Elevating your life is easier than you think. Don’t look at your bank account, look at your calendar. How you spend your day has crazy impact on your life and well being.

You would think that the average person working a 9-5 job does not have much free time. If you break your day up on a calendar you will notice that there is a lot more open space than you think. Utilizing this free time to try new things or build on your skills can drastically improve the outcomes in your life.

It boils down to what you prioritize and whether you are willing to sacrifice time out of your day or week (your free time lol) to do something new.

Why do people (myself included… sometimes) struggle with using their free time to better themselves?

When we spend time on social media and Netflix, our brain produces dopamine so we feel fulfilled and happy. We aimlessly watch shows and scroll feeds because of the dopamine that is produced from it, starting an unhealthy addiction.

The time spent watching shows or TikTok videos can provide instant gratification, but if you use that time building a stronger relationship with family, pursuing passions, self development, you could feel lasting long-term pleasure.

We can get the same rushes of dopamine when we do things that we are interested in, that can help us grow and be better and healthier humans, and pursue interests that our future selves would thank us for. It make take longer to reach that level, but you will feel it eventually.

One common social media post type is to pick between two options. Do you want $1,000,000 now or do you want $0.01 that doubles every day for 30 days. The people who pick the $1,000,000 are the same people who are likely to continue to spend their time and day doing things for quick spikes in happiness or laughter. The people who pick the second option will actually have $5,368,709.12 after day 30. These individuals looked at what they could earn in the long term rather than in the short term, and in return gained a lot more.

While this example is in terms of money, the same concept can apply to our growth. Spending time each day on ourselves can massively impact the person you can become in the future. With someone working a full time job, the only way to know what you can and cannot achieve comes down to the time you have available to spend on yourself.

I have made a conscious effort to use my spare time pursuing my interests the past couple of years. In all honesty, it was an on and off endeavor, but it was certainly what I strived for. At the beginning it sucked, but eventually it made my days feel fulfilled, what I was learning made me feel like I was growing, and most importantly I went from feeling like what I was doing were chores to being fun and exciting.

If you want to make something out of your free time, there are three small but crucial steps you need to take.

1. Figure out WHAT you want and WHY you want it

You will continue to tell yourself that you have no free time, until you find something that is really worth it.

If you attach your wants with a strong enough reason, you will be more inclined to substitute your time watching Netflix or scrolling through Instagram.

The same way we do not like every TV show or social media post, we will not like all the things that are important to us and our future. You just have to keep trying new things until you find an interest you can pursue long term.

For me, it's all about personal growth: to be in shape, to make more money, to be my own boss, and to learn a new left-brain skill like drawing or playing an instrument.

I did not know why I wanted these things at first. It just seemed like a cool idea. So after a long day from work, I would come home and shrug off the ideas of any of the things I wanted.

It was not until I put together a more thought out reason for why I wanted something, and not just because it was "cool", did I actually start using my free time for my self development.

I realized I wanted to lose weight to build my confidence, feel healthy, and have more energy throughout my day. I would get sick a lot and I hated it. I wanted to improve my health, strengthen my body, and find ways to not be sick so often and that is what has motivated me to work out and eat healthy.

I read my old journal entries and found a pattern in my love for experiential writing, technology, and helping people and decided to combine those interests together.

I wanted more money so that I could support my family, while still having money for my own interests. I want passive income so that I do not have to work for a company one day and use that money to travel to different countries, go on adventures, and spend more time with my family and friends by working less.

By figuring out what you want most, you can better decide where to focus your energy.

Your love and interest for a cause/business/idea/activity will become the thing you look forward to most in your day once you find it.

2. Calculate how much free time you have

It’s just simple math. Write it down. Once you see the numbers in front of you, it'll make more sense. Don't bullshit yourself while doing this.

There are 168 hours in a week. A 9-5er’s schedule usually looks like this:

56 — hours are for sleep ( you should be aiming for 8 hours per day).

40 — hours are for work.

10 — hours are for school.

10 — hours are spent commuting, eating, ablutions, and other miscellaneous activities that you are required to do.

22 — hours of downtime to unwind, relax, and enjoy (yes! you can watch your favorite shows and see what everyone is doing on social media)

Which means...

20 — hours of FREETIME

If you add up all your required activities and time commitments up front, you will be able to calculate how much time you have available for your other activities.

There have been so many things that I wanted to do out of college: go to the gym, meditate, read more, start a side hustle, work on a masters degree, go to networking events, etc etc.

Now don't get me wrong. I love watching shows and connecting to people on social media. I just do not spend all my available time doing it anymore.

How you use that free time will change how the rest of the year plays out because even small changes that are made in your life can transform who you become.

Scheduling my days to the T stressed me out lol. I like calculating my time in using a week format because it provides more flexibility.

After calculating how much free time I had in the week, I was able to come up with small, achievable milestones that made me feel 100x better than finishing a show ever has.

3. Create a routine of small tasks

After calculating the total hours available to you two things can happen: you become encouraged and want to grow many different areas of your life at once, or your still feel like binging the show you just started.

Whatever your emotions may be, a routine will help provide more structure and consistency to your process.

I started my journey with an overly ambitious mindset. After 2 weeks of trying to start a new eating habit, going to the gym, and working on building my blog, I caved and ate a whole lotta junk food, stopped going to the gym, and lost interest in my blog idea.

I was trying to improve in so many different areas at once that it just all fell through and I quickly lost the motivation to continue.

The lesson I learned from this experience is to make small changes.

Do not cut everything out all together, slowly take out things that you feel are not necessary or do not have an impact on the future YOU want. Then, slowly add the things that you want to incorporate into your life by starting a daily practice of a few minutes a day. As you get more comfortable with the process, work your way to spending more time performing those tasks.

Slowly, but surely, you will start feeling the effects of these small changes. Try it out and tell me what you think!