We’ve all had jobs which made us feel exhausted at the end of the work day and jobs which made us feel satisfied. But have you ever considered that maybe it wasn’t the job itself that made you feel like that but the way in which you passed your free time?
In other words, it is possible to make a job feel more rewarding and satisfying by recharging your batteries in your spare time. And it is possible to make a job feel more exhausting and tiring if you don’t do anything to recharge yourself in the evenings and on the weekends. You may find this difficult to believe, but it is nonetheless true. Here are a few tips to make the best use of your free time:
Relationships
Robert Waldinger, a professor at Harvard University, gave a TED talk about happiness in which he showed that the people who had good relationships in their lives were far happier than people who didn’t. So the best use you can make of your free time is to spend it developing and maintaining good relationships.
Spend quality time with your loved ones. Don’t just sit in front of the TV and watch a movie (though this can be done every so often). Make sure you actually talk to the people in your life. Find out what they’re going through. And don’t forget to share what’s going on with you as well.
Expanding the Mind
There are many activities which can help you in expanding your mind—activities in which you learn something new. This new thing can be a creative activity, such as when you learn painting or sculpting, or it can be a new piece of information, such as what you might learn by reading a history or philosophy book.
But, of course, you don’t need to expand your mind by learning new things which don’t interest you. Instead, look around for something that you genuinely find interesting. And then spend as much time on it as you can. Remember that you don’t need to be great at that activity in order to practice it. No one expects you to turn into Picasso overnight.
Wellness
There are many things that fall under the category of wellness, such as yoga, meditation, exercise, massage, healing practices like Reiki, Buddhist chanting etc. All in all, wellness is something that relaxes the mind and body, preparing it for whatever tasks you might need to do in your life and at work.
Pick a wellness practice that appeals to you. If you’re not the kind of person who likes to sit in one spot and meditate, then go for a long walk in nature instead. If you love to pamper yourself with massages, then spring for one. If you have a regular yoga class, that’s also great. What all these activities have in common is that they get rid of your “mind chatter” and allow you to think clearly.