Many will often assume that a day in the life of a successful person will involve them at the peak of their productivity, working long hours and exemplify excellence at work. You may not think that what they do when they get home or over the weekend matters. But the thing is, it does.
How people spend their free time can have a significant impact on their success in the professional. Certainly, they enjoy a wide variety of hobbies and lifestyle, but the hallmarks of spending free time effectively often include reading and learning, fitness and relaxation, and making it a daily success habit.
Let us look at the 5 things successful people do during their free time, where you can learn how to spend your time wisely.
1. Exercise
Physical exercise is essential to keep both physical and mental health at peak. It not only boosts productivity and increases energy, also it helps to reduce the long-term effects of stress and the susceptibility to illnesses.
Best of all, it only requires 30 minutes a day to get those endorphins flowing, and there are countless ways to do it, such as walks, jogging, lifting weights or even kickboxing. Through exercising, you can build muscle and burn calories, you can also get to look and feel better, which helps to boost self-confidence.
2. Reading
Reading is a lifelong skill, and many successful people have cited reading as one of their hobbies during their free time. Whether it is fiction or non-fiction books, reading helps to give you a better understanding of themselves and the world around them.
Through stories, one will be introduced to new characters, environments or even ideas. Some may read up on the latest news to keep themselves abreast of the latest developments in a field of their interest. In all, it helps to bring new perspective and build new skills.
Best of all, regular reading helps to build vocabulary and comprehension, allowing you to build communication skills. This is useful when making small talk during those awkward meetings with prospects.
You can start by finding an author or topic that sparks interest and go down the rabbit hole to discover the untold depts of the new content.
3. Taking Classes
Acquiring knowledge should not stop right after university of polytechnic, and it should not be confined within academic institutions. In fact, many of the successful personalities have committed to never stop learning by going out of their way to take classes in their free time.
Some may learn subjects relevant to their trade or industry, but there are many who will take up classes in areas that are new to them. Often, they will want to push the limits of their own understanding and to think critically. A fine example is Apple CEO Tim Cook, who has a background in industrial engineering and pursued a Master’s in Business Administration in the later part of his career.
Living in the post-pandemic era, instructional courses are no longer difficult to fine. In fact, many online learning platforms are now offering free courses. Aside to that, there are local forums or workshops you can attend to acquire new skills. With just one hour a day, you can learn something new that can be useful in their career.
4. Volunteering
Volunteering is a perfect way to give back to the community. Whether you are helping to clean up a beach, working in a kitchen for the poor, or providing mentorship to a group of young people, your time goes a long way toward improving the community and people. Professionals who are primed for success will value the importance of giving back to the community, and many will feel happier because of it.
On the other hand, volunteering also provides a good opportunity to network around. It is a good platform to introduce to other people who, one way or another, can help drive a career forward. It is also a great opportunity to meet other like-minded people, and depending on where and how one volunteer, you can spend time outside at the same time.
5. Spending Time with Friends and Family
There’s a collective illusion that most successful people will spend all their time at the office or chasing professional pursuit, while sacrificing their personal time with friends and family or forgoing personal relationships altogether.
However, the fact is that a job is just a job, and focusing solely on career can be self-sabotaging. Most successful people do schedule time aside to spend quality time with their loved ones. In essence, if you aspire to be successful in life, then it is important to prioritise personal relationships by bonding with friends and family members. No matter how much you would like climb the corporate ladder quickly, it cannot be done at the expense of neglecting friends and family. On the contrary, you can accomplish far more, and be far happier, with a network of loved ones who will show support.
As you can see, the habits of successful people need not revolve around spending time at work. By picking up some of these strategies, you can improve your abilities and mindset, as well as expand network that will increase the chances for success in the workplace.
Of course, it is important to know how to manage time effectively by means of establishing task and time goals and setting up a daily plan, before you start planning what you want to do during your free time.
Let’s try to recall how did you spend your time during pandemic – did you use your free time effectively? If not, it is not too late. Start incorporating a few of them into your free time and you might just be surprised at the results.
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