Why it’s important to master the art of leisure
During an average 24-hour period, there are probably three major demands on your time. These are the:
- Hours you spend working
- Time you need to sleep
- Things you have to do, such as looking after your children, household chores, and shopping.
This leaves the remaining time for leisure activities.
There are countless books about how to make a success of your working life, as well as guides explaining the importance of developing skills and prioritising your professional development.
Likewise, you can find plenty of articles about the health and productivity benefits of a good night’s sleep, and how to ensure you get one.
But how many articles or books have you seen about making the most of your leisure time?
You should appreciate the importance of your leisure time
As I alluded to in the introduction to this article, the temptation is to see leisure time as simply what’s left after work, sleep, and other things you have to do.
However, downgrading it in this way means you’re liable to miss out on the immense fulfilment that making the most of your leisure time can provide you with.
Used properly, it can be an essential counterbalance to the challenges and stresses of work. It can also help improve your overall health and wellbeing, as well as help define who you are and make you a better person.
The key point is that you need to be serious about how you fill your leisure time to get the most from it. It’s not just a case of switching off and relaxing. Indeed, there’s a good argument to suggest that you should plan it in almost the same way as you do with your working career.
With that in mind, here are four suggestions as to how you can get full value out of your leisure time.
1. Pre-plan your leisure time
One common problem with leisure time is the fact that it’s all too easy to become distracted and lose focus on what you’re doing.
The best way to avoid this is to clearly designate a certain period of time, and then take necessary steps to maximise that time and minimise interruptions.
So, if you decide you’re going to spend an hour reading, put your phone on silent and out of reach, and block all distractions. You should appreciate that it is crucial time. Have a drink with you, so you aren’t distracted by something else if you need to get one.
Likewise, if you decide to go out for a walk, vow not to take your phone with you so you avoid the inevitable distractions it will bring.
2. Create targets for yourself
As humans, we are naturally driven by targets.
For example, you will have them at work, both for short-term productivity as well as for your own longer-term career progression.
When it comes to your health too, the idea of “five-a-day” is resonant because it provides you with a specific target, rather than your doctor suggesting you broadly eat more fruit and vegetables.
In the same way, targets can help you maximise your leisure time.
You may set yourself a target to read a certain number of books in a month or year, or develop an enjoyment of a new genre of music you’ve always meant to try and appreciate.
If you’re taking up a new hobby, target a certain level of skill, such as a golf handicap, or a certain distance cycled. Likewise, if you decide to learn a foreign language, aim to reach a certain fluency so that you can hold your own conversationally the next time you are where it is spoken.
3. Set aside specific contemplation time
When it comes to filling your leisure time, there’s nothing wrong with setting aside certain periods of time to do nothing.
Meditation can have a positive impact on both your mental and physical wellbeing, and can help reduce stress and improve the quality of your sleep.
The important thing is to find a method that suits you and that you’re comfortable with. The NHS has produced a beginner’s guide, which could be a good starting point.
As well as meditation, you could also consider combining the time for quiet thought and contemplation with a physical activity, such as going for a walk or a cycle ride.
4. Avoid getting tied to screens
Clearly, there’s no reason why your leisure time shouldn’t involve watching television. But from the point of view of getting the most out of the time you devote to leisure activities, it can help to strictly demarcate the time.
If there’s a programme you want to watch between 8 and 9 pm, switch on when it starts and then turn off when it finishes.
Similarly, if you’re catching up on a series, allow yourself to watch one or two episodes, then switch off. If you binge-watch five or six episodes, how much of what you watch do you genuinely remember?
The same rationale can apply to your phone. Simply “doomscrolling” through social media can send you down fruitless rabbit holes that will add no value. Indeed, they can raise your stress levels, and make it hard to focus on other activities.
It can pay dividends in terms of your wellbeing if you are strict with yourself and limit your access and usage.
Positive leisure habits will stand you in good stead during your retirement
You may have read an article about the four phases of retirement that I wrote last year.
In it, I looked at the long-term changes to your routine that a life without work will bring you, and how important it is to have an effective and productive approach to your leisure time.
After all, once you stop working, one of the three demands on your time that you read about at the start of this article immediately disappears, and frees up a lot of hours in your day.
Work provides you with structure in your life, and it’s important to ensure you find this in retirement as well.
So, having a clear idea of what you want to get out of your leisure time can really help you make the most of your retirement years.
Get in touch
If you would like to talk about planning for your own retirement or any of the issues raised in this article, please get in touch.
You can call me on 07769 156 250.
Please note
This blog is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.
Please do not act based on anything you might read in this article. All contents are based on our understanding of HMRC legislation, which is subject to change.
A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until 55 (57 from April 2028). The fund value may fluctuate and can go down, which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
