We are never short of advice in our daily on-line lives. We are bombarded with newsletters, links to blogs and articles. Many of them tell us what we should be doing when we are not actually working.
Should we be told what we should do with our free time? Is it wrong to watch television as some say? If we do, should we only watch the news, current affairs programmes or documentaries? If we read, should it only be non-fiction, biographies of successful business people, books by present or past masters of marketing?
I think we need time to relax. We need to take our minds of work from time to time no matter how much we enjoy running our businesses. I think my best ideas come when I am not thinking about work, when I am out and about, and perhaps walking in the local countryside.
I read non-fiction, but I also enjoy novels, and particularly detective fiction. Recently I have been reading that old master of the genre, Raymond Chandler. His writing is wonderful; the way he almost paints pictures in words of his characters, of their surroundings, and the often seedy atmosphere. I wish I could write as well as he did. We can learn from the masters though, and I am sure for my part it can help when I am working to be aware that good writing is a great asset.
You may think it strange that I am saying that I do not agree with the advice of others in how to use our free time, and yet I appear to be giving advice with which many might not agree. My point is that we all need free time, but how we use it is personal to us. Our free time must not feel like work; doing something we have to do.
After all, we are all different. What do you think?