Let’s face the facts. The work-world we live in now is a far cry from what previous generations had. Our jobs are more stressful, our days are longer and the constant hustle to succeed is more alive than ever. So,when it comes to being selfish with our hot-commodity free time, why is that so frowned upon? What if we took advantage of today’s technology and passed off the dreaded chore list to the pros, and spent our free-time on ourselves? Let’s explore that idea for a second.
Life is short
As the age-old saying goes, life is short. Shorter than we realize or even acknowledge. Ironically, we are all happy to make jokes about “buying the shoes” or “eating the cake” in relation to the length of our life, but when it comes to skipping a baby shower to catch up on sleep, we are labelled selfish. When you consider the big picture of your lifespan, will you look back and regret missing your co-worker’s brother’s baptism, probably not. Will you look back and wish you took better care of your own needs and wants, probably. ’Nuff said.
Good For Your Mental Health
While it’s no secret that taking some time to disconnect from work and devices can do wonders on a tired old soul, being selfish can as well. In fact ,many scientific studies have shown that using your free time to focus on the things that make you happy can lower anxiety, depression, sleeplessness and even major mental health issues.
Become A More Productive Worker
It might sound a little backwards, but doing nothing can help you do more. In fact, it can actually make you do it better as well. Think of it this way, when your computer acts up and stops
performing properly, what do you do? You turn it off and let it reset. Which is exactly what you should be doing with your own mainframe. Take time away from stressors and undesirable obligations to reset your brain. This little re-boot has been proven to help make you a more productive and better worker come Monday morning.
Improve Leadership Skills
One of the biggest perks of being a productive worker is it’s overflow into many other great qualities, such as leadership. Taking control of your own wants and needs as a top priority, and feeding your own happiness first can help you learn, understand and attain better leadership skills in both your person and professional relationships. And when it comes time to hand out a promotion, you’re sure to be bumped up on the list in the boss’s eyes!
Keep Your Body Healthy
A healthy minds goes hand-in-hand with a healthy body, and both start with your own happiness. Being selfish with how you spend your spare time can help promote both. Turning “spare time” into “me time” has actually been shown to lower your risk of heart disease, stroke and in many cases diabetes and weight gain – Who knew?!
Taking care of yourself is always easy said than done. However, when thou look at the big picture as to why swapping that weekend chore list for a relaxing day at the beach can benefit your health, it’s a no-brainer. Pass the work the professionals, be selfish and step guilt-free out of “spare time” and into “me time”.
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