Wondering how to keep yourself productive during your holiday breaks? Here are 6 productive things to do on your day off.
When I was in school, I always struggled to be productive during the summers when I wasn’t in school learning.
As adults, we don’t necessarily get the warm months off anymore, but it can still be a challenge to keep from collapsing onto the couch when we get home or when we take that all-important mental health day.
Don’t get me wrong: spending your weekend or holiday break recharging out by the pool or in front of your favorite video game (Sims 4 for me, thank you very much!) can be a great way to unwind the stress.
But only so long as you’re actually recharging! Just like a phone on the charger, if you’re vegging out for longer than you need to, you aren’t actually reducing your stress levels. You’re just procrastinating.
Rather than just give you a guilt trip, though, since I’m just as guilty as you some days, I’ve compiled this list of productive things to do during your time off.
So the next time you have a free day or five lined up, you can do something that makes you feel accomplished and then binge-watch the trainwreck that is 90 Day Fiance.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you were to purchase through them; thanks, babe.
Table of Adventures
1 // Refresh Your Body and Mind
So, first and foremost, free time off should be good time off. Whether it’s a harsh semester you’re coming off of, or the work week from hell, you are going to need to refuel your body and mind so that you’re ready for when your break is over.
So settle down, pour yourself some tea, or some wine, unhook your bra, and take a deep breath. Think for a second about your school and/or work – have you been knee-deep in organic chemistry and oxidation reactions? Corporate accounting? Angry customers?
Exhale all that noise. You’re free, at least for now.
Now, no judgments if you want to watch Darcey be a glorious mess, or whatever your particular reality tv poison is, but here are some other options that you might find a little bit more… refreshing.
Meditation
Meditation, for example, is a great way to rejuvenate. There are a whole variety of types of meditation, so depending on who you are and what you prefer, you can usually find one that works for you.
According to Healthline, some benefits of meditation include reducing stress, controlling anxiety, and it can even improve sleep. Imagine that – sleeping better! And without pills! Girl.
How to Meditate // Types of Meditation
One thing that I always try to remember when it comes to meditation is that it isn’t a verb – it’s not some boring process that you have to repeat over and over. It’s just sort of like a… state that happens to you when you’re being mindful.
And as long as you’re being mindful, you’re going to slowly benefit from sorting through your cluttered thoughts and feelings.
Like… if you’re so tired after work, is there a particular reason? Do you feel like you’re doing what you love, or are you just paying the bills, waiting for something better to come along? Is it a particular person that’s stressing you out?
You aren’t necessarily trying to solve all your problems there on the spot. You’re just trying to acknowledge what is and isn’t valid, so you can move on. Like, in my case, I get anxious about the blog.
And if I’m feeling anxious, generally, I have trouble sleeping. But I really want my blog to succeed, so shouldn’t I always be doing something to make it a success?
You can see where I’m going with that. None of you want to read what I would be writing by Day 2 of an insomnia-driven posting spree.
But if I’m sleepless, grumpy, and so on, and it is all coming from the fact that I’m anxious about succeeding and overtired from being anxious, then I can take a deep breath and stop my brain for a second. Then I can tell myself this:
If it’s your day off… take the whole day off. Accept that you are going to move your plans forward on Monday (or whenever) and that your rested brain is going to be better at doing it than your tired brain.
There… take the pressure off. Suddenly, I’m allowed to take a nap. To rest. Because I’ve decided that getting to 10,000 subscribers is a project for tomorrow, not for tonight. Tonight, my job is to not have a job.
Meditation is all about being healthy and logical, and that’s how it helps you do a lot of things like sleep better. Maybe what you really need is a nap. So take one. “But I have to remember to…!”
Okay, so write yourself a note. Then forget about it, because you have a note to remind you. Then take a darn nap.
So enough about meditation, but it really is the best. But maybe you want to do something to refresh your body as well as your mind – in that case, give yoga a shot!
