May 23rd, 2007 in Featured, Productivity

20 Productive Ways to Use Your Free Time

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If you’ve got a big block of free time, the best way to put that to use is to relax, have fun, decompress from a stressful day, or spend time with a loved one. But if you’ve just got a little chunk — say 5 or 10 minutes — there’s no time to do any of the fun stuff.

Put those little chunks of time to their most productive use.

Everyone works differently, so the best use of your free time really depends on you, your working style, and what’s on your to-do list. But it’s handy to have a list like this in order to quickly find a way to put that little spare time to work instantly, without any thought. Use the following list as a way to spark ideas for what you can do in a short amount of time.

  • Reading file. Clip magazine articles or print out good articles or reports for reading later, and keep them in a folder marked “Reading File”. Take this wherever you go, and any time you have a little chunk of time, you can knock off items in your Reading File. Keep a reading file on your computer (or in your bookmarks), for quick reading while at your desk (or on the road if you’ve got a laptop).
  • Clear out inbox. Got a meeting in 5 minutes? Use it to get your physical or email inbox to empty. If you’ve got a lot in your inbox, you’ll have to work quickly, and you may not get everything done, but reducing your pile can be a big help. And having an empty inbox is a wonderful feeling.
  • Phone calls. Keep a list of phone calls you need to make, with phone numbers, and carry it everywhere. Whether you’re at your desk or on the road, you can knock a few calls off your list in a short amount of time.
  • Make money. This is my favorite productive use of free time. I have a list of articles I need to write, and when I get some spare minutes, I’ll knock off half an article real quick. If you get 5-10 chunks of free time a day, you can make a decent side income. Figure out how you can free-lance your skills, and have work lined up that you can knock out quickly — break it up into little chunks, so those chunks can be done in short bursts.
  • File. No one likes to do this. If you’re on top of your game, you’re filing stuff immediately, so it doesn’t pile up. But if you’ve just come off a really busy spurt, you may have a bunch of documents or files laying around. Or maybe you have a big stack of stuff to file. Cut into that stack with every little bit of spare time you get, and soon you’ll be in filing Nirvana.
  • Network. Only have 2 minutes? Shoot off a quick email to a colleague. Even just a “touching bases” or follow-up email can do wonders for your working relationship. Or shoot off a quick question, and put it on your follow-up list for later.
  • Clear out feeds. If my email inbox is empty, and I have some spare time, I like to go to my Google Reader and clear out my feed inbox.
  • Goal time. Take 10 minutes to think about your goals, personal and professional. If you don’t have a list of goals, start on one. If you’ve got a list of goals, review them. Write down a list of action steps you can take over the next couple of weeks to make these goals a reality. What action step can you do today? The more you focus on these goals, and review them, the more likely they will come true.
  • Update finances. Many people fall behind with their finances, either in paying bills (they don’t have time), or entering transactions in their financial software, or clearing their checkbook, or reviewing their budget. Take a few minutes to update these things. It just takes 10-15 minutes every now and then.
  • Brainstorm ideas. Another favorite of mine if I just have 5 minutes — I’ll break out my pocket notebook, and start a brainstorming list for a project or article. Whatever you’ve got coming up in your work or personal life, it can benefit from a brainstorm. And that doesn’t take long.
  • Clear off desk. Similar to the filing tip above, but this applies to whatever junk you’ve got cluttering up your desk. Or on the floor around your desk. Trash stuff, file stuff, put it in its place. A clear desk makes for a more productive you. And it’s oddly satisfying.
  • Exercise. Never have time to exercise? 10 minutes is enough to get off some pushups and crunches. Do that 2-3 times a day, and you’ve got a fit new you.
  • Take a walk. This is another form of exercise that doesn’t take long, and you can do it anywhere — but even more important, it’s a good way to stretch your legs from sitting at your desk too long, and it gets your creative juices flowing. If you’re ever stuck for ideas, taking a walk is a good way to get unstuck.
  • Follow up. Keep a follow-up list for everything you’re waiting on. Return calls, emails, memos — anything that someone owes you, put on the list. When you’ve got a spare 10 minutes, do some follow-up calls or emails.
  • Meditate. You don’t need a yoga mat to do this. Just do it at your desk. Focus on your breathing. A quick 5-10 minutes of meditation (or even a nap) can be tremendously refreshing.
  • Research. This is a daunting task for me. So I do it in little spurts. If I’ve only got a few minutes, I’ll do some quick research and take some notes. Do this a few times, and I’m done!
  • Outline. Similar to brainstorming, but more formal. I like to do an outline of a complicated article, report or project, and it helps speed things along when I get to the actual writing. And it only takes a few minutes.
  • Get prepped. Outlining is one way to prep for longer work, but there’s a lot of other ways you can prep for the next task on your list. You may not have time to actually start on the task right now, but when you come back from your meeting or lunch, you’ll be all prepped and ready to go.
  • Be early. Got some spare time before a meeting? Show up for the meeting early. Sure, you might feel like a chump sitting there alone, but actually people respect those who show up early. It’s better than being late (unless you’re trying to play a power trip or something, but that’s not appreciated in many circles).
  • Log. If you keep a log of anything, a few spare minutes is the perfect time to update the log. Actually, the perfect time to update the log is right after you do the activity (exercise, eat, crank a widget), but if you didn’t have time to do it before, your 5-minute break is as good a time as any.

