So, after a tough day at the office you simply can’t wait to head home, change into your sweats, heat up some leftovers and binge watch your favourite series till 11 pm! Sound familiar? Been there, done that!

But what if I tell you statistics show that you might be depressed stressed and disconnected from life? After a recent study, sociologists at the University of Maryland came to the conclusion that unhappy people watch television while happy people read or socialize.

Did you know that the average South African spend some 36 hours per person, per week, in front of the box? That’s according to statistics supplied by research data company TGI.  That’s a huge number of hours, right?!

We get it, this busy world makes you run around like a squirrel in a cage!  Life seems to be more rushed than ever. However, you might be surprised to learn that according to research, we actually have more leisure time than we did 40 years ago. Ok, so what counts as leisure is up for argument, but we do, on average, get about 45 minutes per day of extra leisure time. So, why does it feel much less? It might pretty well be because we waste half of the time watching television.

Truthfully though, watching television is so easy; you don’t have to dress up or drive anywhere, but according to US sociologist Steven Martin it is an addictive activity that produces only momentary pleasure – like other addictive activities, such as drinking or drugging.  And like them, it may lead to long term misery and regret.

Gretchen Rubin, author of bestsellers “The Happiness Project” and “Better than before”, says that how you spend your leisure time has more meaning and more consequences than you might think.

So, how do you nourish yourself to give you the balance needed to focus on more stressful, daily activities?

Here’s a list of soulful and smart ways on how to spend your downtime:

• Pick up a book. Reading is a favourite activity of mentally rich and intelligent people. Read up on travel, lifestyle food, spirituality … Plunge yourself into a world filled with thoughts and adventures.
• Get out of the house. Join a book club, take a dance class or learn a foreign language.
• Turn on the stove. Entertain friends and family at home.
• Do some good. Help to make the world a better place. Oprah said it best: “Helping others is the way to help ourselves.”
• Get some sweat going. Even a 10 minute walk will refresh mind and body.
• Indulge in a hobby. Too often we leave our passions behind in childhood in pursuit of bigger “better” things. Keep your passion alive; do something you love every day.
• Listen to music. It’s been proven that classical music has a healing effect on mind and body.
• Have real conversations with people. Call a friend or a family member you haven’t spoken to in a while to catch up.
• Start a garden. Grow fruit and veggies in your own backyard.
• Backup your photos – use DropBox and Google Drive. It’s free!
• Start a blog – a fun hobby that can be a great creative outlet.

Keep exploring yourself. Your free time is precious, especially when you’re trying to accomplish everything and anything. There are so many better ways to spend it (while still having fun, off course!) than staring mindlessly at the TV.

Source: www.mindbodygreen.com, www.htxt.co.za, content.time.com, www.timeslive.co.za, womanitely.com, embracingsimpleblog.com, www.reference.com, issuu.com, www.quora.com, www.lifehack.org, www.organicauthority.com, www.lifehacker.co.in, www.livecareer.com, www.psychologytoday.com, www.idiva.com, lovethehustle.com, www.screenafrica.com,