Yoga
So, I’ll preface with an admission. I’ve never tried yoga. I’ve heard for a long enough time how healthy it was, but it wasn’t until I realized how much it could help me improve at rock climbing. What with the… you know… I haven’t been able to go to my usual climbing gym, so I’m a bit out of shape when it comes to the rock wall.
Yoga is great for back pain and for improving flexibility and strength, and those last two would be such a huge help for bouncing back better when it comes to climbing.
Plus, let’s be honest, sitting at home all day in a pandemic or sitting hunched over a computer screen at work, our backs get put through the wringer, so anything that could help untie these knots would be great right about now.
Therefore yoga is great – here’s a good beginner’s guide which you and I can both use to break into it. The nice thing is that yoga mats are pretty inexpensive, so it’s not a difficult new hobby to break into.
Eat Well
Another easy-to-forget but an easy-to-get-started way of refreshing yourself is by eating well. A cheat day is one thing, but why not go the opposite direction?
Give your health a cheat day from your day-to-day diet and refuel with some vegetables, fruits, and other healthy foods that are going to help you stay on top of your game.
Eating seasonal foods is a great way to make sure that you’re getting fresh, delicious-tasting produce, and it also helps ensure that you’re not getting bored of eating the same thing over and over again for months on end.
Peak Seasons for Fruits and Vegetables // Benefits of Eating Seasonally
Alright, so, what if, and this is completely hypothetical as I recline in my mental bathtub with a glass of Moscato, you just want to pamper yourself? You’ve slogged through your midterms or finals.
Or you’ve suffered through your sales meetings with Doug, who, for argument’s sake, is the worst. Person. Ever. (Sorry to any Dougs out there, you’re taking one for the team in this example)
Whatever close-talking, BO-brandishing, God Lord bless their heart type of stuff you’ve had to put up with, maybe the most meditative thing you can do for yourself is to indulge.
So you know what you deserve? A spa treatment!
Spa Time
Go in and have someone absolutely love and pamper you for an afternoon. Regular naps are great, but deep tissue massage naps are even better.
If you can’t get to the spa, either for budget reasons or because the world outside is a dumpster fire again, you can also create one in your home too! This is also good if you’re just someone who doesn’t really like to be touched by strangers – fair point, let’s be honest.
Do you, girlfriend, I’m here with tips to help you, 100%.
Think about the sounds, smells, and sensations you want to experience, and get yourself set up accordingly.
Spotify has a bunch of great lo-fi and meditative playlists (Youtube has some too, but ads suck), and you can pick up some candles or waxes to give yourself that full, immersive experience.
Create a Spa-Like Experience at Home
2 // Start Something from Scratch
So, your brain and your body are both refreshed and recharged. Now we get into the thick of it – you’ve got some time off. Are you gonna be a couch potato?! Or are you gonna be a bold, powerful, productive french fry?
Because french fries are hot! And… long. I don’t know, that worked better in my head, but you know what I mean! Be a better potato!
For starters, a great way to get an immediate burst of energy and to feel like you’re really moving forward in life is to literally start something new. It could be learning a new language. It could be a new project, like refinishing an old bookshelf in your home.
Or it could just be a new book. But take that day off to begin something new so you’re not stuck with the feeling that all you do with your life is work.
For you college students, if you’ve got a couple of months free over the summer, you can really take this to the extreme. Always sort of wanted to be a writer, but you’re majoring in pre-med? Well…
Or you could start that garden you keep thinking about and putting off. I’ll talk more about gardening in a sec, but my point is – if you’re waiting for a sign to get started on that project of your dreams, this is it. Your next day off – go for it!
Gardening
I wish I had a backyard where I could get my knees down in the dirt and plant some flowers and small trees, but even if you’re like me and live in an apartment, you can look into starting an herb garden.
Creating a little herb garden in your kitchen is easier than you’d think and it’ll save you extra money in the long run because you don’t have to buy fresh herbs anymore. They aren’t that hard to maintain either!
Oh, and if you’re still on the fiddle leaf fig craze, because why wouldn’t you be, they’re beautiful, and they add oxygen to your home along with color, and life… they’re perfect.