Got some productive spare-time tips of your own? Share them in the comments.

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Leo Babauta

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  • Eduardo says on May 23rd, 2007 at 11:28 am

    how about just doing nothing? Actually by doing nothing I mean allowing yourself time to think and meditate. Here’s a short article that explains it…

    Truthteller site
    http://www.reddeerblog.com/200.....thing.html

  • Brian @ BasicHabits says on May 23rd, 2007 at 3:35 pm

    Great list! GTD (duh) is a great way to keep all of these little ‘contexts’ in line and ready for your actions. Keeping all of these nagging things (goals, articles to write, calls to make, etc.) out of your head and in a trusted system is essential for optimizing productivity.

  • Jonas says on May 23rd, 2007 at 4:35 pm

    It seems to me that you’ve forgot the most essential things to do when you have time on your hands:

    - Look out of the window
    - Watch the bird sitting on that branch over there
    - Wonder why you, the intelligent mammal, is not enjoying the sunshine while a stupid little bird gets to life a free life outside
    - Feel just a little sorry for yourself
    - Open the window wide open
    - Feel the breeze you’ve never even noticed could feel so good before
    - Jump out and join another life

    Why so efficient, career minded and dull?

  • Captain Farris says on May 23rd, 2007 at 6:49 pm

    Good list, I use the reading file to keep my office clean, It gets rid of all the magazines and clutter in my office.

  • AgentSully says on May 23rd, 2007 at 8:23 pm

    I never go anywhere without my notebook or some reading I’ve printed out or a book. If I end up having to wait, I never get irritated, because I always have something to do.

    The point about taking some downtime during these chunks is good to do too, but I find that that is hard for me to do during the day when my mind is cranking.

    I think it’s especially good to do the “look out the window” thing if energy is lagging because that can really help you to rejuvenate…especially if I close my eyes for a few minutes.

  • SB says on May 23rd, 2007 at 9:21 pm

    I agree with Jonas – taking a moment to decompress is really important. I don’t think its healthy to be so darn efficient and task-oriented at all times. Write a letter to a friend on a piece of paper, or go outside and pick a flower, or if you dont feel like moving from your computer – find a new radio station on itunes and listen to some music for 10 minutes and relax. Relax!

  • Leo Babauta says on May 23rd, 2007 at 11:01 pm

    Hi guys … great comments.

    I don’t know if you caught it, but one of the 20 suggestions – meditate or take a nap — talked about the value of relaxing and being refreshed.

