The Gen XY Lifestyle
7 rewarding activities to do in your free time
Unexpected life changes can create spare time that you previously did not have. Making the most of your free time with rewarding activities can be a great way to boost your creativity, energy, and overall happiness in life.
Investing your time wisely will pay off in the long run. There is no shortage of entertainment options out there, whether it starts from playing games on your smartphone to hanging out with friends, or jumping down the ‘rabbit hole’ of reading online articles about topics that might not affect you personally.
Consider investing your spare time in with these rewarding activities such as learning a new skill, taking a class, or helping out at a local charity.
Here, we share several suggestions of activities to consider that are both fun and rewarding, whether from a health, cognitive ,emotional and mental wellbeing perspective.
Pick up gardening
Gardening can make your living area more aesthetically pleasant. Cultivating plants also seems to come with a variety of health benefits. Research released by Harvard Health shows that gardening for 30 minutes burns as many calories as 30 minutes of tai chi, badminton, or gymnastics. But the advantages do not end there. Involvement in a meaningful hobby such as gardening or growing plants can help alleviate stress, despair, and anxiety. Adding plants to your home is a terrific way to improve the look and feel of your room as well as your overall mood. Light-loving houseplants like orchids can benefit greatly from LED Grow Lights. These lights are ideal for indoor seed starting and plant growth.
Learn a new language
During your spare time, try learning a new language to keep your mind active. It can aid your understanding of other cultures and provide you with knowledge of many regions worldwide. Go online or to your local library to get a copy of a language-learning book. To make learning the language more enjoyable, try reading books and novels or watching movies and TV shows in the language you’re learning. Practice conversing with your neighbours or others in your community that speak the language you are learning.
Start a journal
You can get a lot of satisfaction from journaling as it helps you to organise your thoughts and ideas, delve further into an area you are interested in, and share your knowledge and experience with others. You can also use it to keep tabs on your progress on goals. Maintaining a journal if you are down with a protracted illness, for example, can help you cope with your feelings. If you are willing to share your writing, it might even provide support for others who may be going a similar situation. People who take up a new hobby and want to understand their experiences can considering capturing them in a journal.
Whether you write once a week or once a month, the choice is yours. You are under no obligation to share your writing with others unless you want to.
Look for fun through cooking
When done for pleasure rather than necessity, experimenting with new recipes is a pleasurable way to spend the time. Grab a cookbook and some fresh ingredients and give some of the recipes a go. Check through your refrigerator and pantry for ingredients you already have on hand, then search online for a recipe that calls for those ingredients.
Invest a day in baking and experimenting with new techniques. Throw a casual dinner party for people you care about once you’ve perfected a few great meals.
Start an arts and craft project
Making Art is a rewarding way to pass the time because it allows you to express yourself while learning something new. Investigate various painting techniques and media such as watercolour and spray paint or acrylic paint. Other options include using inks, ink pens, and other ink-based pens, as well as water-based oils and water-soluble oils. Get yourself a sketch pad and some charcoal if you want to focus more on drawing than writing. For supplies, head to your neighbourhood art supply or hobby store.
Decide to exercise consistently
Exercise helps us connect our minds and bodies, and our bodies are usually capable of much more than our minds believe. One of the reasons exercising is so fulfilling and inspiring is that there is always space for improvement and accomplishing goals you once thought were insurmountable.
In addition to being self-care, exercising allows us to feel better. Taking a 5K run, yoga class, or gym class will provide you a chance to spend some time alone with your thoughts and feelings. You may feel more relaxed after a gentle yoga practice because you took the space and time to clear your thoughts, or you may finish your workout on a high because you ran a personal best.
Exercise has numerous benefits in the management of stress as well, and it’s rare to come away from a session feeling unfulfilled.
Foster a cat or dog
This can be a unique and wonderful experience. Taking care of an animal can bring you companionship as well as a sense of fulfilment. Many dogs and cats need temporary housing while they search for their forever home.If you want to learn more, connect with the SPCA or join any of the online social media groups that are looking for fosterers. Chat with the organisation, and other fosterers to understand the time and commitments required.
Article contributed by Inna Atwood and edited by the Active Age. Inna works as a fitness coach & a part-time content writer. She loves reading and travelling. She is young and ambitious and does hope to share her knowledge and experience with anyone willing to learn something new.
Cover Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
