Five More Leisure Activities for Docs to Consider

Last month, we focused on a half-dozen leisure time activities that you might choose in order to have a more balanced year. In this article, will discuss for five more activities for physicians, one or more which might be right for you.

The key, in any case, is commitment. If you’re committed to having a greater sense of work-life balance in 2018 than you’ve had in recent years, leisure activities are going to play a vital role in your newfound quest. With that in mind, here are five additional ways to consider.

Cultivate Your Green Thumb
Do you realize that gardening is the world’s number one leisure time activity? Gardening hobbyists and enthusiasts exist in every country around the world. Why? Gardening is energizing. There’s something about planting and watching things grow that connects you to the earth in ways that a glass and concrete medical office park simply can’t do. Go ahead, let your hands get dirty. Spend some time weeding. Water your protégés, and even talk to them, since it’s now known that plants actually do respond to human communication, and actually have a form of communication with one another.

Walk the Right Neighborhoods
I’m going to take a flying leap and bet that you live in a fairly nice neighborhood. Even if you don't, find a nice area and regularly take walks. Walk through neighborhoods of old architecture, historic districts, and garden club advocates. You can map out your steps using any one of a number of smartphone apps, and you can photograph your journeys. Walking represents a readily available activity, at which you are probably already quite adept.

Improve Your Mind
Allegedly, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, when asked why he was reading The Lives of Plutarch, well into his 80s responded “to improve my mind.” Reading does improve minds and your vocabulary undoubtedly improves. Whether you choose historical novels, bodice rippers, contemporary nonfiction, or even poetry, reading broadens your horizons, and helps you experience a sense of relaxation. When is the last time you picked up a hardcover book, and committed to reading it cover to cover? If it’s been a while, you have a wonderful re-discovery in store.

Join an Enactment Group
Someplace within your county, there is likely to be a Renaissance group, a Civil War re-enactment group, or a Revolutionary War re-enactment group. The members of such groups eagerly await the next scheduled date when they can dress up, play a role, and potentially lose themselves in the activity. If this sounds a little hokey to you, maybe it is. Once you actually participate in an historical re-enactment, you begin to understand why so many people enjoy it. 

Attend Local Sporting Events
It’s one thing to watch the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, or the National Football League on television. It’s another to attend a soccer game at your local high school, a tennis match at a college nearby, a swim meet among AAU participants, and so on. The athletes appreciate people who take time out of their schedule to attend such events - just ask their parents. Also, you might find yourself meeting new friends, discovering new things about your community, and maybe even having the inclination to return to swimming or tennis or soccer yourself.