Seven Ideas to Make the Most of Your Free Time During Your Vacation
It is easy to fall into the busy trap , to get stuck in a constant state of catching up. If you’ve got a couple of weekends on vacation, it’s time to hit the reset button, get on with the things you’ve neglected, and start the New Year on the right track.
Implement some home maintenance projects
Now is a good time to start spring cleaning and clear out the trash from your home . Start with a toilet cleaning session . Identify unwanted junk and sell, donate, or throw away . Then start cleaning, one room at a time.
Plus, now is a good time to prepare your home for winter . (Actually, a couple of months ago was a good time to do this, but if you haven’t thought of it, now is the second best time.) Here are a few things you can do to protect your home and keep it warm when the temperature is it gets colder:
- Seal, seal and curtain on windows .
- Insulate outlets and switches .
- Get rid of drafts under the door .
- Wrap the outer pipes .
While you’re at it, you can also do a little preventative maintenance to keep your home from falling apart. Here are some common home repairs that can be avoided with a little maintenance:
- Check for proper drainage to avoid foundation problems .
- Inspect old sewer pipes to avoid waste water build-up.
- Inspect the roof to avoid leaks .
It’s not the most fun way to spend your free time, but when else will you have time for these projects? Plus, you can clean up and watch Gilmore Girls at the same time.
Finally start the book you wanted to write
You probably won’t finish the entire manuscript over the holidays, but now is a good time, at least to start . Write a few words on the page, and then have a written schedule that you can stick to for the rest of the year. Run the “don’t break the chain” system and steal this calendar to visualize the process.
While you do this, you can research what it takes to create a book from start to finish, including the self-publishing process . Writer’s Digest is a helpful resource for answering questions you may have about the process.
Likewise, if you’ve been thinking about starting a blog , you can use downtime to do that too. Examine and customize the technical details: choose a platform , register your domain and sign up for hosting. then have a regular writing schedule to stick to your goal.
Reach zero level of incoming
For some, Inbox Zero isn’t just fantastic. You can look through a huge number of emails, it takes time and planning. The problem is that during normal business hours, for every email you delete, two more appear in your inbox. The holidays are the perfect time to try Zero Inbox because you will likely receive fewer emails.
First, you can use services like Mailstrom or Unroll.Me to clear your subscriptions and remove yourself from unwanted mailing lists. Then organize your mailbox . Use a tool like Sortd, or switch to Inbox from Gmai l to automatically sort emails into categories like tasks, social media, promotions, etc. From there, come up with a system to maintain that structure. If you really think Inbox Zero is a pipe dream, you can at least use your free time to come up with a system for organizing and managing email flow so that it works best for you.
Get your finances in order
Getting started with personal finance can be daunting, especially when your finances are in need of a complete overhaul. You may not even know where to start. You don’t have to learn all about money overnight, but if you have time to spare, you can squeeze a few lessons into Money 101 .
There are some super useful (and free!) Online courses you can start in your spare time. For example, the University of Utah has a course in family finance . It consists of fourteen 100-minute sessions that teach you budgeting, taxes, credit management and more. Purdue University also has an entire course on planning a safe retirement . If you were looking to dramatically increase your retirement savings , this course is a good place to start. Depending on how much time you have, you might even complete the course.
We’ve also created our own helpful guides to help you learn the basics of personal finance, and you can find them here:
- How to start managing your money for those who have never learned to grow
- Adult Budgeting 101: How to Budget Your First Real World Budget
- How to Create a Simple Set-and-forget Investment Portfolio for Newbies
- A quick guide to buying a home
- Be that as it may, wealth creation always comes down to these four pillars
Again, you can not learn everything at once, but as long as you have some free time, you can do this is an important first step on the path to improved financial habits.
Cross an item off your Reading List
If you are anything like me, you have a long list of books that you wanted to read, but you just don’t have time to dig into them. Take out your reading list and choose a heading.
Take some time to do this , pick a cozy spot and dig in. Alternatively, you can select an audiobook and finish your “reading” while you do household chores or other tasks that do not require much cognitive work.
If you don’t have a long reading list and are just looking for a good book to start with, check out these novels that everyone should read.
Look for a better job
If you’ve been complaining about your job for a while now, why not use your free time to find a better one? Aside from finding something better, you may also be a little less afraid of going back to work knowing that you’ve submitted multiple resumes and officially started your job search.
If you don’t have a resume, you can use a tool like Sumry or the recently mentioned Resume Beacon to help you create one. Then, browse the job boards specific to your field . LanceList is a great tool for freelancers , and MediaBistro is great for anyone working in the writing, journalism, or media industries. If you are looking for a new job in healthcare or medicine, give HealtheCareers a try.
Even if you are not actively looking for a new job, it can still be useful to look for one . This will help you stay on top of the skills in demand for your position. Plus, you never know what you’ll find.
Do absolutely nothing and love it
Finally, you need to do your best to fully enjoy your vacation without doing a damn thing. Sometimes doing nothing is the best thing you can do to be productive . You know that regular breaks are important when you are focused on a task. You have to get up and change your mind a little so that you can return to the task from a new perspective, with new energy. For the same reason, it is important to take long breaks from your daily routine. Taking care of yourself is very important, and taking care of yourself is an important part of this process because:
Not everyone has a job that allows them to take extra time off during the holidays. If so, you can just as well use that time productively, even if it means doing nothing at all.