MAKING YOUR FREE TIME CONSTRUCTIVE IN THE COVID-19 TIMES

There were times when we felt “too much time” is an illusion, and then there are times like these

when there is a scarcity of activities to keep us engaged. Looking at it objectively, it seems like

the more time we have, the better it is! But, does something like “too much free time” exist? If it

does, is it destructive or constructive to have too much leisure time? Is it a skill that can be

learned? Let’s take a good look at it.

The ongoing pandemic has blessed some people with ample time that they needed before. At

first, it appeared as a boon, but with further thought rendering (effects of free time!) it started to

become less of a black and white debate. While there are a million ways to use time

productively, there are no fewer ways to spend time completely pointlessly. The danger is that

we could end up in bed with nothing to do, but there are definitely ways to turn this string of

disadvantages such as boredom and procrastination into constructive tools.

The only thing that could either make us feel great about where we’re investing our time or

worthless about wasting so much is only one thing: ‘our perspective’ of what is worthwhile and

what’s not. That is, to make our leisure time constructive we need to know what holds value to

us. For example, taking care of ourselves, skincare routines, diets, workouts, etc. may be a part

of something that is important to us, or becoming a part of activities that help in learning

something new, or creating something new or resting or even doing nothing, anything that we

feel is right for us. Once we have a list of things that are important to us, the next crucial step is

to provide these activities with a timeline. These activities can be anything ranging from purely

pleasurable and self-soothing to the ones that help us live with our values or accomplish a task

or a goal. After identifying the areas of interest, and preparing a schedule, we should formulate

a commitment to participate in one or more of these activities.

What we need to understand here before moving ahead is the importance of leisure time

because it allows us to step back not only physically, but also mentally - from stress and daily

hassles and allows us to disconnect from the outer world and form a stronger connection with

the inner world. Even during the quarantine period, most of us are strangled by the happenings

of the world that lies outside of us, having feelings of uncertainty about the future, ‘what’s going

to happen next’ ‘what about my dreams’ ‘what about my exams’ ‘what about my career’ “how am

I going to utilize my time’ ‘how to not waste time” etc. So despite having excess free time, we fail

to give ourselves the time we deserve. Even when we’ve realized how important leisure time is

to personal growth, we’ll have to fight the infinite number of conflicts that threaten to smother

our discretionary time and that’s when our prepared schedule to utilize it comes to our rescue.

All this might seem like elevating leisure beyond what it deserves, but that depends on the value

it has in our life. We spend our leisure time on what we value the most, even if it is watching

television, using the internet, talking on the phone, housework or any other activity, even doing

nothing, This is because according to psychological research doing nothing is essential for

creativity and innovation, and a person’s seeming inactivity might actually cultivate new insights,

and whatnot. No matter what the consequences are, one thing we can be sure about is the fact

that we are doing it deliberately, and that in itself provides us with a constructive feeling of

control.

Finally and most importantly, this pause in our lives that has been caused by the pandemic has

shown us all that our day to day lifestyles can change in the blink of an eye, one very important

lesson that can be learned from it is of embracing what and who we are, whether or not we do

something or be creative or productive. At the end of the day, we’re all doing our best either

way. While it may feel slightly stagnant, these long hours are actually helping us learn to

embrace ourselves. The key to minding our mind, just as Susan Cain said is to: “spend your

free time the way you like, not the way you think you’re supposed to!”