Your Playtime
Another area you’ll want to be crystal clear about is how you play during your off-hours—including the importance of scheduling playtime by actually marking it on the calendar.
Playtime should allow you to completely disconnect from your responsibilities for the specified period of time—whether it’s a one-hour respite, a two-week vacation, or a three-month sabbatical. Not only that, but playtime should also be spent in true enjoyment at an activity you love. It should never be spent merely catching up on your sleep, recovering from illness, or recuperating from a weeklong bout of overwork. Getting back on an even keel—for instance, going from a negative 4 to a zero—should never be the sole purpose of playtime.How do you like to play? Playtime should be designed to create harmony in your life. Think about all the things you used to do ten years ago before you got busy.
Excerpt From: Lisa Nichols & Janet Switzer. “Abundance Now.” iBooks. https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/abundance-now/id957433203?mt=11
When I’m off the clock, I like to go to the Caribbean. I swim in the ocean every single day. I wear different clothes, go dancing, and even turn off my cell phone so my mind knows I’ve unplugged.
One of my biggest goals this year was to implement more “play-time” into my schedule. This is HUGE because while listening to Lisa Nichols’ audiobook, I realized that I still wasn’t putting it into my schedule.
Lisa says it’s about completely disconnecting. I love this idea and I take it seriously because when I’m out with my friends, whether it’s my Ugandans warrior friend or a new recent friend I just made, I literally turn off my phone for the time being and zero in on what everyone else is saying. Whatever is happening outside doesn’t matter because this particular person (or would be) who’s sitting directly in front of me deserves that attention.
What’s even more exciting is when I tune back into my phone and see a bunch of great news. It’s all worth it in the end.
But Monday and Wednesday evenings are my free-time days. This is when I fit activities into my schedule in regards to nurturing relationships and reconnecting with awesome entrepreneurs online to have a mastermind session.
Yes, traveling is everything to me, and with potential trips to Egypt and Fiji (along with an already booked Malaysia/Spartan race trip) looming large, I couldn’t be more excited.
However, I love teaching. If it’s in podcast form or writing form. It’s everything to me and it’s when I feel most alive, so why would I stop doing something that makes me feel alive? It’s impossible. On days that I don’t teach, I feel empty. On days I don’t do my podcasts or teach, that’s like a day without technology to some, which would essentially be tragic.
A lot of people who are reading, or will read this blog will side more with the Gary Vee “I don’t want to take vacations, go to museums, BLAH BLAH BLAH!” Yeah, museums aren’t my thing, either, but I must assure you that vacations and living are the number one priority. I will not take my money with me when I die, either. It’s all about impact.
So here are your questions.
- How are you disconnecting from work?
- Are you constantly “hustling” and not enjoying the “me” time?
- Do you have specific times, dates, or holidays that you plan around your “play-time?”