Top 5 Ways to Spend Your Valuable Free Time

You may have been wondering where I’ve been lately.  Have I been out gallivanting on an exotic adventure?  Perhaps I’ve discovered the fountain of youth?  Unfortunately, what has really happened is that I have been wondering whether I have been following our motto of “Don’t Waste Life”.

 

I realized that in the average week, like most of you out there, I don’t have much free time.  By the time I get up, get ready for work, commute to work, work all day, and then commute home I only have a maximum of 4 hours of “me time”.  During that time, I need to get my puppy and I some exercise and eat dinner.  There goes at least an hour and a half.  So I am now left with two and a half hours each night.  Todd and I were spending that time working on our blogs. The weekends weren’t really much better.  We were doing chores and then working on the blogs.

 

So my question to myself has been:

Am I living the motto of this website “Don’t Waste Life”?

NO!

Sun Valley, Idaho

Sun Valley, Idaho

 

So I have been trying to spend the last several weeks working on defining what it is important to me.

 

I highly suggest you do this exercise too and make sure you are spending your free time in the most satisfying way possible.

 

For me the things that I really wanted to start focusing on and which provide me the most enjoyment and relaxation are:

 

1. Spending time with friends

I’ve found that having friends over for a drink or heading out on a hike or bike ride is a fantastic to de-stress from the week and have a good laugh.  The biggest challenge is always finding time to do this, but whenever we do we have a blast.

Biking in Newport Beach, CA

Newport Beach, CA

 

2. Meeting new people and having new adventures

We’ve been more active in our doggie group Active Dog Adventures lately.  Sebastian, our pup, is getting some great doggie socializing, we’re getting to meet new people, and all three of us are getting some exercise and exploring new local adventure spots!

 

Dog walk

Active Dog Adventure Pack Walk

3. Spending time reading

Ever since Todd received the new Kindle Fire as a birthday gift I feel like I have easier access to reading new, interesting material.  The fact that you can get so many things for free with the Amazon Prime subscription or pay just a couple of bucks for an e-book has really given me the opportunity to read all sorts of intersting things.  I’ve found that the opporutnity to escape into a new “book” has really allowed me to de-stress much more quickly and easily.

 

4. Enjoying the outdoors

Sunset in Newport Beach, CAI’d have to say the best way to for me to reconnect with myself is to spend time outside in the fresh air.  As we live less than a ten minute walk to the beach, this is my favorite spot to rediscover my sanity!  There is nothing better than after a long day at work to grab the pup and head down to the smell of salt water, fresh ocean breezes, and sand beneath my feet.  To make things even better there have been some amazing sunsets lately.  The beach really is my bliss.  Last weekend we headed on over to Dory’s Fishing Fleet Market to check out the fresh seafood just collected from the ocean that morning.  Sebastian was quite fascinated with the crabs!

 

 

5. Decluttering

While this doesn’t technically count as “enjoying your free time”, the results will eventually provide you with more free time and with a better place to relax in.  I’ve been really trying to focus on decluttering lately – home, office, car – everything.   Having more room in my closets and drawers just makes me happier.  Having less things to clean and maintain gives me more free time.  We’ve been taking it slow so that it isn’t overwhelming and so that we aren’t wasting our entire weekend doing it.  Just pick a cupboard or a drawer and you’ll be amazed at how great it feels to clean it out.  If you want to take a more extreme approach, try out The Minimalists 21 Day Journey Into Minimalism.  I love their ideas!

 

So what is my point?  Make sure you are getting out there and enjoying your life.  Our time is such a precious commodity and there are so few hours that we have to choose what we want to do with.  Choose wisely and re-evaluate often.  I feel like a much more balanced human now that I am focusing on enjoying the things that matter most to me.  I highly recommend you do the same.  Remember, life is short, your time is valuable, Don’t Waste Life!

 

What about you?  Are you following our motto of “Don’t Waste Life”?

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