All Work & No Play - Is "Free Time" Really Necessary?

Let’s face it: we live in a world that demands results. To be more specific, it demands rapid results. Light speed results. So much so that we are left to wonder whether or not time spent not being productive is time well spent at all.
What is the point of time if we aren’t doing something important and quantifiably measured? Some would say that that time has absolutely no point and should be entirely cut out of our lives. Others would disagree. I’m a member of the latter group.

Why is free time important?

Free time is incredibly important for human beings, whether the person in question is a five year old or a middle aged business executive. Free time, by definition, is any time that you can spend that isn’t regimented; it is time during which you don’t have to take orders from anybody or do what other people tell you. Rather, it is time you can spend pursuing your own interests, whether that is watching Family Guy or learning how to program a computer in Java.
Free time can consist of anything, and what it consists of can be incredibly important or entirely inconsequential. The important part involved in “free time” – at least to me – is that you can do what you want. It provides the person with a sense of freedom and strips away, at least for a bit, any sense of obligation or responsibility which, as we all know, can cripple a person who is constantly encumbered by it. It also provides a necessary cool down from an increasingly demanding schedule.

Is "free time" just "wasted time?"

There are still those who see “free time” as wasted time, connoting the free time as time that you can’t do something productive during. And, to be honest, I can see where they are coming from. Generally, time that is spent not at work or without responsibility is time where you don’t get anything done. Picture a Sunday afternoon in this case: generally, people who aren’t at work (which is probably the majority of people who work 9-5 jobs on weekdays) are sitting on the couch watching TV, maybe hanging out with friends, or doing anything else similar to that that doesn’t particularly involve anything productive. People who question the validity of “free time” may point to this and ask “what is the point of this kind of free time? Why would you waste your time like this?”
I can concede that, yes, this kind of free time isn’t necessarily beneficial in any way other than the fact that it helps people to relax and be more ready to work when they get back. But that isn’t the only kind of free time.
Several top companies around the world have instituted office policies where, for an hour or so every week, employees can work on whatever they want. They then have to present what they did at the end of the year. This is free time in that they aren’t being told what to do. They’re only being told to do something. And, surprisingly, projects such as these have produced some really incredible products, just because people had the time and the availability to pursue what they want instead of what they are told.
John Monts is a professional blogger for PrestigeTracker.com. John is currently a student at UC Davis, studying Political Science and Economics.