It is easy for free time to be lost in reading and commenting on Facebook posts, watching YouTube videos and catching up on the latest TikTok which may be amusing, but does not usually offer a sense of fulfilment or achievement. There are other ways to utilise your time more constructively which offer you more benefits over the long term. 

Read a book

Reading is not just entertainment it also expands your knowledge and can help improve your career. Successful people tend to read books that are going to help them learn something of value that they can use in their life. Whatever you want to achieve in life, many books offer instruction and help to make this happen. You can read books on your phone as well as books on paper. Audiobooks are also popular with many, so try all mediums. Reading just 30 pages a day (about 45 minutes) can have you reading an average of a book a week. 

Read to learn

Reading Harry Potter will entertain, but not teach.  Try reading books that will stretch your knowledge. Elon Musk has said that he learned how to build rockets simply by reading books.  Bill Gates reads a book a week that stretches his thinking whilst Warren Buffet reads for eight hours a day. Reading can make you seriously rich. 

Join a casino

Casinos have generally been seen as places to go for a night out, but online casino gambling has become very popular. Many people first joined online casinos during 2020 when limitations of movement were forcing people to stay close to home, yet with the lifting of restrictions, many still prefer to play online casino games for real cash even though they can get to actual casinos.

The lure of online casinos over land-based casinos is that they offer so much more than the simple dozen table games and 30 slot games that you find locally. Instead, the best online casino offers give customers a free bet or other bonus on hundreds of slots and dozens of different table games from poker, blackjack, roulette and others. It is simple to sign up and scroll through to the best games on your laptop or phone making it accessible at any time of day or night. 

Another reason that online casinos are more attractive than land-based casinos is that they have demo sites where you can test the games before betting real money. Then when you want to play “for real” the betting limits are lower than you would find in a land-based casino.

Start a blog 

If you are a good writer and are passionate about a particular subject, start writing a blog. You can do this to share information just with family and friends as a bit of creativity, or if you have knowledge or experience of a particular subject, you could promote it so that it becomes a business rather than a hobby. You can review movies, write a travel blog for a favourite location or live tweet a sporting event to the wider world. You can do the same with a vlog if writing is not your strong point or combine the two. 

Exercise

If the majority of your time at work or home is sedentary, adding some exercise to your free time will have many benefits. Even a simple activity like brisk walking helps with gaining and maintaining a healthy weight whilst also reducing many risk factors such as stroke, heart attack, osteoporosis, cognitive decline and dementia in old age.

The first step is to make sure you have a good work and leisure balance so that exercise is a pleasure, not a chore. If you have any underlying health conditions, check with your doctor about the exercise you want to take, from playing golf, riding a bike or going swimming. Choose different activities so you can stay active every season. You can choose solo activities, or team or group activities to suit your personality. 

Volunteer

Volunteering allows you to connect to your community and make it a better place. Whatever voluntary activity you choose, from people, animals, the environment, politics and more, you benefit as much as the cause you choose to help. It extends your social network and boosts your social skills. This is particularly helpful if you are new to an area. Volunteering as a family shows directly how volunteering makes a difference and how good it feels to help. Science has proved that since humans are hard-wired to give to others, the more we give, the happier we feel. Volunteering is also possible via phone or computer, including help with writing, graphic design, email, and other web-based tasks. Your volunteering can give you experience in a potential career, to practice skills in the workplace or further develop and improve your skills in a particular field.

Volunteering is a fun and easy way to explore your interests and passions away from daily routines and family commitments. This means that those who work in an office but love being outdoors can volunteer at a community garden, at an animal shelter taking dogs for a walk or helping out at an after-school club for children.