Now we all love a day off, but do you ever get to the end of the day and feel like you haven’t accomplished anything? I sure do! You’re allowed to have your own time to just chill out and do nothing; in fact it’s very important to have your own unwinding time alone; but sometimes it can feel like you’ve been lazy and haven’t done anything productive.

If you’re ever feeling like that and want to be more productive on your next day off, read my 10 ways below of using your free time productively.

1. Read a book

Run a bath, light some candles and get lost into a good book. I’m really into Chris Carter books at the moment. They’re quite gruesome but if feeling on edge whilst waiting to turn the page is your kinda thing, then you’ll love them as much as I do.

2. Go for a long walk

Grab your iPod, plug in your headphones and fall into your own little world whilst going on a long walk. Walks are great for clearing your head, and light exercise is a great way for boosting your mood.

3. Create a vegetable patch

Everybody is “going green” these days so why not help the environment, be productive and save some money at the same time by growing your own vegetables? Find out how to grow the perfect vegetable garden here!

4. Meal prep

Start your week off right and plan your meals for the days ahead. Why not cook a big pasta bake and freeze it for another meal at a later date? Having ready-made meals in the freezer can make those busy days much less stressful when you haven’t got time to cook from scratch.

5. Write down your goals

Did you know that you’ve got a better chance of achieving your goals if you write them down? So get a diary and bullet point your 5 year plan. Look at it every week and ask yourself whether what you’re doing now is going to help you reach your goals.

6. Bake a cake

This one’s just a bit of fun! If you’ve got kids then this will make the activity a hell of a lot more entertaining. Or, if like me, you haven’t got children, bake a batch of cupcakes and offer them out to your family members and friends. Don’t forget to enjoy them yourself too!

7. Donate your unwanted clothes to charity

We’ve all got a bunch of clothes in our wardrobes that we never wear, or a pair of shoes that we haven’t even taken out of the box yet. Rather than let them grow dust, pile them in a bag and donate them to a local charity shop. Not only will you be clearing out some space in your bedroom, you’ll be doing a good deed to charity and helping the environment by recycling.

8. Create a vision board

Vision boards are a great way to focus on your goals. They’re also really fun to make. Get a piece of cardboard, a magazine, colourful pens, paper, glitter (whatever the hell you want!) and put all the imagery of your goals together on the piece of cardboard. It doesn’t matter if it’s messy; it’s YOUR vision board. Check out my previous post about creating a vision board and what I featured on mine.

9. Create a calming space in your home

Everybody needs their own space where they can go to get away from everybody when they need some time alone to be with their thoughts. Mine is in my office, which features a small white desk, a chair, my vision board, a plant and my books. If you haven’t got a room which you can call yours then make yourself a calming space in a corner of a room. Maybe you’d rather have a beanbag chair or a pile of cushions to sit on rather than a desk and chair like me. Just make sure you have a little area where you can go to be alone and to think on your own.

10. Start a blog

If you haven’t already done so, create a blog. Blogs are a great platform to express your thoughts and I find the blogging community on WordPress and Twitter so friendly. You could have a public blog and turn it into a business or you could have a private blog which you use as a journal for your thoughts. Blogging is a great way to escape the sometimes hectic reality life sometimes brings and there’s so much support out there from other bloggers if you’re looking for a new venture.