I read an interesting article/interview in the NY times today about the importance of using leisure time wisely. It says the field of leisure studies is a big area of academic study. Leisure has many different definitions — some involving time, some relating to an activity being done, some relating to state of mind. The interviewee says I am most at leisure when I feel free, present and integrated. I always believed it’s important even for mothers to have some time to themselves even if only 15 minutes a day. It also made me think that planning my own leisure time is just as important as my planning the day’s schedule. I never really plan for short moments of leisure time and often I realize too late that I didn’t get to that time the way I would’ve really wanted. And just like the article says: Too often, leisure time that is not used in a satisfying way turns into idle time, or is used to do a single thing to excess…..We think we should just go with the flow, but too often we end up feeling stressed, overwhelmed and unfulfilled.
Here are more excerpts from the article:
Waking up every day is a new transition. Every minute is a transition. Taking a new job, retiring, going to school, finishing school, relocating, recovering from an illness, bereavement, having a new baby are just some of the transitions we encounter and there is an unknown associated with them. A satisfying leisure life can help an individual take control of part of that unknown. It also gives the opportunity for choice, which is often limited in other aspects of our lives, like during our work.
Improving our relationship with leisure can also reduce job stress, improve work-related skills, increase tolerance and understanding and enhance decision-making.
We need to plan for leisure — perhaps by doing one small thing every day, identifying long- and short-term leisure goals, putting enjoyable activities on the calendar — like we do other aspects of life. But before people start moving up leisure on the priority list, they need to appreciate and recognize the value and benefits of leisure, even when they have constraints (that may be internal or external). We all have obligations and other constraints that inhibit us from engaging in leisure that range from guilt to time or financial constraints. Yet the personal benefits and collective benefits short term and long term are worthwhile.
Check out the entire article Why Leisure Matters in a Busy World