If you’re an aspiring plant mom like me, you know fiddle leaf figs are pretty particular plants and maybe not the best for someone just getting started.
But there are hundreds of types of houseplants that you can pick from, based on how green your thumb is and how much effort your want to spend maintaining them.
Here are a couple of links to get you started so that your plant babies, and your sense of accomplishment, can thrive.
Successful Herb Garden // Basic Care of Houseplants // Houseplants Anyone Can Grow
So, topic shift.
Business Things
You can start a new business.
Obviously, this one is a lot larger of a commitment than buying a ficus, but the point isn’t that you are going to suddenly be selling products and making millions in a day or two.
But if you’ve always wanted to start your own business, maybe invest some of your downtime in yourself that way.
There are a lot of posts titled “Maximizing your Downtime” and “How Successful People Spend Their Downtime” and the like, but I want to draw a line here because I don’t love that energy. I’m not big on ‘grind every day’-type energy because I think it’s unhealthy.
That’s the type of energy that’ll have you neglecting your family members and turning into an insufferable prat.
We all agree work is important. Just remember that you’ll occasionally need regular time off from this new business too. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your awesome new business probably won’t be either.
All that said, today might be the perfect day to get started.
Businesses are difficult to launch, and the more energy you can devote to planning your path to success, the easier it can be later on down the line when you’re finally up and running. Maybe do some customer research, or put together a rough draft of a business plan.
If your business is one where there are going to be a lot of startup costs, this can help you when you eventually reach out to the bank for a loan or to potential investors.
That said, even if you don’t need a bunch of seed money, a business plan can help you focus on the most important tasks first, without getting distracted by the other minutiae.
You don’t need to go all-in immediately, but you can dip a toe in and see how the water feels. Do what works for you in this regard, and whatever that is, I wish you the absolute best of luck!
Starting a Business with No Money // Most Profitable Businesses to Start // Write Your Business Plan
Another thing you can try, which is sort of a business and a hobby all-in-one, is to try blogging. If you want to join me in this adventure, try blogging!
Start a Blog
Blogging can be what you make of it. It only takes about an hour to set up a new blog, although writing your first post takes however much time you put into it. It’s a relatively inexpensive venture.
High-end search data can get pretty pricey, and you can subscribe to all sorts of services to get better blog templates, pictures, logos, cloud storage for backups, and so on, but there are also free options for most things as well.
I’ll create a post that is all about creating a blog post at a later more perfect time. Long story short, if you want to start a blog, there are sooo many great resources to start with to help you along that journey.
I highly recommend Suzi Whitford’s Blog By Number Course if you’re getting started and have aspirations to do this as a business. It’s incredibly low-cost and it has just about everything you need to set up and get grooving.
3 // Spend Time with Others
With all the rush of working 8+ hours a day, plus commuting, or rushing to classes and internships, and all the various things that go along with the ‘work’ portion of your life, spending time with those friends and family that you rarely get a chance to catch up with can keep you going through even the most horrible of months.
A thousand people have said it – humans are social creatures. We need to spend better time with others.
But even if you aren’t huddled in a cubicle by yourself all day, rubbing elbows with coworkers and classmates and dealing with customers isn’t the same vibe as spending true quality time with friends and loved ones.
Even just quietly hanging out together can be nice, but you don’t need me to give you tips on silently sitting next to someone on a couch while you both are on your phones. I mean… no judgment, I know some people where that’s basically their entire relationship.
But if you want some other ideas that you can use when you have a few friends over, I have several. Which one works best for you – that depends on your personality and how well you know the friends in question.
One pretty safe option is to use games as a way to break the ice and get to know one another’s humor. Codenames, Exploding Kittens, Munchkins, there are a whole bunch of awesome options.
Play Games
Settlers of Catan is a great, more strategic choice, or you could go old school with Life, Scrabble (or Bananagrams, if you want more intense head-to-head Scrabble), or even Monopoly.
