You’ve made your New Year’s resolutions
– what you want to become, what you want to accomplish, what you’re going to work, work, work on all year. Great. But think about adding just one more resolution: to have more fun.
You’ve made your New Year’s resolutions – what you want to become, what you want to accomplish, what you’re going to work, work, work on all year. Great. But think about adding just one more resolution: to have more fun.
Yeah, we know – fun isn’t your top priority. You’ve gotta work. You’ve gotta do the laundry and get dinner on the table. Life is busy, busy, busy.
And that’s why you need to fit in some fun.
So please, resolve in the new year to take a little time to enjoy this life you’re working so hard to maintain. We’ve brainstormed some ways you can fit fun into your hectic life; whether it’s time, money or motivation you’re lacking, you’re bound to get an idea or two.
And maybe at the end of 2011, you’ll look back and think: this was a year well lived, fully experienced, wonderfully memorable – and just plain fun.
Get out of the house
1. Make time for you
Never have time to take care of yourself? Make it happen. Today – right now – set up a standing monthly appointment for something you enjoy: a pedicure, a facial, a massage. You can look forward to being pampered, say, the first Saturday morning of every month. And it’s already set up, so you won’t put it off.
2. Visit a museum
There are great museums, but you never manage to go to one. This year, pick your favorite and buy a membership. If you’ve already paid for admission, you’ll be more likely to drop by – even if you have just an hour.
3. Find new friends
You’d love to get out more often, but your friends never want to go anywhere. So join a group and find some more pals. Don’t know where to start? Check out a church activities calendar. Find (or start) a book club. Find out whether your alma mater has an alumni group in the area. Or go to meetup.com (it’s not a dating site) and search for social groups in your city. There, you’ll find crowds that gather to play board games, talk politics, ride motorcycles, play volleyball – just about anything. And they’re open to you, so join them; lots of people do. (Besides, if the group turns out to be lame, maybe you’ll at least make a new acquaintance or two. Then you can skip the gatherings and go out for a drink instead.)
4. Learn something new
You want to do something fun, but you feel guilty for going out. So take a class and learn something – who could feel bad about that? Check out the continuing education options at schools in the area. Short, inexpensive courses teach the basics of photo-graphy, sewing, songwriting, wine-tasting, tai chi, yoga, acupressure – almost anything that might interest you.
5. Take a staycation
If you can’t afford to go on vacation, take time off anyway. And don’t spend it staring at the walls, feeling sorry for yourself. Instead, act like you’re a tourist in your own town. Act like you’re an out-of-towner. You won’t have to drive very far, and you can sleep in your own bed that night. And when someone asks you what you did during your week off, you won’t have to sigh and say, “Oh, nothing.”
Rearrange your schedule
6. Change things up
Is your kid overscheduled? Are you? Instead of putting another activity on the schedule, arrange for some downtime. How much would you love it if every Thursday night, you had nothing on the schedule?
Do some rearranging, if you need to, and set aside a free night every week. No lessons, no appointments, no dinners with the in-laws. Just a time to relax and do nothing – which you can look forward to when you’re driving to karate and piano lessons every other night of the week.
7. Divide and conquer
Feel like the weekend slips away from you? There’s a lot to do. So get chores out of the way first thing Saturday morning. Divide and conquer, if you can, and work as fast as you can, like it’s a race. Give yourself, say, four hours to run errands and finish projects, get nervous and feel stressed. And then relax and enjoy the rest of the day, knowing you’ve accomplished a lot and earned your free time.
8. Just do it!
If there’s a project you’re dreading – say, cleaning out the garage – now’s the time to do it and get it out of your head. This is the sort of stuff that weighs on your mind and makes you think you don’t have time for fun.
To make that project less miserable, turn it into an event. Designate an afternoon. Get the whole family involved, serve a special meal, build a playlist of your favorite garage-cleaning music, and make it as fun as possible. And then it will finally be done – and you can move on.
9. Plan some downtime
You never seem to have a free weekend. Well, guess what? If you don’t plan for it in advance, life will take over. Events will be scheduled. And you’ll never find that elusive free time.
So sit down with your calendar. Find an occasional weekend – one in the spring, summer and fall will do – and claim the time as your own (or as your family’s). Circle the dates in red. Then you’ll have downtime set aside in advance. And when someone asks you to sponsor a youth-group camping trip, you’ll be able to say, “Oh, wow, I’m sorry. That weekend is already booked solid.” Whew, right?
10. Eliminate projects, activities
Your life is a hamster wheel of activity, a weekly cycle of deeds that simply must be done. There’s barely time for all that work, so forget about fun.
But wait. The first week of January is a good time to reprioritize. What can you get rid of?
Just think for a second. Are there activities on your schedule that you just don’t care that much about? Even fun things that have turned into obligations, like that big scrapbooking project?
Cancel them. Stop doing them. The world will not end.
We all think that it’s good to be busy, and our self-worth gets tied up in our busy-ness. Let go of that feeling. Designate this the Year of Freedom and drop a few of the balls you’re juggling. See if you enjoy the extra time you have.
Get motivated
11. Turn off the television
Maybe you have a few free evenings. But by the time you catch up with “The Office” and “30 Rock,” it’s too easy to just sit there and rewatch an old episode of “Seinfeld,” then “Letterman” …
Stop. Fight inertia and turn off the TV. Instead of sitting on the couch and watching whatever comes on, make your TV viewing an appointment. Pick a few shows you like and sit down to watch them. Then get up and do something else.
The appointment-TV-only system helps you stop losing whole evenings to the couch. You’ll look forward to it. And TV will become more fun – an anticipated break, not just something that’s flickering in front of you while you lie there.
12. Learn to say “Why not?”
Admit it. When something unplanned is suggested, your mind comes up with a million reasons to say no. Resolve to, every now and then, say yes.
Your daughter asks, “Can we eat breakfast outside?” Why not?
Your wife says, “Let’s start a vegetable garden.” Why not?
Your friend in San Antonio says, “Hey, come visit me this weekend.” Why not?
A little spontaneity can be a thrill. And you’ll have adventures your ordinary, predictable schedule wouldn’t allow.
13. Come up with fresh ideas
It’s Friday. You’re leaving work. This is a perfect time to go out and do something, but what?
Your mind is blank. You can’t think of a single fun thing that appeals to you. Instead you sigh, drive home, order pizza and put in “Meet the Parents” for the 34th time.
Sad, yes. But all you need is a few ideas. So come up with them now.
Make a list of all the stuff you want to do. Restaurants you want to try. Clubs or concert venues you want to check out. Movies you want to see, books you want to read. Day trips you’d like to take some Saturday afternoon.
Then, when you find yourself with a few free hours, you won’t just plop down on the couch. You’ll do something memorable and fun. And you might feel so good about it, you’ll be ready to tackle the rest of your New Year’s resolutions.
