Time management is a key skill in the modern business world. Unfortunately, too often, the focus of time management is solely on work performance i .e. getting more work done in less time. Space created by improved work practice is automatically filled by a bigger workload. Improving work performance is essential but it must form part of a balanced time management plan. One area commonly neglected by time management plans is fun time. Too many people fail to see that fun time is every bit as important, if not more important, than increasing our output. Lack of fun time not only decreases our enjoyment of life, in the long term it reduces our ability to work at our optimum level.
What is fun time?
It would be easy to say that fun time is time spent having fun. It wouldn’t necessarily be wrong but it would be too simplistic. Fun is often thought of as anything which brings a smile to the face but I would class that as amusement. Fun is doing something that you really value and enjoy. It is something which you really appreciate and which penetrates through to your soul; to the very essence of who you are. It brings you immense pleasure, lifts your spirits and gives you a positive emotional experience. This experience does not come from a few drinks or a quick joke, it comes from time spent doing things that you love and spending quality time with people you cherish. The difference between amusement and fun is like the difference between listening to your favourite band on CD and seeing them live in concert.
When planning a schedule, people often regard fun time as something that will happen spontaneously or automatically. It is treated as a bonus; something that is great if it happens but not to be worried about if it does not. But, fun time is not a bonus, it is essential. Not including sufficient fun time in your schedule can lead to your emotional bank account being emptied. A happy, healthy life requires that your emotions be kept in balance. Every time you experience pressure, in work or in life, it puts a strain on your emotions which in turn reduces the balance in your emotional bank account. Like your regular bank account, if the balance runs dry, the consequences can be severe and you have no reserves left to get you through the tough times. Emotional imbalance can result in serious health issues. Thankfully, scheduling sufficient fun time into your week helps to restore the balance.
Fun time is essential for emotional balance and to derive maximum pleasure and fulfilment from life. However, focusing too much on fun time can bring its own problems:
- A lack of self-discipline and thus a lack of results
- Poor performance due to insufficient preparation time
- Stagnation due to insufficient time spent on personal growth
- Fatigue due to a lack of recovery time
For more great time management tips, check out The Organised Mind.
Amusement is beneficial and it may happen spontaneously but fun runs deeper than that. It brings a deeper felt sense of pleasure which penetrates through to your soul. It lifts the spirits and restores emotional balance and wellbeing which is essential for optimum health and performance. Something this important cannot be left to chance. It is imperative that you identify the fun time activities that you truly value and which add real value to your life. Schedule these activities into your week and your quality of life will improve.