How Do People Have More Free Time for Leisure Activities?

Leisure activities may be the first things you sacrifice to make more time for career and family obligations. However, making even a little leisure time for yourself every day can help you achieve a more balanced and enjoyable life, relieving stress and giving you more physical and emotional energy for other daily tasks. Once you make a commitment to regular leisure time, evaluate your priorities, schedule and time management to find ways to fit in more leisure activities.

Prioritize

• In order to make leisure time a priority, you must evaluate your schedule to determine which items are necessary or truly important. Complete these items, and postpone or eliminate less important tasks to make time for more enjoyable activities. It may also help to adjust your standards on some tasks, such as deciding when a task can be "good enough" instead of spending more time making it "perfect."

Set Boundaries

• Leisure time is vital to your health, so it is important to set boundaries to protect it. Pay attention to your emotional and physical limits, and turn down additional responsibilities or unfulfilling activities when you begin to feel overwhelmed, if possible. Setting boundaries in this way allows you to preserve more of your time for activities you enjoy.

Pencil Yourself In

• Mark leisure time on your schedule just as you would any other task and stick to it. This will not only ensure that you leave enough time for it, but it will serve as a visual reminder of your commitment. Parade.com also suggests planning regular long weekends, as well as annual vacations, saving up for these events and embracing these longer bursts of leisure time without guilt.

What to Do

• Choose activities that give you true enjoyment and find ways to work them into your day. Options may include physical activities, such as working out or taking up a sport, creative pursuits like crafting or journaling, spending time with your spouse or loved ones -- or simply sitting quietly with your thoughts. You may choose to share some of these with your family or friends, but you should also save a few activities that you enjoy doing alone.