Insights : Be creative in your free time

Each individual irrespective of his age or occupation has some time off from work for relaxation. This free time is the time apart from what is used for sleeping in the night. Relaxation by many people is considered to be sleeping extra hours or watching television or internet or being in pubs or discos. All this is fine. But apart from this, a person can do some creative work in his free time. Everybody does some work in his daily routine for his livelihood. Apart from this, some chores are done daily to meet one’s basic needs like cooking and cleaning. Creative work is the work done separately, apart from all these chores. It is done voluntarily and only up to the time one desires. As such, any work done in this manner is relaxing because there is no compulsion of time and no deadlines to be met. Thus it provides mental relaxation to an individual after a day’s work. Creative work technically means work done to create something. It can be in any form. Stitching, knitting, learning to cook new dishes, making toys, gardening, painting, carpentry, e.t.c, there is a long list of things which can be done in one’s leisure time. In a broader sense, this term can also be used to encompass activities like reading, music and dancing. If a person is not familiar with any such activity, he or she can learn it from somebody knowing it. There is always a thrill and fun in learning something new. After learning it, there is a newfound confidence in the person as he has learnt a new skill. This can come handy professionally also if needed. The completion of such a work also gives one a sense of satisfaction of doing something creative. Creative work thus done provides not only a thrill, satisfaction and relaxation but also enhances the mental concentration and abilities of a person. Imagine a person making a stuffed toy. He has to put in the precise stitches in precise places to give a correct shape. Similarly, watch a lady making a lace with a crochet. She uses a specific number of stitches to work with and increases or reduces them precisely to make a specific pattern. This proves to be a good mental exercise to sharpen a person’s mind. This will certainly benefit the individual in his or her professional life. His working will improve due to better mental focus. Reading good literature improves language skills. It also give a person better understanding of human nature and enhances his knowledge about the happenings around the world and also world geography. Music and dance provide total relaxation of the mind and are also soothing. The satisfaction and relaxation obtained with some creative work is good for one’s holistic health also. None of these advantages are obtained with other forms of amusement. Electronic forms of leisure or just hanging around are passive activities. They do not stimulate the mind or body in any way. Therefore one gets bored and feels dissatisfied after spending some hours in this way. The pleasure they feel after such amusement is temporary and then they desire to seek more, whereas this is not so with creative activities. One is never late to start doing any creative work. There is no age for it. Children if encouraged to learn and do something creative in their free time will learn fast and maintain this habit while growing up also. Gender also is no bar. Some people have the idea that activities like knitting or stitching are for women only or the men who do it professionally. But it is not so. Everyone whether a man or a woman, can do creative work in his free time. This will be proper utilization of his free time and he will always remain happy and healthy. E-mail-rachna212002@yahoo.co.uk

Lifestyle

Insights : Be creative in your free time