Don’t Postpone Your Leisure Life
We are halfway through the summer months and many of us are going on vacations or are planning one with family and friends. Others are participating in numerous leisure activities that can be done outside. While some are taking advantage of the warmer weather during the long days and pleasant summer evenings, there are others who believe they must wait for a change in their circumstances: the end of a big project at work; the return to good health; the self-sufficiency of a loved one who is ill; having enough money; or waiting until they retire before they can take the time to relax and take a break. However, with good planning, you can successfully find ways to incorporate leisure into your life right now. Even if you can’t go on vacation, taking a break is important to preserve your physical, emotional, and cognitive health.
Definition Of Leisure
Dictionary.com defines leisure as “freedom from the demands of work or duty,” “time free from the demands of work or duty when one can rest, enjoy hobbies or sports etc.” and “unhurried ease.” As I have previously shared, Richard Johnson, in his book The New Retirement, stated that leisure is also “the degree to which you have found personally satisfying endeavors outside of your work/career arena which rejuvenate your body and/or stimulate your mind and/or enrich your spirit.” This definition can easily apply to all life stages.
Your leisure time should be as unique as you are. Explore the possibilities and define it as you wish. Don’t settle for someone else’s dream or favorite pastime. Consider these leisure activity areas and ideas:
- Exercise
- Time with family and friends
- Hobbies
- Lifelong learning
- Personal development
- Self care
- Socializing
- Sports
- Travel
- Unwinding (reading, listening to music, viewing media)
Just remember that leisure activities should feel like play-not work-to you.
There are no right or wrong answers here unless you keep pushing yourself to do more without breaking for leisure pursuits. The rejuvenation that comes from enjoying leisure is necessary for your mental and physical health.
Engaging Your Brain And Body In Leisure Activities
It is important to take a break — especially from work but even from a retirement lifestyle you’ve created. To shift gears, you need to do a variety of leisure activities that refresh you physically, emotionally, and cognitively. Researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, and the University of Bergen in Norway studied 40,401 residents as they participated in light and physical activity. The results indicated people who engaged in regular physical activity — however intense — are less likely to have symptoms of depression according to new research published in the November 2016 issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry.
Researchers from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommend adults, ages 18 to 64, engage in regular aerobic physical activity for 2.5 hours at moderate intensity or 1.25 hours at vigorous intensity — each week. These findings highlight the important contribution that leisure-time and physical activity in adulthood contribute to longevity.
The Difference Between Your Leisure And Vacation Time
A vacation, though idyllic, is an unnatural and unsustainable lifestyle. If you were to try to recreate your vacation at home within the context of your current life on a day-in, day-out basis, you would encounter problems because it’s not realistic. However, you can capture your favorite moments and experiences and relive them in your leisure time. For instance, you can:
- Attend a concert, art show, or opening of a play
- Laugh, read, sing, or sleep more
- Explore somewhere new
- Go for an early morning walk or a high-energy hike
- Take pictures of whatever pleases you
- Try a new restaurant
- Enjoy visits with family and friends
- Watch the sun set and/or the sun rise
- Connect with nature
Make Leisure Time Count
Choose activities for your leisure time that reflect your values. One of the attractions for me about coaching was that it not only reflected the values in my life’s work as a psychotherapist, but it also helped me create a lifestyle with more leisure time and space. I put into practice what I teach others to do: I explored leisure pursuits instead of putting all my identity, time, and energy into my career. This experience led to greater joy, excitement, and pleasure than ever before. Discover your favorite leisure time activities and how to integrate them into your life NOW and start experiencing more enjoyment and satisfaction in your own life.
How To Discover Your Own “Best” Leisure Activities
Consider these ideas when defining leisure for yourself.
- Are there activities that you currently enjoy?
- What might you pursue now instead of waiting “until you have more time” or “until you retire”?
- Is stress causing you to underload or overload your daily calendar when you should be adding activities that could provide stress relief?
- Are you doing leisure activities you no longer enjoy?
- Have you overloaded your schedule with leisure activities you no longer enjoy?
- Have you turned any activity into a full-time endeavor, making it more like a full-time job than a leisure pursuit?
- Is this an activity I can enjoy for years to come? No matter what stage of life you are in, be sure to integrate leisure into your life so that you can carry those activities into retirement
- Ask yourself: is this leisure activity providing creativity, exercise, intellectual stimulation, the opportunity to discover my authentic self, rejuvenation, or serenity and, if not, should I continue?
Be true to yourself. Incorporate leisure activities that mean the most to you into your life now, no matter how busy or stressed you are at present. You deserve the joy, satisfaction, and well-being they will bring to your life.
Dee
Dee Cascio
Author, speaker, Licensed Psychotherapist, Certified Life Coach, Retirement Lifestyle/ReCareer Coach, and Life and Work Transitions Strategies Coach.
As you face changes and transition in life and work, I welcome the opportunity to assist you through corporate presentations, group seminars, and community workshops, please contact me.
Leisure activities shouldn’t wait until you retire.
Explore leisure activities and opportunities that are meaningful to you with the Dig Deeper questions in Ready To Retire? Successful Retirement Planning To Make The Best Of The Rest Of Your Life. Material throughout the book is geared to help you make the best of your life RIGHT NOW.
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