We plan our work time carefully, creating task lists and projects and calendars and goals. Why don’t we do the same thing with our free time and fun time? What happens if you actually do so?
Most of my life my free time has been very unstructured. I wouldn’t think about what I was going to do next and when the time came I’d do whatever was easiest – read a book, watch a movie, go to the gym.
Living that way did not maximize my happiness. It kept me mildly entertained in my free time, but that’s about it.
Recently, I have been trying to plan my free time ahead of time so I have specific activities to do. Activities like things I have never done, challenging physical activities, certain books to read. Over the last two months here are some specific fun things I have been able to do by planning ahead that I would not have done otherwise:
- White water rafting & wine tasting trip with high school friends
- Volleyball days on the beach
- Rock climbing regularly at Rockreation (gym here in Santa Monica)
- Read “The Foundation Trilogy” – godfather series of sci-fi and copycatted by Dune author
- Read first two books of “Name of the Wind” trilogy – best new fantasy series
- Watched 5 movies with 90%+ ratings on rottentomatoes