If you’re a young professional, time management is probably not your strong suit. This means that taking the time out for your hobbies might seem a little insane. After all, most of your energy goes into work and rising up that corporate ladder. You spend so much time multi-tasking at work that once you come back home, the only thing that you really have the patience to do is scrolling mindlessly through Netflix while you eat takeout. But continuing like this can lead to a burn-out that is not going to help anyone.

This is why you need to take the time out for your hobbies. I know, the word itself sounds a bit childish. In fact, “What are your hobbies?” is the third question everyone asks a 5-year-old they just met. But it’s not just for kids. Adults need it too, especially young professionals- science also says so! It helps reduce stress, it improves your mental and physical well-being, and let’s be honest- who doesn’t want to do the things they love?

If you can’t figure out how to make time for your hobbies, then don’t worry! That’s what we’re here for. If you follow our advice, you will be able to find time in your schedule to completely relax and just do the thing that you love doing! Plus, you get better at time management! Hurray!

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Tip#1: Find out where the leak is

Young professionals are bad at time management. Of course, generalizing is a bad thing, but I feel like this is true for 99% of youngsters. You either spend too much time relaxing or not enough. You’re either working 80 hours a week or not working at all. Here is where you need to take charge. Time management is an important skill to have, not just professionally but also for your personal life. Once you figure out where you’re wasting your time doing nothing, you’ve cleared space for your hobbies. I know this is easier said than done, but believe me, once you get through this part, the rest will come easier.

Tip#2: Multi-tasking!

Okay, millennials should actually be kinda good at this! I mean being a young professional in a gig economy should definitely teach you a thing or two about multi-tasking. So, do the same with your hobbies! If your hobby is reading, maybe take your book while you commute to work. If you like to write- that’s something you can do while you’re sitting idle in the office. Now, I’m not suggesting you ignore work for your hobby, but you can definitely squeeze your hobbies in there somewhere. Time management is nothing but multi-tasking!

See Also: 10 Fun Things To Do At Home During The COVID Quarantine

Tip#3: Turn off your phone!

Oops! Didn’t mean to sound like your parents there, but they do kinda have a point. You never realize how much time is wasted by just mindlessly scrolling through your phone. This is the one time that multi-tasking doesn’t really work. Once you’ve figured out when you have free time in your day, put your phone on Do Not Disturb mode and keep it aside. Concentrate solely on your hobby for this while! Consider this your first lesson in time management!

If you need help staying away from your phone, here’s a list of apps that can help!

Tip#4: The early bird catches the worm

If you’re a night owl, this one’s probably not for you, but for the rest of us, early morning is a great time to dedicate to your hobby. You don’t have work yet, the rest of the world is relatively quiet and everything is peaceful. If you manage your time well, you can actually get an hour’s worth of time for your hobbies before you need to get on with your professional life. Having all this free time will make you feel like a time management wizard!

Tip#5: Prioritize

You might be one of those people who has multiple hobbies and interests. While that’s a fantastic thing, it might not always suit your schedule very well. Multi-tasking is a great skill to have, but you should also know where to draw the line. Time management means learning how to prioritize based on how hectic your schedule is. Young professionals don’t generally get a lot of free time to begin with, so if you try to squeeze in 3 or 4 hobbies in your schedule, you’ll be even more stressed out. So, prioritize and space them out.

And last but not the least, enjoy!

The whole point of this exercise is to help you relax and let you do something you love. So, don’t stress too much over it. Enjoy the result of all the great time management that you’ve been doing. Even if you can only take out 20 minutes during the weekdays for your hobbies, that’s good enough! You’ll be surprised at how much those 20 minutes will change your life for the better! So, sit back, take a deep breath and relax. Everything will be fine. Just let yourself enjoy the time you spend doing what you love!

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