I think so many of us feel very guilty when we get some time to ourselves – particularly if you’re working long hours or if you have many commitments. We could be using that hard-earned free time to work on our deen, sort out the washing or work on our hobbies or. Or. Or. The list is endless. I often find myself reaching for my phone instead, to distract myself and suddenly I’ve whiled away the hours unconsciously.
So about six months ago, I decided to take a break from social media. It was supposed to be a short break, just for Ramadan. But I found myself enjoying life too much to get back on it. Of course, there are many benefits I found, like my life feeling more full and suddenly not wanting to buy anything anymore AND having a less buzzy brain. But one of the main lessons I learnt was mindful free time. I think that’s the best way to describe it!
All it is, is making an active choice with what you will do with your free time, and then sticking to it. For example, watching a movie, a longer Youtube video or reading a book – whatever it may be. Consciously engaging with long form media actually made me feel more productive. Instead of scrolling social media for hours, I could watch one movie, or a couple of episodes of something that I’ve been looking forward to. I actually also found myself reaching for my notebook to doodle in, or write. Giving myself the permission to take a break meant I had the capacity to apply myself better to creative tasks. Things I usually would have put off because I didn’t feel like I had the time. Particularly after a long work day, or a busy social week.
It seems like such a simple switch and so obvious but the impact was life changing. I felt more in control of my days, I had more energy AND I was able to do more ibadah too. Just the act of using my free time mindfully boosted my overall mood, because I was doing things that actually made me happy.
You might be asking how did this equal more ibadah? Well, I deleted the social media apps from my phone. And during ‘dead’ times, i.e. waiting for someone or something, when I would usually hop on Tiktok – I had nothing to do. My phone dare I say it was boring. So whenever I had to wait around, I would just pick up my dhikr counter and do adkaar. I set myself daily targets and I found myself reaching them quite easily. I didn’t realise just how much time I had! You could also open your Quran app and read a few pages too.
That really was my biggest shock. How much time I had. What I thought were small few minutes here and there proper added up and I was able to get a lot more done. Going forward, I’ll be continuing with my mindful free time and highly encourage you to try if you aren’t already. Better yet, take a small break from social media and see what your life could look like!
(If you end up hating it let’s pretend it wasn’t suggested by me . . .)