PRIORITIZING FUN IN YOUR LIFE
You can hear the audio version of this discussion on my podcast at Lola’s Frugal Life Podcast, on Apple Podcast, and many other platforms!
IT’S IMPORTANT TO PLAN FOR DOWNTIME
Sometimes we get into the routine of just getting through each day. We need to take time to do the things that we really enjoy. Even if you are in a really busy time of life, most times you can squeeze in a little bit of time for prioritizing fun, even if it’s just half an hour here or there.
I think most of us have fun things we would like to fit into our regular life more often. They don’t have to be costly or extravagant. It could be something as simple as doing a puzzle, playing a board game, going to the beach or the lake. It’s just about taking some time to do something different, that doesn’t involve any deadlines or to-do lists.
SCHEDULE TIME FOR FUN
Most of us schedule vacation time. Whether that is a vacation where you are going to travel somewhere, or a week off to relax at home or go on day trips, we usually put some time into planning. When it comes to our regular everyday life, sometimes we need to really make it a point to be prioritizing fun in our schedule. It’s important to make time for fun in our day before we let work and chores take away all of our time.
Our schedules get full with so many things that we have to do. Even with all of our responsibilities, there is usually some downtime even if it’s just a short amount of time that you could make better use of to do something fun.
When you schedule fun, try not to think of it as optional. Treat it just like you would any other appointment. If you had a doctor’s appointment, or your child had an activity to attend, you would be there. So, when you block out time to do something fun, don’t blow it off.
SCHEDULING FUN CREATES HAPPINESS
So much of the happiness in fun events comes from anticipation. Just thinking about what we want to do or where we want to go, can make us feel happy. Even the planning part is a lot of fun. If you’re having a stressful day, you can think ahead about how fun it’s going to be this weekend when we go walk the beach, or whatever you plan to do. You can hype it up to your family during the week to give everyone something exciting to look forward to. Even if it’s something as simple as a game night, when you are prioritizing fun, you can make it as exciting as you want it to be!
BE SPECIFIC WITH YOUR PLANS
Whatever you decide to do document when and where. Put it in your planner, your phone calendar, or wherever you keep track of your upcoming events. Without going into too much detail, identify what you will be doing and when. Being specific can really help with committing you to your plans. For example, if you say “we should go to the park on Saturday”, what often happens? You get up, maybe start some laundry, get involved in some household chores. Then you think, alright let’s have some lunch and then we will go afterward. But next, you get involved in something else. Then you realize you have some prep to do for dinner, it’s starting to get late. Your final thought is, you know what, maybe we can go next weekend.
If you name the place, date, and time it’s much more difficult to just let the time slip away. If you are going with friends or family, tell them, on Saturday at 9 am we are going to the state park. Tell everyone to make sure they are ready. When you involve others and tell them exactly when and where you are much more likely to stick with your plans.
You can be specific even if this doesn’t involve going anywhere, just try to do some prep to make sure you stick to your plans. When you are prioritizing fun you want to give it the same importance as other plans in your life. For example, say you decide that on Sunday you are going to have a board game day. Tell everyone what day you will be doing this, and tell them what you will be doing. You can take some games out the night before, and clear the table. Maybe tell everyone right after lunch on Sunday, we will be playing some board games together!
YOU DON’T HAVE TO COMMIT A LOT OF TIME
Keep in mind too that these fun things can be short amounts of time too, they don’t have to be half or whole day things. You can decide, this Friday on my lunch break I am going to take time to read this book that I really want to get into.
Even if you feel like you have way too much to do right now to make this a priority, it is really worth it. Breaking things up and making time to do things that you enjoy will make you feel good and give you the energy to get the other stuff done. Don’t worry, the other stuff will always be there! Make some time for yourself and your family and friends to enjoy things!
Thanks so much for checking in! If you would like to hear the podcast version of this topic to check out Lola’s Frugal Life Podcast! Also, be sure to check out my other blog posts on this site!
I would love to have you join my mailing list! Sign up here: