So now you’ve started to free back a ton of time using lots of different strategies and tips. The next question is what you’re going to do with all this new time that you’ve earned yourself.

Because if you’re just going to spend all of it lying in front of the television then you really may as well be working or spending time tidying up in the kitchen!

So how do you start filling your time with worthwhile and exciting activities? How do you create that rich tapestry of memories that reflects a full and long life?

Adventures and Exploration

One thing to do is to keep filling your time with novel and new experiences. As we said in the introduction of this book, novel experiences are more likely to be ‘stored’ in the mind as vivid, long-term memories. This means that you appear to have done more even in a shorter space of time when you think back over the past weeks and months.

So make sure that you are open to as many exciting new opportunities as you can be and that you seek out the things you think are worthwhile. And don’t let yourself make excuses: money, time and energy should no longer be excuses and if you are trying to save money but won’t go on the trip that you’ve always dreamed of, then you are really making the wrong priorities again.

And keep in mind too that you don’t need to travel far or spend lots of money to have an amazing adventure. If you live in the US then there are some incredible sights and adventures to be had through short-haul travel whether you visit Alaska, Disney Land Florida, New York, Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Canada, Mexico…

And if you live in the UK or Europe, then why not take a short flight for less than a long train journey and visit the Swiss Alps, Southern France, the Leaning Tower of Piza, London, Rome or the mini desert in Gran Canaria?

And there are probably things just down your road you haven’t don’t yet too! There are probably stunning walks, hidden cafes and restaurants, museums and nearby beauty spots. Very often we take for granted all the things right on our doorstep!

And what about all the activities you could be doing, free and otherwise? Have you ever been bungie jumping? Paragliding? Skinny dipping? Sand boarding? Skateboarding? Trampolining? Horse riding? Star gazing?

While it’s a bad thing to live your life through Facebook, this can nevertheless be a good barometer of whether you’re having an adventurous life right now. Take a look over your pictures and ask if they’re exciting or if you’re constantly doing the same thing. If it’s the latter, then have a think about what you could do easily to change that!

Other Activities

Likewise, you should also think about the other activities and goals you want to pursue. Many of us seem to think our options each evening are to watch TV or go to bed. But if you look on your bookshelf, you’ll probably find you have lots of unread books. You probably have games you haven’t played. And when was the last time you played a board game with your family? Or how about the last time you made something out of clay?

Try to rediscover that child-like enthusiasm for doing creative and unique things in the evenings and challenge yourself to learn, experiment and grow.

The problem here is capitalism. While capitalism isn’t a bad thing itself, it unfortunately encourages hundreds of companies to invest an awful lot of effort convincing us of all the things we need. We work hard to buy new DVDs, new games and new magazines even when there’s so much we want to do that we haven’t done yet. Thus we work harder, push further and continue to not actually stop and enjoy the things we have.

From now on try keeping a list. Each time you think of something you’d like to do, write it down. And then, instead of sitting down to watch TV in the evening, try doing something on that list instead!

Oh and as a challenge, I want you to try and go without TV for one week. You’d be amazed at the creative ways you find to enjoy yourself in the evening and how much more memorable and fulfilling those are!

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