Having recreational time in life

Do you have any set recreational time for yourself on a regular basis? I’m not talking about the weekends you get off from work, that you basically spend sleeping, worrying about your career, or drowning in constant guilt that you are not doing enough. Sleeping might be classified as rest, but others are neither resting nor recreational.

Recreation is basically voluntarily doing something that makes you happy, that recharges your batteries, and makes you feel alive again. We talk about work-life balance these days. Many of us who are chasing aggressive growth paths, have mostly work, almost no life, and a little rest. So the case I’m making here is, alongside work and rest, also have a life, and make sure recreation is a regular part of it.

I myself was stuck in this cycle for so long - that I didn’t know there was any other way to live. Constantly working, thinking about work, resting, or just passing the remaining time in stress. What it did for me was - even after the resting weekends, I would remain constantly tired. Mornings to evenings - Mondays to Sundays - always, tired. There were many little moments of rest - chai breaks, meal time with family, sleeping etc. but the recreational time for me would come only once in months - either when I would meet friends and was able to speak my heart out, or if I would go travelling with family or friends. These were the things that gave me immense happiness, and recharged me to come back stronger at work.

And don’t get me wrong - I love my work. I absolutely love going to the office and enjoy my time there. However, it does take a significant amount of mental energy to be on your toes and remain in work mode. Because I don’t like to feel lax or lazy at work, that’s how my days go. And the mind is in a constant state of thinking and solving problems. Amidst the covid times, it made me realise how important recreational activities are, and how important it is to have a dedicated time for them.

Right now, there are various things I am doing for this. A morning workout in the open, an evening game of badminton with the cousins, writing blogs weekly, reading a book or watching a movie on the weekends etc. There were days when I was extremely stressed about something and the thought just got stuck in my head because of overthinking. At this point, when I forced myself to do something I love (went for that evening play session), I completely forgot about the stress for that time. And the stress was disrupted by a significant period of happiness! What that does to your brain is this - it takes the stress out of the mind - fills it with happiness and optimism - and when your mind gets back to thinking about the problem - you move to the next step and start thinking solutions! It has worked brilliantly for me. The happiness disruption - recharges your mind and body, and puts you in an ecstatic, positive state of mind. And then, the mind refreshes and does everything else.

List down at least 5 things that make you genuinely happy and feel recharged, that you can do on a daily, and on a weekly basis. And start with one each! Try it out. And experience the difference it makes in how happier you feel on a daily basis, how happier you make the people around you feel, and the beautiful impact it makes on your work as a chain reaction. A happy mind is a productive mind!

What are your thoughts?

Jai Jinendra.