Coolest Ways to Spend Your Time

So, you got off of work. You finally got set free from that cage where you are forced to spend the majority of your time, else risk starving to death in the cold streets. You don't feel fulfilled, but at least you have food and shelter. The bare minimum you can bare afford in the modern day. It sucks. But what part of life doesn't suck? Many people are living fulfilling lives doing what they love, but you are not one of those lucky ones.

The good news is that it doesn't have to be this way. You're not as trapped as you believe you are, and you can use what little extra time you may have in order to do something cool. Sure, those things may be small and are nowhere close to those dreams that got squashed by late-stage capitalism, but they can bring a little more meaning to your empty life. They can give you a sense of fulfilment and purpose. Provided below are five of the coolest ways you can spend your time.

Learning New Skills

Whether it's learning a new language or how to program, learning a new skill is a great way to engage your mind and prevent boredom. It mixes up your day and gives you challenges to achieve as a break from days that make you feel trapped in a time loop. You can accomplish a lot by trying something new and even make yourself more valuable as a person in the eyes of both other people and companies.

For instance, people are constantly on the lookout for those who can speak a secondary language that is common in their local area. For the United States of America, that secondary language may be Spanish. Then you have so manty other languages that depend on what state and town you're in. These people are higher in demand in the customer service sector due to how rare it is to be bilingual in the USA and due to the fact that these people can help a broader range of customers that may otherwise be impossible to communicate with. However, that is just one type of skill you can learn and one use case for that skill. There are billions of skills and uses for them you can learn if you truly put in the time and effort.

Reading a Book

Yes, I know. This is THE cliche. Reading a book? Seriously? But books are a nice, low-key activity that people should be able to do. You can get a library card and borrow digital copies if you truly can't afford your own books. There is no excuse to not be reading. Since listening to audio books counts as reading, you can also technically read while doing chores or on your commute. Is it effective? That really depends on the person and how they process information.

Some people do need that complete focus. Others process better by doing some other activity in the meantime. For instance, I listened to an audio book analyzing the Matrix movies and why they are a trans allegory. Apparently estrogen pills were red when the original movie first came out. Isn't that a fascinating tidbit? And I was drawing while I picked up that piece of trivia!

Creating Something New By Hand

Finally, you can create something by hand. Creating things is honestly very cool in that you can make something you can both use and take great pride in. Anything you make will hold a lot more meaning than just buying the object. It is yours in an intimate way that nobody in some foreign factory can ever achieve. Plus, it is better for both the planet and your own wallet. Although, admittedly, there is a reason why most people don't get to create.

Creation takes time. A lot of time. You will be committing yourself from anywhere between half an hour to months depending on the project you decided to do. It is that dedication that is part of the point. After all, you grow a connection with something that you spend your precious time on. It becomes more than just an object and morphs into something a little more. 

Complimenting Artists on Their Work

This is something small that only takes a small amount of time. But if you see an artist in person or online, then compliment them! Artists are hard-working people that often go unnoticed and many thrive off of the validation. They could be one compliment away from a breakthrough. Artists love it when people appreciate their work, so there is no harm in letting them know that their work is indeed appreciated.

Accommodating Yourself

If you find it difficult to get anything done, then you can try finding ways to work with yourself. Different people function in different ways, so what works for most people may be working against you especially in terms of productivity. You just need to be patient and experiment. Trying to do things in a way that is "proper" and then not doing them is exactly how you will get burnt out and have nothing to show for it.

Plus, if you experiment and accomodate yourself, you might find that tasks you think are painful may actually be satisfying or fun when it's done in a way that is right for you. You can't force yourself to function in a way that society expects you to. What does society even know, anyways? Those who pressure you into conformity can't know what goes on in your mind or that you are doing the things in the way you are doing them for a reason. The important part is getting everything done, and that will be impossible unless you ensure you're working with your own mind. Not against it.

Conclusion

No matter what it is you do. The important parts are that you're not hurting anyone, and they are giving you a sense of life. You deserve to have something for yourself that is more than the bare minimum, and it is heartbreaking that there are people who can't even have something small. Something that is outside of work and contributing to society. At the end of the day, the fact that you are alive should make you entitled to living it in a way that is meaningful.

Does this mean you should never work and pursue only your own interests? No. That is not what I am saying at all. Society simply won't function if we all only pursue such things. However, society will function better if people are being paid enough to live a good quality of life and there is a good balance between working and leisure that is backed by science. In fact, humans might only be productive for the first four hours of the day (https://www.scienceabc.com/humans/the-4-hour-workday-why-you-should-only-work-4-hours-instead-of-8.html), and working for any longer may be bringing us more harm than good.