Hi there, and Happy New Year!
May it bring you and your loved ones health, joy, and endless smiles.
I’ve been off work for the past 2 weeks for the holidays and have had a lot of downtime. Not doing much apart from playing with my son and playing some Switch games (and spending a small fortune on building my game collection, but that’s another topic).
I don’t think I’ve ever had such a long period (I know, 2 weeks…) of being really off work. No urgent tasks, no random emails, no fires to put out… pure off time. And this led to some anxiety about not doing anything. So, I started thinking about all the downtime I usually have here and there. 30 minutes of reading random articles in the morning, 30 minutes on social media during lunch, 1-2 hours watching Netflix at night, an hour playing games, a 10-minute longer shower staring at the wall, going early to bed to spend more time reading…
These are all ways to unwind (often very needed), but it’s time that adds up. If I get all those in a single day, it’s 4-5 hours that hustle culture claims are potentially wasted.
We all need rest, and I am not saying we shouldn’t have those moments, but are we over-indulging in leisure activities? With the number of things to do that our generation has access to, it seems easy to get distracted and spend way too much time unwinding.
Which got me thinking. If I optimize my time and reduce said leisure activities from 5 to 3 hours, I’d get 2 hours of additional productivity. That’s 10 hours every week (assuming the weekend is dedicated to family time).
That’s around 45 hours per month, an entire workweek! Imagine what we could accomplish if we had an extra monthly work week dedicated to our personal projects. Don’t get me wrong, I am fully aware that 2 hours daily is not the same as an entire work week with breaks and sleep between work. However, it's still quite substantial if we can utilize even half of this time.
It’s true that this endless consumption cycle feels great but often leaves us even more exhausted after our leisure activities. Where I’m from, we even have a saying that loosely translates to I can’t wait to return to work so I can recuperate after my vacation.
So, I started intentionally asking myself a simple question every time I partake in what I call a downtime activity.
Is this what I really want to spend my time on right now?
Sometimes, the answer is yes, and that’s perfectly fine. We need to take regular breaks and consume. It’s quite often very rewarding and fun – that’s why the current consumption-based society works (mostly). However, sometimes the answer is no. I usually feel more inspired and better overall when I choose something more creative.
Right now, instead of reading random articles, I am spending time writing this newsletter, and it is truly invigorating.
I believe that part of why it’s so much easier to consume rather than create (even though it’s usually more draining) is because we put pressure on ourselves when making the thing instead of someone else. I have started and never shared so many Excel templates because I always feel they must be perfect or groundbreaking. And they don’t. All they need to do is solve some issue for someone, making them immensely valuable. Consider how kids don’t care if their crayon drawings look like the Mona Lisa. They draw because it’s fun. However, we adults prefer to look at other people’s paintings because it takes the pressure off us. What if we flipped the narrative? I doubt we’ll get more Mona Lisa’s, but who knows?!
I’m not saying we should stop consuming altogether. There’s a lot of beauty and knowledge out there to explore. It’s all about balance. For every hour we spend consuming, could we spend an hour creating? Or even just 30 minutes? Imagine what we could make in a week, a month, a year. It’s exciting to think about, isn’t it?
This isn’t about being productive all the time or turning everything into a big personal project. It’s about shifting focus and making space for the things that light us up. Maybe for you, it’s writing or painting. Or perhaps it’s cooking, gardening, or solving puzzles. For me, it’s writing, making YouTube videos, and skiing. But whatever it is, it’s worth making time for.
So, I’m challenging myself to spend a little more time creating and a little less time consuming in 2025 (you know, new year’s resolutions and all that...)
I don’t expect to get it perfect, but I want to try. Because every minute I spend creating feels like an investment in myself. And honestly, it always feels good to create something I can look at later and say I made that.
If this resonates with you, maybe this is your nudge to start. It doesn’t have to be big or complicated. Just pick something and start. You might be surprised at what you can do when you give yourself the chance.
Hit reply and let me know what you think about this. What would you create if you cut 1 hour of Netflix every other day? I’d love to hear your thoughts and maybe even see what you make!
Thanks for reading and for sharing the newsletter with your friends and families. It’s the best way to help me grow and reach more people who might find value in what I have to share.
See you next week!
Best,
Dobri 🍃