Making better use of Leisure time.

Colin J. Campbell

 Much of our leisure time is wasted, we spend far too much time in front of the television or playing video games.  If used more wisely it could result in learning a new skill, starting another career or planning  a business venture.  For many  the time between dinner and midnight  is the best time to spend doing these kinds of activities. 

Here are some ideas that might provide a guideline. Keep in mind that it is not necessary to keep this kind of pace going day in and day out, there has to be variety and there has to be time to recharge, use these ideas wisely.

1.       Learn a new skill  -  Start a course, go on line and take a college course, there are hundreds of sites that will provide courses on thousands of subjects many at no cost.  You may already have a skill that you are not using perhaps you should consider beginning to implement that skill on a part time basis in the evening.

2.       Read more -  It doesn’t matter  what you read just read more.  You may want to read books that will enhance your personal skills, or just read a novel.  Start asking others what they are reading, it is often a good source of new ideas.  Interestingly researchers indicate that reading more can reduce the effects of Alzheimer disease.   An hour spent reading every day will have exponential  benefits over the long term it expands the mind and enhances creativity. 

3.       Volunteer  – Use some of your time to  make a contribution to your community, what you give will come back tenfold and at the same time you will be developing skills that can come in handy later in your personal life.  Volunteering provides the opportunity to take a leadership role in situations that will not impact your career or your business directly but could develop skills that will assist with business development. 

4.       Develop your network -  There is probably nothing you can do that will benefit you and your career more than using the tools available to add to your network. That list of individuals that you have commonality with.  It may not be a list that you will use to market a skill or product but rather a network that gives you access to others who can assist you with your objectives.  There is nothing more valuable to you than the contacts you make and keep.

5.       Meditate – Nothing you can do right this minute will have a better effect than learning how to meditate, even if it is for a few minutes.  The major benefit is that it clears your mind, which in turn allows for new fresh ideas to develop.  It will relax you, free your mind of drudgery and refresh your thinking.  

6.       The change in you begins today – Will you take the challenge and begin to use your free time to expand your mind and your skills and begin to prepare for the future?  It will not come easy it just takes discipline and commitment, you won’t regret it.

If technology continues to follow the course it is on it is very possible that the end of work as we know it is not that far off. Technology is going to force radical changes in all facets of our lives.  We may see the end of income tax in the next 20 years as government grapples with the problem of keeping  revenues up while fewer and fewer of us are earning taxable income.  The expansion of our consumption tax may be the answer.

 We could also see guaranteed incomes, where everyone will receive a fixed amount every year.  Which may sound socialistic however if machines are doing the work and creating revenue and tax dollars for government what better way to provide for a countries population? Those with greater ambition will leverage their guaranteed  income into businesses and enterprises that will take advantage of technology to generate more income while others will be content to just live on what they have.

Using time more wisely to prepare ourselves for what seems to be inevitable change just makes sense.  The tools to learn new skills or develop new ideas are readily available at relatively little cost, it just requires discipline to devote the time.