My boyfriend and I played Monopoly once as a date and it probably taught us more about each other than we were really ready for at the time. 😂 It turns out I’m the sorest of losers and also terrible at negotiation. He took it easy on me towards the end but ended up essentially owning three sides of the board to my one.
Aside from making me sad and distraught, it taught us how the other person wins (and loses. Ha. *cries*), and that’s a really good thing to know when you’re starting to see someone romantically.
If you don’t know the people very well, I’d warn you off Cards Against Humanity or any game where the punchline is essentially “let me be shocking and offensive.”
There are better card game options, like CultureTags or Apples To Apples, that will help you get to know people without possibly deeply hurting someone’s feelings.
Movie Nights
You can also have your friends over for a movie night! I doubt you need much help with that one either – call two friends, tell one to bring wine, and another to bring cheese, and you supply the popcorn and the television.
Your night is accomplished.
Have a Conversation
And if you’re strapped for new ideas on how to talk to these humans that are now in your house, I got you:
So, you might be thinking: this is all great, but I want to get OUT. I want to go OUTSIDE of my house. If you made it through 2020… yeah. Me too.
Amusement Parks
Have you tried a theme park recently?
Theme parks are a lot of fun, between the rides, the food, and the exercise you get running around. I absolutely love them!
Disney World is, for so many reasons, one of the greatest places on the planet, and Universal Studios Orlando is also an amazing experience, but you’d be surprised how much fun some of the smaller, regional parks can be. Like Dorney Park in Pennsylvania, I love Dorney Park!
Just make sure you pack your sunscreen, because you’ll be getting a lot of sun. And make sure you’re drinking water, you don’t want to dehydrate on a roller coaster.
Pack a Picnic
Picnics are also a great way to get together, either with a romantic friend, a bestie you haven’t seen in awhile, or with the old gang when you’re all finally off of work. The sunshine and the change of scenery can lead to new conversations.
In a similar vein, a day trip to the local pool or watering hole is a great way to have some fun and also get a little exercise. This can also be a good way to meet new people too, since on a hot summer day, the whole town probably has the same great idea you do.
4 // Do Something That Scares You
While you’re spending a lot of spare time at home enjoying the comforts of what’s familiar, why not take a break from it and do something a little bit different. Get out of your comfort zone!
Rock climbing scared me when I first did it, and now I love the sport. Maybe you’re a funny person and you’ve always wanted to try stand-up, but the thought of actually doing it fills you with dread… this is the universe telling you that it’s time.
If you’re particularly nervous, drive an hour or two away and find an open mic night, then give it your all. Chances are you’ll be great, and if you kind of suck, who cares. You don’t ever have to go back to that town.
Obviously I’m not telling you to go do dumb, dangerous things recklessly. If you’re scared of bears, for example… good. Bears are giant, scary animals, and if you ran into a bear in the woods, you would be right to be kind of afraid. You should definitely not run into the forest and go hang out with one.
At the same time, doing something that frightens the ever-living daylights out of you can help you grow in the long run. Maybe go to the zoo and tell one of the keepers that you’re super scared of bears and find out if there’s a show coming.
Because maybe facing that fear will help you face other, non-growling fears that you have in the future.
I’m going to leave you with a quote – “Do one thing that scares you every day!”
15 Ways to Do Things That Scare You // 10 Ways to Feel Confident Doing Scary Things
5 // Volunteer
A really great way to spend your time is by donating it. Spending a productive day helping a cause greater than yourself can do a lot for you emotionally and spiritually.
If the charity needs physical work done, such as planting or gardening in a community garden, or cooking food in a soup kitchen, it can be a great way to learn or practice a new skill. In a lot of cases, you’d also get the benefit of more experienced volunteers who might be happy to give you some pointers.
Volunteering is also a great way to get some social interaction, and to get out of your house. There are all sorts of volunteer opportunities – conservation work, helping walk dogs at the local animal shelter, or helping at a local homeless shelter.
Just a tip – make sure to communicate with the organization in advance so that they can prepare for your arrival, have some tasks ready that you can help with, and even let you know if it isn’t a great time.
