With today’s busy lives, it can be challenging to find time for hobbies or other recreational pursuits.
For most people, weekdays are for work, and weekday evenings are filled with scheduled activities such as night school, volunteer work, children’s sports, and so on, meaning that the weekend is the only time available for work around the house and yard, shopping, and other errands. It sure doesn’t leave much time for fun and relaxation!
One of the reasons many people start their own businesses is to have a more flexible schedule, but instead they find themselves working even longer days PLUS weekends, as their days become filled with networking, marketing and administrative tasks, in addition to time spent serving their clients. Because they are doing something they really enjoy, they may even convince themselves that they don’t need as much leisure time as their friends who work in traditional jobs.
I have to admit that I tend to be one of those people, but when I do pull myself away from my office (because when you work at home, you never truly leave work), it is ALWAYS worth it. This past weekend, I visited my sister. We went for a walk, as we usually do, and it was such a beautiful sunny fall day that we stayed out for three hours, combining a stroll through town with a hike through a conservation area. It was wonderful to just enjoy nature and each other’s company, and I took lots of photos, a hobby that hasn’t played a prominent role in my life lately.
Not only that, I was away from my email all weekend, from lunch time on Friday on, and discovered that the world didn’t end without me! I needed a little extra time Monday morning to get organized, but it was well worth it, because not only did I get to enjoy some real R&R, but I was refreshed and ready to take on the coming week.
Now I’m curious – how much time do YOU spend working and playing? Please answer this very short survey and I’ll share the results in a future blog post!
Your survey did an interesting thing for me. It pointed out that I don’t actually KNOW how much time I spend working and how much at leisure. Because I am self-employed and can determine my own hours, and because much of my work demands the kind of mental energy that means I simply can’t keep doing it for a “normal” work day and then turn to leisure activity, many of my days are a mix of both. Sometimes I think I’m working too much. Other times I think I’m playing too much. Other times I think I’m teetering between the two and not accomplishing enough in either area of my life. Why is my novel finished yet? Why haven’t I done any yoga or painting in months?
(I hope this comment isn’t too long for a blog comment.) And what is the 10-15 minutes I spent composing it this morning? It’s not work, but it’s not exactly leisure activity either, is it. Maybe it’s time I kept a log of all my hours for a while (and not just those I spend working on projects I’m paid for by the hour), so I can find out just how I DO spend my time.
Kathy, I think that is probably true for many of us who work from home. I guess for the purpose of this informal survey, I’m really thinking of “real” leisure activity, stuff that really takes you AWAY from work, such as yoga and painting, rather than emailing a friend or looking at someone’s photos on Facebook. And unless you have one computer for work and another for play, it’s next to impossible to completely separate the two.
Perhaps email, Facebook, etc has become “the new leisure” for some of us, and perhaps we (I!) have to decide whether the time spent on that kind of activity is commensurate with the satisfaction it gives us, and if not, figure out ways to limit it so we have time for other activities – work or play – that might be more satisfying. I’ve already started to log my time. It will be interesting to see what I find out.
Kathy, I will find that interesting too!
I often recommended that to clients in the past, as a productivity consultant. Maybe it’s time for me to practice what I preach!
Very informative posts and stories here. Much appreciated!