writing and LinkedIn best practices and prepare your resume and profile should a job opportunity arise.
Take a Course
Taking the time to stay updated on your industry’s best practices with a course (like those available through LinkedIn Learning) is a great way to use your free time. It shows dedication to your work and gives you more techniques and tools to get your job done.
Attend a Networking Event or Seminar
Another fantastic way to polish your professional skills is to attend networking events or seminars to chat with like-minded people and learn more about your industry and profession.
Empty Your Inbox & Organise Your Files
This lets you be more efficient and organised in your work and is just a great overall way to feel more professional and put together during your workday.
Organise Your Personal Life
Organising your personal life is an excellent way to take care of your future self and enjoy the feeling of productivity. A few ways to organise your life include:
Write a To-Do List
Get all those should-, need- and want-to-dos into a physical list to free up mental energy and get started on actually doing them.
Budget & Organise Your Finances
Budgeting is one of the best ways to stay on top of your financial health and benefit your future self. You can set and track goals and even consider where you could be saving or earning a little more (that’s where using your free time for a side income can help).
Declutter & Deep Clean
Cleaning and decluttering your home are not only productive things to do; they will also leave you feeling accomplished.
Challenge Your Mind
Challenging your mind is both productive and touches upon other components mentioned in this list, like caring for your health and wellness. Challenging your brain has many benefits and can be done in enjoyable ways. Here are a few ideas to do so:
Learn a New Language
The advent of apps like Duolingo and Babble makes learning a new language easy, accessible and fun. You can even learn the made-up languages from your favourite sci-fi and fantasy stories, like Klingon and High Valyrian.
Watch a Documentary
Indulge in the relaxation of unwinding in front of the TV while gaining new perspectives, facts and a more robust understanding of the world by watching a documentary.
Learn a New Hobby
Whether picking up a new instrument, learning a new craft, trying a new sport or taking classes for something you’ve always wanted to try, learning something new is a fantastic way to challenge your mind and be productive during your spare time.
Play Brain Games
Brain games, like Sudoku and Solitaire, are a fun pastime that supports your brain health and memory.
Read
Diving into a story of another time, a new subject or another world entirely challenges your mind and opens it up to an array of perspectives and ideas.
Do Nothing at All
Taking the time to rest is essential, even if it doesn’t look productive or leave you feeling like you’ve accomplished something. Because of this, the last thing on this list is the acknowledgement that sometimes, the most productive thing you can do is nothing at all. Consider this your permission slip to give yourself time with no agenda every now and then.
