Six ideas to have more free time and enjoy it too

Disconnect

Because we’re too connected, it seems like work never ends. Technology is at our fingertips from the moment we wake until our heads hit the pillow.

The next time you feel the need to check email while working out or playing a board game with the kids, realize you’re bringing on the time-crunch problem yourself.

Stop checking email

Impossible for some people, but most others waste time checking and rechecking email constantly.

Commit to checking email only a few times a day, and unsubscribe from worthless mailings that you don’t really need. Also, keep your responses short.

Prioritize

What do you really love to do? Make a short list of favorite activities and commit yourself to making time for them.

Eliminate

Find out what you’re wasting your time on and cut it out, or at least reduce the amount of time you spend playing Words with Friends.

Learn to say no

This is hard for many people, but if you say yes to every request on your time, you’ll have less of it to spend with the people who are important to you.

Schedule free time

A busy parent with a commute home deserves time to decompress, but be sure to include special moments in the day to spend with family. Schedule half an hour of game time after dinner or once-a-week date night.

Remember what Henry David Thoreau said: “The really efficient laborer will be found not to crowd his day with work, but will saunter to his task surrounded by a wide halo of ease and leisure.”