Phone calls, continuous emails flowing into your inbox, finding time to go grocery shopping, and running the children to their various activities: it’s easy to feel bogged down by working full time and day-to-day life duties. It might feel almost impossible to carve out time to do something that’s not part of ‘catching up’.
Work, stress, and life responsibilities can easily consume your life if you let them. That’s why it’s important to be intentional about creating time for building memories and setting out on new adventures.
Here are some ideas on how to make time for adventure outside of work.
Maximize your time off.
Make the most of your weekends or days off by finding some new places to explore. Adventuring doesn’t have to be done only on the weekends, either. Maximizing your time off also means taking advantage of mornings or evenings. Maybe it means getting up an hour early or getting outside in the evenings once or twice a week to ride your bike, swim, take a drive to the country to watch the sunset, or take a class to launch a new hobby.
Explore your own town.
Chances are, there are all sorts of events and happenings in the city you live in. Go to farmer’s markets, make an effort to support local businesses that you haven’t visited before, or check out your city’s community page for fun events, concerts, or other activities.
Make a plan.
Planning for an adventure requires exactly that: planning. It might mean you need to start saving money for a special trip overseas. Or you might need to make reservations ahead of time for a special hiking or camping pass. Usually, if you don’t plan it, you won’t save the money or schedule the time for it.
Make the mundane an adventure.
We love routines as humans, but mixing those up occasionally can awaken a sense of adventure in your spirit. For example, instead of taking your usual route to work, take the back roads. You never know what kind of beauty or treasures you might find – a new house to rent or buy, a new coffee shop to try, or some scenic homes to enjoy. There is joy in turning the ordinary into extraordinary!
Welcome your friends to adventure with you.
If you have some friends that have the same sense of adventure as you, invite them along on your journey! It could mean planning a weekend together exploring new trails or beaches nearby or planning a more exotic vacation together. Or, you pick a country you want to learn more about, and invite your friends to a theme night that celebrates the food, history, art, and even the language of that area. Invite people to dress up or bring a popular culinary dish from that country or learn a few phrases in that language.
Don’t be afraid to take risks.
Adventures often require taking some risks. That might mean taking the leap to plan that trip that you’ve always dreamed of, or challenging yourself to leave a job that you don’t like and unleash your inner entrepreneur.
So, how will you tap into your adventurous side? Start with one idea and then work your way through more. There is joy and freedom to be found in exploring and creating new experiences!