Art in Uzbekistan Plan

How to spend leasure time 
Plan: 
1. Leisure Time
2. Ways to Make Your Leisure Time Productive 
The most important currency in life isn’t money, it’s time, according to health and 
wellness expert Deepak Chopra. Building what Chopra calls “time affluence,” or 
structuring your day so that you have lots of free time, will increase your life 
satisfaction and well-being, he wrote for CNBC Make It in 2018. 
Research supports this idea: Studies have shown that spending money on 
experiences is more rewarding than buying material goods, for example. And a 
2016 survey found that 72% of millennials prefer spending their money on 
activities rather than items. 
The problem is, many of us are spending our free time in ways that aren’t really 
making us happy, says James Wallman, trend forecaster and author of “Time and 
How To Spend It.” 
And that’s important because happiness is directly linked to our professional 
success, says Wallman. 
Research shows “happiness leads to success, not the other way around,” he 
says. “So if we want to be successful, we need to aim for happiness and 
resilience,” Wallman says. 
For his book, Wallman interviewed researchers, cultural anthropologists and 
experts in the field of happiness and consumer behavior to figure out how people 
should be spending their time. What did he find? 
“Leisure doesn’t improve quality of life unless one knows how to use it 
effectively,” Wallman tells CNBC Make It. 
Wallman defines leisure time as any time when you’re not occupied with work or 
chores, paid or unpaid. “It’s the time equivalent of ‘disposable income,’” he says. 
Wallman estimates that American adults have about 36 to 40 hours of “free” time 
in a week. (This tracks with the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2018 American Time 
Use Survey, which found that men and women spend 5.7 and 4.9 hours of time 
respectively on leisure activities each day. They define “leisure” as activities 

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outside of work, household chores, school and religious activities. For example, 
watching TV took up half of all leisure time, on average.) 
So what’s the best way to optimize your free time? While there’s no perfect 
activity that’s best for everyone, Wallman says some experiences are “junk 
experiences” and others are like “superfoods.” 
The “superfood” activities put you into a state of “flow,” he says, which is “a state 
of optimal experience arising from intense involvement in an activity that is 
enjoyable,” according to the American Psychological Association (APA). Finding 
activities that lead to a state of flow is key if you’re looking to increase creativity 
and happiness. 
Experts believe you can achieve flow when your skills are being utilized, you feel 
motivated and you aren’t self-conscious but rather have a sense of “total control,” 
according to the APA. Wallman says that any pleasurable activity that truly 
challenges us has the potential to lead to the elusive flow-state that so many people 
are after. 
“Flow [is] about being in the present zone [and] really enjoying yourself,” 
Wallman says. 
Here are seven things Wallman says you should think about when you’re deciding 
which types of experiences to invest your time and energy in: 
1. Does it leave you with a story? 
Making memories through experiences gives us stories to tell. For example, taking 
a hike with a friend might lead to a better “story” than re-watching your favorite 
TV show alone in your living room. Those stories allow us to develop connections 
with other people, which provides unity, purpose and meaning in our lives, 
Wallman says. And when you share a story with someone else, you develop a 
kinship that increases your happiness even more. 
2. Does it change you? 
Anything that forces you to grow or gives you purpose is key to personal 
development. Activities that teach you new skills or capabilities, change your 
world view, lead to epiphanies or move you toward a greater goal are all 
“transformational.” This could be anything from learning a new recipe to taking an 
improv class. 

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