Chit Chat: Free Time

In most instances I think I am a very generous person but one thing I am truly selfish with is my free time. I have always been one of those people who has a lot on their plate and someone who is constantly juggling to keep up with everything going on in life. This has likely been what has lead me to feeling the constant urge to be productive. Free time is hard for me to come by and when I do have an opportunity for a little free time I have to make a conscious effort to not focus on marking tasks off my to-do list and to ignore the feeling that because I am taking the time to do something fun or to relax that I am getting behind.

It took me a long time to accept that I have to be selfish with my free time. Time is precious and very limited. Once I stepped back and realized that all of my time was getting eat up with by other people, work, commuting, errands, and obligations and I acknowledged that we have so little time that we actually get to spend doing exactly what we want I accepted that being selfish with my free time was not only totally acceptable it was the most beneficial thing for my well-being.

It is important that we spend those few hours that are truly our own doing what we want, not what we think we are supposed to be doing or what others think we are supposed to. Now I only ever give up free time very begrudgingly. Focusing on things I enjoy helps me feel like I am a much more balanced person. Sometimes I choose to spend my feel time by getting tickets to a play or the ballet, or by meeting friends for shopping and dinner, or sometimes (maybe more often than not) I choose to spend it alone at home watching a favorite movie, baking a new recipe, or reading a good book (I discussed alone time here). Free time should be a time to recharge and that is exactly how I intend to always choose to spend mine.

How do you spend your free time? Do you have any good tips on how to maximize the amount of free time you receive?

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