There is a myriad of blog posts that talk about how millennial professionals thrive in the workplace. However, not many articles discuss what millennials do in their time off. There is plenty we can learn from the way successful millennials shape their lives in their spare time.
They Take Time to Exercise
Every healthy individual tries to incorporate exercises into their daily life, but successful millennials have really mastered the system. They understand the relationship between exercise and productivity.
Exercise has a positive impact on our mood. It promotes the feelings of reward and well-being.
It can be hard to do your best work when you are having a bad day. But just a few minutes of exercise each day can make you feel better. Exercise promotes a focused and calm state of mind, which is a benefit that will undoubtedly help you do your best at work and elsewhere.
Exercise is key to preventing burnout. It fights fatigue and boosts stamina. Regular physical activity will give you more endurance to power through your busy week. If you are not used to physical activity, you may feel chronically fatigued. When this is the case, managing stress becomes much more difficult.
On top of stimulating the release of the feel-good neurotransmitter known as dopamine, exercise lowers levels of cortisol and adrenaline, which are primary stress hormones.
They Learn New Things
The eagerness to learn new things is a mark of successful leaders. Someone who is dedicated to constant learning knows how to help others overcome inhibitions and obstacles.
Successful millennials are always ready to absorb new ideas and perspectives. One can even argue that their insatiable need for innovation is what drives them forward.
Regardless of their official qualifications, millennials are open to both formal and informal lifelong education. No matter what goals in life you have or what career path you are on, you can rest assured that continuous, day-to-day learning will benefit you.
By adapting your skillset and keeping up-to-date with trends, you will remain relevant to your sector. Digital transformation is a never-ending process. To remain valuable to your business, or to make sure your business remains valuable, you need to continuously learn new things.
Lifelong learning is also one of the best ways to prepare for the unexpected. For instance, the skills you have acquired can help you find work in the event of losing your job. If you are running your own business, a growth mindset can make all the difference in times of uncertainty.
They Make Time for Introspection
Deep introspection is a vital precursor to self-growth. Successful millennials recognize that it takes a lot of looking inward in order to be able to clearly identify the faults they’d like to improve on, as well as learn from the accomplishments and successes they are proud of.
If you want to achieve productive emotional growth, you need to leave time for reflection. Whether you want to grow as a person or as an entrepreneur, you need to identify where you fall short. And introspection will allow you to learn how to treat your failures as opportunities.
They Eat Well
Successful millennials like to eat well, and they like to eat healthily. Millennials want to know exactly what they are eating, so they always make sure to read food labels.
They are among the biggest consumers of organic foods.The often-stereotyped millennial love for avocado toast is changing the entire system, and for a good reason.
The way you eat has a big impact on your life. Your diet can boost your career success. Staying focused on an empty stomach is not easy. Healthy food can improve your brain power and energy levels.
A healthy diet helps you maintain a healthy mind as you age. If you live a sedentary lifestyle, maintaining a healthy diet becomes even more important.
They Escape Into Nature
Henry Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, and other transcendentalist thinkers believed that escaping into uninterrupted nature allows us to connect with our true selves. Successful millennials are proof that such ideas are still very much alive. Road trips, multi-day music festivals, camping, hiking, rafting, and other outdoor activities are priceless for millennials.
Sitting in office buildings all day long goes against our nature. Humans are meant to explore the great outdoors. Whether you camp, hike, ride a bike, run, walk, or simply sit on a park bench, spending time in nature offers many psychological benefits.
For instance, the Japanese practice of “shinrin-yoku,” which roughly translates to forest bathing, is becoming more and more popular in the U.S. Forest bathing is just one of many ways successful millennials are leveraging nature.
Not only are successful millennials spending their time off in nature, but they are finding ways to incorporate nature into their work life. For example, some millennials are taking their work outdoors by building garden offices and office gardens.
They Travel
Even though traveling can be a big expense, the most fulfilled millennials always figure out a way to satisfy their wanderlust during their time off. Millennials love learning about new cultures. They crave exciting experiences.
Because it takes you out of the office environment that compels you to keep grinding all the time, travel helps you to release stress. It helps you improve your mental wellbeing.
But travel isn’t all about unwinding. It comes with unique challenges that can help you become a better problem solver. When you find yourself in a foreign country, and you don’t speak the local language, dealing with missed flights and overbooked hotels requires a lot of improvisation and creativity.
The more experience you have in solving problems, the better you will deal with every new challenge that life throws your way.
They Spend Time With Family and Friends
Last but not least, millennials know that spending time with family and friends is key to achieving the perfect work-life balance. In our digital age, making time for your loved ones, without smartphones and computers involved, is a key part of remaining sane.
No matter what your goals are, don’t sacrifice family life to achieve them. Make sure to set aside a couple of evenings a week for your family and friends. And, to ensure all of you will be mentally present, turn off your smart devices. If you run a family business with your spouse, children, or siblings, avoid talking about work during family time.
Michael has been working in marketing for almost a decade and has worked with a huge range of clients, which has made him knowledgeable on many different subjects. He has recently rediscovered a passion for writing and hopes to make it a daily habit. You can read more of Michael’s work at Qeedle.