Soup kitchens, for example, have a rush of helpers during certain seasons, especially around Thanksgiving, but they tend to be forgotten about in the warmer months, so you might be able to coordinate your schedule with them so that you can make the most difference.
In addition to communicating with them in advance, you might want to do a little research into the organization you’re helping to make sure they’re reputable and everything is above board.
You can find all sorts of information at Charity Navigator – the website is mainly for donors, but it can be super informative if you’re just trying to investigate if a particular charity is well-run and effective at doing what they say they do.
You can also check in with your local library or town hall and ask what organizations are active in your community. Local churches, mosques, and other houses of worship are usually also pretty good resources, since they often coordinate donations to certain other charitable causes – if you’re a religious person and have certain convictions, this can be a great fit for you.
One other great thing to remember going into this though – check your privilege!
You may have the best of intentions, but depending on what you’re volunteering for, they may have their own requirements.
For example, if the charity involves helping children, they’ll probably need to run a background check. If you’re offering to drive people to their doctor’s appointments, they’ll need your up-to-date insurance information.
Be patient with them and try to remember that they’re doing these important things to protect the people they’re trying to help. Just because your intentions are good doesn’t mean the rules don’t apply.
National Coalition for the Homeless: Volunteer // Find the Best Volunteer Opportunities
So, quick brag – in high school, I got a chance to go to Greece for a few days, and as part of the program I got to spend a day cleaning and protecting sea turtles. It was heart-breaking, and it was magical, and it was beautiful. It was life changing.
And that’s really the take-away here. I know it’s easy to be protective of your vacation time, but if you do have the chance to share a bit of that extra time with someone who needs it, it can absolutely change your life for the better.
6 // Leave Your House Daily
This might be the pandemic talking, but I’m absolutely sick of staring at the walls of your house. That said, sometimes as a break from work/school/whatever, you just want to spend your days off quietly inside your house. Bumming out, catching up on your favorite shows, and so on.
If that’s your vibe, go for it. Everyone needs to just decompress sometimes, so no judgment. The problem is if you get to the end of your break and feel like you haven’t done anything.
So to stop you from feeling guilty about your time off, here’s one little commitment you can make to yourself: leave your home at least once a day, even if it’s just to take a short walk and get some fresh air. Or do take that long walk and see all that there is to see.
For most of us, 2020-2021 meant being cooped up in our homes, lacking the face-to-face connections that we need to feel connected to our friends and our neighborhoods. Getting outside means you can get some fresh air, smell the flowers, and get some sun.
Make a short bucket list of all the places that are walkable to your home – I’m a little off the beaten path, for example, but there’s a little walking trail right by our apartment that heads right near a small deli-grocer and a Dunkin Donuts.
So for me, if I have to run out to grab milk, eggs, or my boyfriend wants to treat himself to a coffee, we can turn it into a quick walk to get the blood flowing, maybe even see a random dog or two, and it’s a break from jumping in the car every time we have an errand to run.
Not that you can’t jump in the car for your daily outing – run to the supermarket or the mall to do some window shopping, go to a nearby park and just breathe for a few minutes, or get some yard work done outside.
No matter what you do, you can stretch your legs, get your blood flowing a bit, and feel a little better about your day when you look back at all the new things you were able to accomplish just by getting up off the couch, even if only for a few minutes.
Conclusion to The Things You Can Do During Your Break
Full disclosure – when I hit submit on this post, I’m going to play The Sims. There is nothing wrong with mindlessly enjoying some of your time off, but with this list, hopefully, you can be a teensy bit more productive with your time off work.
Whether it’s summer break, a holiday vacation, or just a well-deserved personal day, I hope it is restful and satisfying, and I hope this list helps you have a unique and enriching experience.
All the best!
Related Productivity Articles:
6 MORE Productive Things to Do In Your Free Time, Part 2
Staying Organized When You’re Overwhelmed
18 Fun Hobbies to Start This Fall