How to Spend (in) Your Free Time

Relaxation can take on a number of different forms.  For many of us, it will conjure up the imagery of a quiet park bench or a day at home on our sofa with a good novel.  However, it is by no means restricted to these concepts alone…  We are all very different to one another and we all have our own ways to relax.
Take ‘retail therapy’ for instance.  A lot of us would find trailing around busy shops for hours on end a thoroughly stressful experience.  But a good many people will do exactly this as a way of chilling out.  It may seem totally paradoxical to some of us, but ‘retail therapy’ can genuinely be a relaxing exercise for some.
A lot of it is to do with what you are out shopping for.  A trip to the local supermarket to stock up on baked beans, pasta and tea bags is probably not going to have a very relaxing effect!  However, if you go into town for a few hours and wander around looking at the latest designs in women’s shoes or clothes then it can be a whole different matter.
Some ‘retail therapy students’ will enjoy doing this by themselves, whilst others will go off shopping with a friend.  This depends on a number of different factors; the type of person you are, how many likeminded people you know and whether you are concerned about a companion finding the best bargains before you do!
However, now that so many of us are using online services, ‘retail therapy’ is becoming an increasingly solitary experience; although, this is not a bad thing in itself.  Life can be pretty hectic a lot of the time and it is not always feasible to find time to drive or walk into town.  Instead of your retail therapy session being condensed into a few hours, it can be split up into many short ‘browsing periods’ over several days.  Even if these excursions only last for ten minutes at a time they can still prove be a healthy break from the hassles of everyday life.
But this does not mean an end to visiting offline stores.  The internet is great for speed and convenience, but it can never take away the buzz of the real shopping experience.  Hunting through the reduced items section and finding a half price pair of women’s shoes in a designer range is such a glorious feeling.  Besides, you get to sit and boast about your find whilst enjoying a cappuccino with your friends at the local coffee shop!
So, the next time you are thinking about taking some time out, why not consider a trip into town?  It may be a little different to feeding the ducks in the park, but it certainly has plenty of its own good points.  If you have never tried it out as a way of relaxation, then you should at least give it a chance.  Who knows, you may even discover something new about yourself!