    Again, you can choose from among these suggestions — or come up with your own — depending on what works best for you. I do a combination — sometimes I’ll use my breaks to get stuff done, and others I’ll use to relax and decompress. Really depends on my mood at the moment, and what I need to do.

  • brian says on May 24th, 2007 at 12:13 am

    this list is vague at best. 20 ways to spend your free time
    1)do something
    2)do something else
    3)do something completely different….

    thanks for stating the obvious

  • Anand says on May 24th, 2007 at 1:31 am

    really nice posts.
    Especially the part on
    Goal time/finance planning and excercise, are things which I religiously do.

    I have posted your link on to my site. Hope you dont mind a little extra readership.

    Cheers!
    -Anand

  • g-reg says on May 24th, 2007 at 1:46 am

    speaking of the bird who just needs food…

    whats the deal?

    i wish we didnt have this prebuilt society that makes us add to some unknown goal

  • Alan says on May 24th, 2007 at 1:57 am

    Nice tips. I always go with organizing during my free time and filing is one of them. Yes, it may take a while. But since it’s a free time, we will not regret doing it for it will benefit us in return.

  • Michael Wong says on May 24th, 2007 at 2:50 am

    Great tips, I do about 7 of them and I’ll definitely incorporate the rest. If anyone’s interested, click on the website for the easiest way to meditate.

  • Coops says on May 24th, 2007 at 4:29 am

    Spare time? Huh?
    :P

  • Andreas says on May 24th, 2007 at 4:44 am

    yeah all these sound nice etc, but it’s prob for people that stay home or work from home…last thing i wanna do when i come from work is to log,file or anything else that enchance my daily life routine! need to do something different,,exercise being one them as mentioned.,….
    nueronic.com

  • dootzky says on May 24th, 2007 at 4:52 am

    spare time?

    - do whatever you want, but FORGET about your job. be creative. relax and enjoy yourself. and the most important thing – don’t be alone.

    ch33rzs,
    heads up,
    dootzky

  • Jas says on May 24th, 2007 at 5:06 am

    I dont think many of these suggestions actually take 5-10 minutes. Some of them will end up a 1 hour waster of time, and become a new way to procrastinate.

    I think the best suggestions meditating /relaxing /thinking, “network”, any that involve taking a QUICK look at a new project or be early to your next meeting.

    The rest are a bit to taxing in my opinion and will probably end up being a big distraction. Maybe a couple of hours a week should be devoted to that stuff.

  • rock says on May 24th, 2007 at 5:38 am

    Depends on when you get the small chunk of 5 to 10 mins.

    If you are waiting for someone say at a station to go somewhere, having some reading material works best to avoid frustration(atleast for me)

    But if the free time is before a meeting, its best to go through the agenda of the meeting and brainstorm.

  • Jen says on May 24th, 2007 at 7:45 am

    I think I need to re-read this a couple of times.. This might help procrastination alot. :)

  • Mark Richman says on May 24th, 2007 at 7:51 am

    This must be one of those articles he wrote in those 5-10 minutes of free time.

  • ZHereford says on May 24th, 2007 at 8:59 am

    Some great suggestions from Leo and as usual well written. It seems some people would like to see less work oriented tips.

    These are merely suggestions of course so it’s up to each of to find our own balance. To do too much of anything is actually counter-productive. It’s always a good idea to change it up a bit.

  • Sam says on May 24th, 2007 at 9:09 am

    Then…I suppose free time becomes not-so-free time anymore. :)

  • Jeff says on May 24th, 2007 at 10:35 am

    “I don’t know if you caught it, but one of the 20 suggestions – meditate or take a nap — talked about the value of relaxing and being refreshed.”

