When you lead a busy lifestyle, whether that is by working full time or engaged with family commitments, the evenings and weekends might be the only free time that you have for yourself.
Unfortunately, many people will spend their free time doing nothing. Or worse, doing chores and scrolling social media.
It can be challenging when you are so busy in the week, to have the motivation to do anything in the evenings or weekends. Not to mention the time you don’t have in the week to do your household chores, so you must catch up with all the cleaning, washing, organising and cooking in your free time. You’re then too tired to do anything else so you sit and scroll on social media for the rest of the time.
Then, before you know it, it is Sunday night and you are getting ready for work, only to repeat the same all over again.
You only get one life, and if you continue to live it this way, you are likely to look back with a lot of regret. Don’t let your evenings and weekends become dull, boring and lifeless.
This can lead to feeling unhappy. It can also lead to social isolation, mental health struggles and even health struggles.
How does this impact your health and happiness?
When you are living to work and nothing else, you are not making any time to experience life. Having fun and socialising is a key part of being a human being, and will significantly impact your happiness and in turn, your wellbeing. Humans are social creatures and crave social interaction and belonging. If you are not engaging with other people, then you may start to see your relationships and mental health being impacted. Happiness plays a crucial role in your mental health. Your mental health is connected to your physical health and well-being.
Everything is connected, so by neglecting your happiness, you are neglecting all other parts of you.
When you are stuck in this rut, you might also find that you spend more time living a sedentary lifestyle and engaging in bad eating habits. So there is a list of needs not being met that keeps getting longer.
This can all lead to a very unhappy and unhealthy lifestyle.
To help you on this journey, you must start doing things for yourself. Make time for connections and fun, travel more and look after your health. It doesn’t have to take up too much time, but when you start, you will find that you have more drive and energy. This kickstarts a whole new healthy cycle, where you will have more time and motivation to see people, be social, engage in fun activities, eat healthier and be more active. This, in turn, will make you happier and healthier, your evenings and weekends will be fun and you will look forward to them.
Here are some top tips to help you on your journey to creating a fun and healthier life.
Make a list of non-negotiables
You cannot just ignore the fact that as an adult, you need to do things like chores and live up to your commitments such as work or with family. There is no escaping this. But what you can do is plan your tasks and commitments more effectively. With a good plan of action in place, you will be able to free up more time for fun, travel and relaxation. When you don’t plan, you waste a lot of time thinking about what to do and trying to make decisions. When you make a plan, you know exactly what needs doing and when, and you will know what free time you have and what budget you have to spend on activities.
First start by making a list of non-negotiables. This might be things like household chores e.g. washing up, hoovering, cleaning the bathroom, doing the washing, putting the washing away, mowing the lawn, etc. Then consider how much time these will take you. Find a slot in your week where you can do this, while considering other commitments you might have, such as work.
The best way to schedule this is to create a calendar that you can keep on your phone or in sight, such as on your fridge. You may even find it helpful to set reminders on your phone.
This is an excellent activity to do because you will be able to condense your commitments into time slots. As long as you stick to your plan, you will have a lot more free time available. It will also make it easier to plan fun activities because you will now be able to see, visually on your schedule, what free time you have to do other things for your health and enjoyment.
This is also an excellent tip if you plan to travel a lot. Then you know that all your basics are done and you can travel without coming back overwhelmed and stressed.
Make a meal plan and shopping list
You need to eat regularly and eat good food if you want to be healthy. Thinking about what to eat, shopping and cooking can take up a lot of time. The best way to deal with this is to make a meal plan for the week. This way, you can plan nutritious meals and even meal prep the food in advance if you have time. When you write out the meals, you will spend a lot less time thinking of what to eat and trying to make decisions around food. You will also find that you pick up junk and processed foods easily. This means you are a lot less healthy when you don’t plan food, and spend a lot more money. Over time, this will impact your health and your happiness. Processed food can have an impact on how much energy you have and your mood. This will lead to not feeling motivated to do anything fun, but also you’ll spend more money when you eat this way, so even if you wanted to do more with your life, you may not have the funds to do so.
Plan your meals and create a shopping list. Schedule out an evening or a few hours at some point in the week to do your shop, and batch cook your food. This will save you a lot of time, money and energy all week and ensure you are eating for good health and happiness.
Work on your mindset
Mindset is key when you want to lead a happier life. You need to be motivated to take action, or else you won’t get anywhere. When you have lived your life one way for so long, it can be difficult to suddenly change everything all in one go. This is where mindset work can be really helpful. Consider what your current habits are and which ones are serving you and which ones are not. Start to think about how you can change those negative habits into better ones. For example, it might be that you spend a lot of time scrolling on social media or talking yourself out of doing something for yourself. Awareness is key to making a positive change.
Get outside
Getting outside in your free time will do wonders for your health and happiness. Not only does the fresh air feel good, but the sunshine will help your natural rhythm and hormone balance while connecting to nature will boost your mood and energy levels. Have your morning coffee outside in your garden, or head out for a walk around your local park. This is a real game changer when it comes to your health and happiness.
Do a fun activity
The best way to get out of the house and enjoy your evenings and weekends is to plan something that you enjoy. If you are not sure what you might enjoy, then make a list of potential ideas, and even do some research online to see what is going on in your local area.
A great way to enjoy your free time is to think of what you are passionate about. For example, if you are a big basketball fan, why not get Miami Heat tickets for you and a friend? You can head to the game, enjoy your favourite sports together, laugh, indulge in some food and drink and make yourself happy. Going to a game in real life beats watching it on the screen from your sofa all alone at home. It is a great way to do what you love, in a more social and fun way.
Consider what your equivalent of enjoyment is and find activities that you can enjoy with friends and family. There might be activities you can do alone or ones where you can meet new, like-minded people. This might be in the form of a hobby. If you ask around your local community, you are likely to find lots of clubs and activities that you can get involved in. For example, you might even find an adult basketball game that you can join in and learn the skills yourself.
Travel more
Travelling has never been easier or more accessible. You can get cheap tickets to different places in the world. Whether you want to fly across to a different state, or different places in Europe, you can buy inexpensive tickets, especially if you purchase them off-peak. This is an amazing way to spend your time. You can live life to the fullest and get to explore places all around the world. Many people believe that they have to take a year out and save up a lot of money, but if you do it strategically, you don’t have to.
Life is meant to be lived. Don’t let your free time become dull. Follow these top tips to change your life around.