For most people, their lives are a careful balance of work and play. But why after an 8-hour shift going home to relax, it can feel a bit ‘uncomfortable’ or ‘uneasy’? Well maybe there’s more work to do tomorrow adding un-needed stress, or extra responsibilities that have not been finished leading to running around last minute. In any fashion the theme remains the same, work takes too much time leaving not enough to do what is needed in the amount of free-time available. Interestingly however, the opposite is also true. It’s nice to have a week off, maybe two, spend time with friends or do fun activities. But one month, two months, say even a full year of no work at all, this might sound like a luxury to someone who’s been on the job their whole life, but after just some time that person might start to go stir-crazy. So, what’s going on? When there’s too little free time, there isn’t enough to enjoy it, but when there’s too much, it’s just not enjoyable at all (1).
The problem might not be how much free time there is available, but what is being done with it. Scheduling your whole life is not a position most people want to be in, we are after all human, fluid creatures, with changing preferences. But allocating time for enjoyable activities among other things can help work as good encouragement to go and be active, rather than just fantasize about doing something, sitting in front of the TV and, oh looks… it’s been two hours! The reasoning as to why too much free time is no longer enjoyable. Well, humans unfortunately are negatively aligned creatures, meaning we love to complain (2). And to say if all our time was enjoyable, doing the things we like doing all day every day, with no negative control, eventually, it probably wouldn’t be fun anymore. With time allocated to work or chores we have a comparison against our free time, making planned activities intrinsically more fun and exciting.
The most harmful factor to free time is sedentarism, where keeping to scheduled activities will help keep active and fulfilled. If don’t have any pre-existing activities do during free time, don’t worry! It’s never too late to start something new or find something that interests you. Remember, there’s a first time for everything, and if consistently doing something for a week, when the next week rolls round it already feels normal! Doing exercise can be so important to maximise enjoyment of free time too, seeing as physical activities themselves release endorphins and ignoring the fact it improves physical health (3). Exercise outside or just spending time outside of the house may be of even more benefit, breathing in fresh air and changing environment just to make some space (4). Make plans with friends to do stuff together, not just as further encouragement to make time for activities, but to socialise and connect with other people, again releasing ‘feel-good’ chemicals like dopamine (5). Meditation can also be a ‘hack’ to get these ‘feel-good’ chemicals, doubling as an incredibly efficient time waster (if that’s what you want to do) (6). It’s not easy finding something to do or planning activities, especially not if it’s the first time around. But there’s something (and someone) out there for everyone, and these things may just take time but eventually, everyone lands on something they love. Keep experimenting and keep active, enjoy life while it’s here!
By Alexander Bird
References
Verbooy K, Hoefman R, van Exel J, Brouwer W. Time Is Money: Investigating the Value of Leisure Time and Unpaid Work. Value in Health. 2018;21(12):1428-36.
Vaish A, Grossmann T, Woodward A. Not all emotions are created equal: the negativity bias in social-emotional development. Psychol Bull. 2008;134(3):383-403.
Sharma A, Madaan V, Petty FD. Exercise for mental health. Prim Care Companion J Clin Psychiatry. 2006;8(2):106.
Schmidt CW. Environmental connections: a deeper look into mental illness. Environ Health Perspect. 2007;115(8):A404, a6-10.
Umberson D, Montez JK. Social relationships and health: a flashpoint for health policy. J Health Soc Behav. 2010;51 Suppl(Suppl):S54-66.
Jamil A, Gutlapalli SD, Ali M, Oble MJP, Sonia SN, George S, et al. Meditation and Its Mental and Physical Health Benefits in 2023. Cureus. 2023;15(6):e40650.
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