    Of course they didn’t notice. They skimmed the article and applied half-assed reading comprehension just like the majority of “productive” people jumping from narrow second to narrow second in their lives :)

  • E.T.Cook says on May 24th, 2007 at 10:49 am

    Regarding showing up to the meeting early. I disagree completely. The people that show up to the meeting early, or even ontime, have the stigma surrounding them that they aren’t busy or have nothing better to do. Bad sign when working in an environment where there is too much to do, and too little time.

  • mikeligalig says on May 24th, 2007 at 11:08 am

    Get out from your office. Inhale. Enjoy hundreds of deep breath. That’s another productive way of using your free time.

  • Brandon Hopkins says on May 24th, 2007 at 11:48 am

    Actually a pretty good article!

  • klein says on May 24th, 2007 at 12:09 pm

    Wow, Talk about Type A. I could never do this. What’s the point of running on this hamster wheel of your own creation.

    Just relax already. Every moment of your day doesn’t have to be maximized. What is so important? Who are you doing it for? I don’t know what my goals are for the next 24 hours let alone 5 years?

  • Michael says on May 24th, 2007 at 3:33 pm

    What a stupid article. Most of these things would take way more than five minutes, and if you actually do get some free time, use it to take a break. That’s the whole point of FREE time. Grab a cup of coffee or have a smoke, if you’re into that.

  • Fran says on May 24th, 2007 at 9:26 pm

    Great tips. I always consider my free time as a time to think. It would be more effective this way without the time constrain. Sometimes i even spend too much time brainstorming

  • FeedReader says on May 29th, 2007 at 2:49 pm

    Why does every minute of my time have to be “productive”? Whatever happened to good old relaxing? Its the GD GTD people that fill our lives with stress, lists, and chores. Stop and smell the roses when you have a free minute. It’ll matter more in the long run than getting your Inbox cleared.

  • tommybui says on June 16th, 2007 at 9:57 pm

    yuor ideas feel so good ,i think freetime is your time so when you stress, you can do everything that you want to do and it’s good for your health

  • Brain Odavwe says on July 24th, 2007 at 7:54 am

    PLS I WOULD LOVE TO RECIEVE MORE PUBS FROM YOU

  • Mahmoud says on January 19th, 2008 at 8:47 am

    I prefer listening to slow music or looking at green are
    I prefer Jonas opinion.

  • karlie says on April 30th, 2008 at 10:46 am

    u stink

  • last batman says on June 10th, 2008 at 3:03 pm

    if you organize your time, there will be no free time

  • sugandh says on November 8th, 2008 at 12:38 pm

    i prefer to do something or the other in my free time.generally i get free time when i have finished my study work,so in my free time i prefer to do something which gives me enjoyment like listening to music,dancing and if nothing else then i just give a call to my friend and ask her to come out with me for a walk.

  • Happy says on December 12th, 2008 at 4:55 am

    How about organizing your wallet… I find that really helpful.. I separate my receipts and always know how much cash i got in my wallet and where my cards are.. It makes paying a lot less stressful… :) And listening to your favorite song always helps make the process more enjoyable….

  • manal says on June 4th, 2009 at 10:02 am

    ساعدون ارجوكم يوم الاحد عندي امتحان وساعدوني على اني القى الموضوع بليز

  • Bill says on June 17th, 2009 at 4:25 pm

    This is a great article! Now I need to find some free time between everything else!!

  • lindamood bell says on July 7th, 2009 at 7:01 am

    hi nice article list great work and thanks for u sear this with us

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  • ade says on August 31st, 2009 at 10:53 am

    every one need rest ,u cant cheat ;cheat nature.u just have to be out there taking the best chance that god has given.work is not evry thing,so be wise.take a break and enjoy life wisely

  • Dishu says on December 13th, 2009 at 9:02 am

    Dont waste time thinking about the past

  • Dishu says on December 13th, 2009 at 9:04 am

    Net surfing

  • Sam says on January 15th, 2010 at 6:04 pm

    Thanks for taking your time to write this. I printed it and I have it on my wall. I am trying to be productive at work and outside of work.

    Thanks.

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