Free time has two faces: one of a hero and another of a villain. It is not the main objective but a means to achieve certain results that reflect the kind of person you are. On the one hand, it can be the driving force for growth, promote expertise, and be a gateway to the ever expanding world of opportunities on the other hand; if it is not properly managed, it is like a slow poison that kills our potential and entraps us in the same place. What makes it different is the way you deal with it.
Free time could be viewed as the new clay on a potter's wheel. Just to mention three from an infinite list of things that you can intentionally create, you could passively create a new skill, deepen a relationship, and get one inch closer to your dream. Lacking of purpose, free time will simply flow through your fingers leaving only a feeling of regret. Our times are marked by interruptions that come from all directions. These are just the trap that turn leisure time into a wastedland of squandered talents, unending streaming, unthinking scrolling, and fleeting dopamine hits. Having progress is not something that will be made automatically, it will require a commitment, a deliberate choice of engaging in the activities that have a positive effect over time.
Kick off with minor, purposeful actions. The lifestyle of yours can be turned upside down just by reading a book for half an hour a day and in the space of several months. In the long run, besides learning a new language or an instrument, even for just one hour a week, nobody can take the skills you have away from you which will eventually lead you to the venture of new worlds. Exercise, journaling, and meditating in your free time will only make your body and mind stronger. These are not very attractive at the moment, but they are the seeds of your future self.
Now, if you look at it in an opposite way binging a series or chasing likes on social media: the former is constructive, while the latter is only consumptive.
What you really need is to have all the pieces in proper order. Free time should work for the purpose of your objectives, not just be there to fill the empty space. "What do I want to achieve? Who do I want to become?" Give yourself these two questions. And then bring your leisure time back to your goals. It is better to work in a coffee shop than to play a video game. When you are planning taking on a leadership role, rather than chatting, listen to a leadership podcast or read a leadership book. Every decision you make in these free hours gives you one step further or closer to your vision.
It is, however, not about continual relentless productivity. Rest is as legitimate a use of leisure time as recharging one’s batteries is a sort of growth too. The problem is when rest becomes a refuge where time slips away through the fingers in the form of repetitive habits that leave you emptier than before. It is vital to maintain a sense of equilibrium. Live your life far from the confining nowadays hours: learn for one hour, rest for an hour, connect for a minute. Freedom does not get suffocated by control; it merely gets guided.
The aspects of a wrong way of using free time, on the other hand, are very stealthy, and yet they are harsh. To spend the time with pointless, and even harmful, habits is to let the hours lost to them pile up into years of stagnation, which is a consequence you barely notice. The decay is not visible until and unless opportunities pass you by i.e. when acquaintances who have better time management skills overtake you or when you only then realize you are even further from your dreams. On the other hand, people who use leisure time for growth do not only increase but also multiply their talents. The very skill you work on becoming better at today, is the very skill that will open job opportunities for you tomorrow. The habit you cultivate now is the heritage you will leave behind.
Free time is not the end goal, it is merely the method. It is basically the area where you figure out who you are going to be. Will you become better or just remain the same? It’s entirely up to you but the time won’t wait. Every opportunity that you get to be free of obligations is a chance for you to bring something good into existence. Use it with a cause and it will be your biggest supporter. Don’t and it will be your quietest enemy.