Making Recreation Count

Recreation.

One of the 'R words' (along with rest and relaxation) that performance-minded and goal-orientated people struggle with. I have trouble taking time to recreate, and I know I'm not alone. Let me explain:

I define recreation as being any activity that is done where the goal in my mind is to achieve some level of personal enjoyment. This doesn't mean that recreating is without fringe benefits (e.g. becoming physically fit might be a fringe benefit of playing a sport that you enjoy), it just means that the core purpose of participating in the activity is to have some good ol' fashion fun.

So why does recreating cause problems for some of us? Everyone likes to have fun, don't they?

For me, and perhaps you as well, taking time for recreation creates a major dilemma. In general, my mind is wholly focused on activities and goals that I feel will bring me closer to where I would like to be in my life (wealthier, healthier, etc). This makes it incredibly difficult for me to enjoy recreation because in the back of my mind I feel that by recreating I am taking myself away from working on my goals. This is a huge problem because my thoughts interfere directly with my ability to enjoy the recreation in which I am participating, thereby partially nullifying the personal enjoyment I am receiving.

When it comes to recreation, I'm quite literally shooting myself in the foot.

After years of struggling with the above problem and speaking to others about it, I've come to find that there are two steps that should always be completed before participating in recreation:

First: Take Ownership of your Recreation

I spoke earlier about taking ownership of your life and how to do it. I think that similar principles can be applied to recreation. Before we participate in recreation, we must permit ourselves the privilege of said participation.

This is no small matter, nor is it something that can easily be accomplished. We all have a wide range of demands on our time and goals pending completion. When the time comes to recreate we have to be able to momentarily put these to the side and enjoy ourselves. I do this by considering all I must do and reassuring myself that I will continue my work when I am done recreating.

I give myself the permission to stop thinking about my goals and go have some fun.

Before you participate in some recreation, give this a try, because it can make a world of difference. You'll know when you get it right because your enjoyment while recreating won't be sapped away by thoughts of other priorities you have.

Second: Focus on Quality

Once you've released your mind from your other obligations during a time of recreation, the next thing you can focus on is making sure that the recreation is very high quality. Quality is important in all places, and a period of recreation is no exception. If you are going to take the time to have some fun, you may as well make sure that you have LOTS of fun.

Personally, one activity I enjoy participating in is cycling. If I consider all areas of my life, cycling serves three primary functions: I cycle to commute to work, I cycle for exercise and I cycle for the pure enjoyment of it. These functions are not mutually exclusive. For example, when I cycle to work, I do get a certain amount of exercise and some enjoyment from the ride, all whilst fulfilling my primary goal of getting myself to work.

This is why it is so important to consider quality as it relates to recreation. If I want to spend some recreational time on my bike, should I ride to my office? No. Should I do some Tabata intervals on a hill? Hell no! Those are approaches that add to the quality of other reasons I get on my bike, namely commuting to work and getting in shape. If I want to maximize my enjoyment while I'm out on a bike ride, I plan on taking a leisurely ride through a local river park so I can enjoy a great path and stop to skip the occasional rock at the river's edge. Not only have I allowed myself some recreation, but I've taken steps to make sure that the amount of enjoyment I receive is maximized.

Before you go out to have a some fun, take a moment to consider what steps you can take to make your recreation high quality. If you decide to play soccer, perhaps you'd have more fun if you played with friends. If you decide to play video games, perhaps you could unplug the phone during game-play so you won't be interrupted in the middle of an exciting gun battle.

Whatever form of recreation you choose, make it count.