You’ve had a long day at work/school, you’re pretty tired, you just got home and realize that you’ll probably need to work later on in the evening to finish off some work or homework, or even work on a community project you’ve volunteered for. You’ve a few hours (or maybe few minutes) to rest and now you’re wondering how can you invest those crucial hours/minutes in order to rejuvenate yourself and attentively tackle the evening work you have to do.
There are a number of things you can do to unwind and relax and here are some. Print this list and place it somewhere in the house so each day you can have a menu of things to do when you just need to unwind/relax:
1. Shower/Wudu
The first thing you should do when you arrive back from outside work is to take a shower or at least make wudhu and simply refresh yourself. This simple act will make you tackle the rest of the evening with a refreshed outlook. Not only will you be cleaning yourself from the dust of the outside world but with a wudhu performed sincerely you’ll also be cleansing yourself from sins inshaAllah.
2. Before Sunset Remembrance
If you arrive home before sunset, after making wudhu, spread your prayer mat and sit down and perform the evening remembrance. Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) commended us to focus on glorifying Him at 2 special times which are before sunrise and before sunset, He (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) said in the Quran: ”Therefore be patient with what they say, and celebrate (constantly) the praises of thy Lord, before the rising of the sun, and before its setting; yea, celebrate them for part of the hours of the night, and at the sides of the day: that thou mayest have (spiritual) joy.” Surat Taha – 130. So make most of this special time for this purpose. If you have more time, I’ll also recommend to read some Quran or make dua all the way till Maghreb and you’ll feel truly rejuvenated.
3. Family Time
Make sure that you have a special hour when you come back home that you spend with your family. This could be over dinner or simply sitting together in the living room sharing stories of the day. Let this time be sacred with nothing allowed to disturb it; no phone calls, no meetings, no TV, no internet. Just you and your family enjoying each others company and giving quality time to each other. These are the times you’ll cherish as you grow older and you’ll regret it if you don’t spend them.
4. Disconnect Time
The time you’re back from work/school up until you’re supposed to start working again in the evening should be allocated as ‘Disconnect Time’. This is a concept propagated by Leo Babauta in his book Focus that simply says you should have sacred hours during the day where you disconnect yourself from technology (mobile phones, twitter, facebook, youtube, internet in general) and simply enjoy your immediate surroundings (your family, the park next door, your library). These disconnect times are crucial in helping you gather your thoughts and strengthening your focus muscle instead of being constantly distracted by daily bombardment of never-ending distractions.
5. Walk in the Earth
If you live near a park or a seaside or somewhere with breathtaking natural scenery. Use the time after work/school to visit these places and simply sit and contemplate on Allah’s creation. Quiet your mind down at these locations and stop thinking of the 101 things you should be doing or the worries you have and simply take in the scenary whilst glorifying and praising Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala). It’s unfortunate that due to our life in cities, we’ve lost touch with nature and the beauty of Allah’s creation. But we must try to inject each day with doses of contemplation in Allah’s creation in order to reconnect with the vastness of Allah’s blessing upon us.
The basic premise of all these 5 ways to unwind is trying to renew yourself spiritually and physically in a way that’s most rewarding for you in Dunya and Akhira.
What do you do during your downtime? Share with us here.
