Do you ever feel like you’re stuck, spinning your wheels without getting any traction? Do you wish you had more time for hobbies or just relaxing with your friends or family? (Do you even remember what your hobbies are?)  

If you feel this way, you aren’t alone! We all have habits that eat up free time that we could be spending on having fun, pursuing hobbies, or creating relationships. Some are good habits, some are bad. By tweaking our habits we can add more free time to do those things that we wish we had more time to do!

Here are 5 habits to change to add more free time into your life:

1. Time spent surfing the web, checking social media and email, watching television, and playing games online.

This is one habit that the majority of us indulge in! By simply setting limits (or a timer) to our plugged in time can add extra time into our day to pursue other activities and hobbies! Turning off the internet, scheduling when you check your email and social media, DVRing your favorite television programs (so you can watch them during free time), and setting limits on how long you can play games are all easy ways to change your habits. 

2. Not getting enough sleep!

Sleep is so important to our well-being! By getting the right amount of sleep, we avoid being overly tired. Being overly tired leads to poor focus. 

3. Getting too much sleep!

Have you ever slept, and slept, and slept to wake up feeling even more groggy than you did before? Getting the right amount of sleep for you (where you wake up feeling rested but excited to start your day) can lead to better productivity!

4. Planning and planning and planning…

I am a planner. For those of us that love to plan, sometimes it’s hard to get out of plan mode and start executing that plan! I love planning out my day, my week, my goals, what I’m going to read next, the list goes on and on! However, when I get into deep plan mode, I forget to get out and live the plan and pursue those hobbies and relationships that are important to me. The simple solution is to make your plan and START!

5. Not planning ahead.

Do you hate planning and would much rather fly by the seat of your pants? Over planning can be a time waster but not planning at all is also inefficient! By creating a plan you have purposeful direction, know what needs done, and allows you to focus on the most important things. Having a plan also helps with remembering things such as you need snacks on Monday for preschool. Having a plan reminds you that you have pictures next week so it’d be good to get the kids’ hair cut! Planning helps with keeping you from wandering around the house wondering what you should do next!

These are just 5 small habits that many of us do on a regular basis. What habit can you change to add more free time to your days?