Leisure
For an urban society like ours where productivity and output are given heavy emphasis, leisure is often viewed as unproductive time. And if indeed one HAS to indulge in leisure, it can only produce a simple, quick fix to the daily stresses caused by everyday life – nothing more. For this reason, a feeling of guilt can sometimes be associated with leisure as the person immediately thinks about all the work that he or she could be doing instead of taking a break for something with so many negative connotations.

However, contrary to this belief, leisure produces many benefits not only for the individual, but also for society as a whole – the family and the economy. Engaging in some kind of leisure activity and having “a good time” can enhance our sense of well-being and productivity.

What is Leisure?
Leisure is a difficult word to define because it means different things to different people. However, it can be broadly defined as personal time during which you are free from obligations. This freedom from any "must do" activity results in a choice - a personal decision about how to spend your time. Because of this, Leisure reinforces emotional well-being. The idea is to fill your free time doing something YOU like - not only recreation, but activities such as reading, spending time with friends, writing letters, playing a musical instrument or simply spending time alone – along with helping us have a good time, it helps us gain a lot more.

Whatever the choice of leisure activity, what all leisure choices have in common, is an opportunity to enhance the value of being a human being through personal choice and decision-making. It’s something that YOU engage in, out of YOUR choice and contributes to your sense of well-being as an individual.

Why is engaging in a leisure activity important?
Engaging in some form of leisure activity contributes to one’s overall sense of well being and enhances one’s personality, because…
• Taking a break from work or family and engaging in a leisure activity, relaxes you and provides a breather for you to examine personal values, to focus on what is important to you and provide a sense of direction when you feel caught up in something. It gives you the balance you need to deal with your non-leisure activities.
• Relief from stress and boredom. It can help promote not only better emotional health but physical health as well. If your job is currently a source of stress and dissatisfaction, you could compensate for that by deriving some sense of satisfaction and well-being from a leisurely activity. It acts as a buffer.
• A feeling of control. Job or family or relationship demands might not give us that freedom. Participation in leisure activities can result when individuals feel freedom from obligations of work or other responsibilities and when they also feel freedom to choose among select activities. The ability to choose or make choices among a variety of activities can contribute to an individual's feelings of control and self-determination.
• Enhanced communication skills and self-esteem. Shy or introverted people can benefit from group activities that are based on shared interests.
• Wider horizons. You can meet new people, learn new things and gain valuable perspective.
• Leisure can promote:
o Communication with others
o Relationships with people of different personalities and attitudes – promotes tolerance and acceptance.
o Socially acceptable behavior
o Negotiation and cooperation
o Positive feelings and emotions
o Listening
o Reading habits
o Clarifying your values and interests further as you explore different things
Adding leisure time can be difficult for most of us busy people…so what does one do?
Start with simple, easy things. The idea isn’t to become the best tennis player in the world or gain serious skills in any activity, but just to engage in simple, do-able activities that make you feel good. And you don’t have to spend too much time on it at all, to have fun. Like for instance just creating time for a nap, or going to the local book store to check out latest releases or if it's a nice day, go outside to enjoy it, instead of completing some pending chore in the house, etc. It can be done individually or with family or friends – alternate between the three if you want to.

Ask yourself…
1. What are the various things I enjoy or prefer?
2. What are some of the activities or interests I have always dreamt of pursuing?
3. What activities can make me feel excited, or good about myself or my abilities?
4. What constraints prevent me from participating in leisure activities – transportation, time, money, distance, lack of optimum opportunities to pursue a particular interest, health constraints, etc?
5. How can I overcome or work around these barriers? How do I start small and simple?

After you brainstorm on these questions, choose the simplest, most do-able pursuits from that list to start off with. Start with just one, make time for it and do it – whatever leisurely activity it maybe. You can then graduate to other more complex pursuits or interests as you go along. Starting small and simple is the key…to keep you motivated to engage in leisure without feeling like that itself takes too much effort and planning.

Try not to focus too much on obstacles. Although there are often barriers such as money, time, transportation, lack of awareness and fear, there are always alternatives that you can come up with. For example, if you want to exercise and meet people but can't afford to join a health club, you can begin by walking. You can then slowly encourage others to join in and can create a walking club in no time!

Take a look at how you could handle some time conflicts:
• Do you always do what others expect of you, even if it deprives you of time you need for yourself and your family? Get flexible on that. Be reasonable - you don’t have to ALWAYS do things FOR others. Include something simple for yourself too.
• Are there shortcuts you could find to things you do? Can SOME weekly chores be done every other week?
• Do you over-plan family activities, putting more stress on yourself? Do you insist on a spotless house before you ask friends over? Does it really matter? Get flexible and give spontaneity a shot!
• Do you manage your time at work so that you don't have to bring work home with you? Focus on that – home time can be leisure time too.
• Many companies have a 2-day weekend; do you find yourself choosing to work on a Saturday, because you can’t find anything else to do and are bored or lonely? Be sure to spend the weekend for YOURSELF – actively plan for the weekend during the week.

Explore opportunities/outlets/activities/ around the city on the Internet during the week. See if you can plan a short get-away (outskirts of the city perhaps) with a couple of friends or colleagues. Actively planning helps, so you don’t end up getting to the weekend and not knowing what to do - which is then just followed by aimlessness, boredom and lethargy.
With the pursuit of leisure, there is just one thing that you’ll be focusing on – YOUR well-being. And for that reason, it is worth your time and energy. Let go of the guilt you may feel when you engage in something leisurely – your well-being will help you be more productive where it really matters. Make leisure a priority in your life today.