The Most Underrated Ways to Spend an Afternoon. There’s a point in the day when you’ve finished whatever you actually had to do, but it’s still too early to call it a night. You could either study, catch up on work, clean your room, work out, or finally start that podcast you told yourself you’d start months ago. Or you can do absolutely nothing useful and just call it a day.
Honestly, I think we should all do that more often. We have become so obsessed with turning everything into a task. Even simple things like reading becomes “finishing a book”, cooking becomes “meal prep”, and going to the gym becomes “hitting a goal”. No wonder we end up feeling drained and demotivated.Â
Even hanging out with friends which is supposed to be refreshing and something to look forward to now doesn’t hit the same way it once used to. It needs to be planned three weeks in advance, and by the time it actually happens, everyone is already exhausted. Which is why I believe that having just one afternoon to ourselves with no itinerary or deadlines can be so relaxing.Â
An afternoon with no real plan is surprisingly difficult to have these days. The second we have some free time, we tend to fill it. If we’re not doing something “productive”, we usually open our laptop and start watching Netflix or pull out our phones and start doom-scrolling. Before we know it, it’s 8:59 p.m., the sun has gone down, and we’ve spent hours staring at a screen. Then comes the inevitable realisation that we could have done so much more with that time.Â
My favourite way to spend days like these is to take a long nap. Not the kind of nap where you set an alarm for 20 minutes and wake up feeling like you’ve been hit by a truck. I’m talking about the kind of nap where you get into bed without setting an alarm, pull a nice warm cozy blanket over yourself, and let yourself sleep for hours and hours. There is something incredibly satisfying about waking up at 5 or 6 p.m, being slightly confused about what day it is, and realising that you still have nothing to do.
 After that, I usually make myself something to eat and put on a movie or show I’ve already seen. There is no pressure to pay attention, and no guilt about watching something mindlessly. Sometimes I go for a walk and listen to music. Sometimes I actually go and start something I’ve been telling myself I’d start for ages.Â
Another way I like to spend a Sunday afternoon is by taking an everything-shower. For those of you who don’t know what an everything-shower is, it’s not just some ordinary five minute shower where you wash your hair, put on some soap and get out. An everything-shower needs time. You can wash your hair, condition it, exfoliate, do a face mask, moisturise, and somehow spend way too much time deciding which products to use. You can put on some music, take your time, and for once, there is no reason to rush. While it isn’t particularly productive, it is so therapeutic. Sometimes you come out of the shower feeling like a whole new person.Â
I personally haven’t done this yet, but one thing I’ve been wanting to try for so long is to go on a solo date. I’ve been waiting for another afternoon with no work to do, just so I can go to a new cafe, order some cold coffee or matcha, and just sit there for a couple of hours reading a book or watching a movie.
I’ve read that at first, doing things alone like this may feel slightly awkward. We’re so used to associating going out with other people that sitting by yourself at a cafe may feel like everyone is wondering why you’re alone. Realistically, nobody cares. Everybody is too busy with their own lives to even notice. And the best part is that you don’t even have to compromise on anything. You can eat whatever you want, wear whatever you feel like, leave whenever you want, and spend as much time as you want browsing things you have no intention of buying. There is no “where do you want to eat?”, followed by fifteen minutes of, “I don’t mind, you choose”. You just choose.Â
Maybe the most underrated way to spend an afternoon is to stop trying to make it worthwhile. Take that nap. Have that everything-shower. Go on the solo date. The point isn’t to find the most exciting way to spend your free time. It’s to have a few hours to yourself where you aren’t constantly thinking about what comes next.
We spend so much of our time trying to keep up with everything, that we forget what it feels like to simply have time. Not time to catch up on work or be productive, but time that doesn’t need to be used to achieve anything.
Maybe that’s not wasted time after all. Maybe sometimes the best way to spend an afternoon is to let it be completely, unapologetically unproductive.