I find myself in recent times asking the question – “what do you do in your spare time?” Here is what I have found out. There is so much variety in what people do with their down time. And there is a growing number of people who truly believe that they have no spare time. Twenty flour hours a day, seven days a week and fifty two weeks a year and you have no spare time?

You are right. I don’t have a lot of spare time because I love to stay busy and keep my calendar full ~ Kiana Tom

Let me suggest three things that will enhance your life. You can schedule them into your daily to do list.

Take Time to Read

James Allen in his book ‘ As a Man Thinketh” likened the mind of men and women to a garden that must be intelligently and intentionally cultivated or risk being overgrown with weed. Reading is one way to cultivate your mind. You have the ability to choose what you read and hence stay in control of what goes into your mind.

Reading will help you in your quest to become a leader and a life long learner. There is so much information, knowledge and wisdom contained in books. And its available at the click of a mouse of at your finger tips if you use a touch screen

Create the time to learn and grow. If you are already a reader, keep it up. The more you read, the more you know and the more people you will influence.

Take Time to Rest

Now this is a big one form me. Take time off your busy schedule to recharge your body through rest and exercise. For me rest includes sleep. Whether its a short nap during the day or a good nights sleep, your body is not a machine and it will benefit from rest.

So how much sleep do you need? I have no answer to that question. What I will say is that you as the owner of the body will know when if you are getting adequate sleep. If you are not, then its time to make the necessary life style adjustments to allow you get enough sleep.

One way to ensure that you get enough rest is to build margin into your life. Don’t make your schedule too busy. Don’t fill up your list with to do items. Create time for regular exercise and make sure your body gets all the rest it need.

Take Time to Relate

Invest in your relationships. Spend time with your loved ones and spend time with friends – not just on face book. Relationship building takes time and its worth your effort and investment in time to surround yourself with the right people.

People are your greatest asset and people will be your greatest nightmare. However, I would rather live in a city with people that in the forest with trees. While your social media relationships are good, for me real people doing life together trumps virtual friends.

So where do you find people? How about your neighbours, your church or at your next network meeting. This is assuming that you work on your own and so have no work mates.

A Question of Time

My friend Steve is a lover of fish. He spends a lot of his time just sitting and watching his pet Oscar fish swim from one end of the fish tank to the other. One day Steve realised that his pet Oscar had developed a bulge. The fish was growing sideways rather than along its length. The fish was having a middle age spread. Over the years, Steve’s fish had outgrown the tank but Steve was too busy admiring his pet and failed to notice the increasing concentration of toxic fish waste that was accumulating in the tank. Steve had no time to regularly clean the tank and he most certainly had no time to visit the shop and buy a larger tank.

Here’s my question for you. Are you taking time to read, rest and build relationships? Why not leave a comment.