6 Productive Ways To Spend A Work Free Day.

Every career driven individual loves a work free day, but most times will either have to apply for an annual leave or wait for a national public holiday to enjoy one.

From personal experience and listening to other colleagues share their stories, one can tell that the most anticipated activity most 7 to 5 workers share in common is being able to rest on a work free day.

What’s not to look forward to? You can choose to start your day a bit later, ditch the ties and shoes and dress up casually, plan your time and can do without the rush hour traffic.

For someone who has a steady 7am to 5pm job, this is definitely bliss and even explains why we always look forward to the weekend.

It will be nice to appreciate the entrepreneurs and individuals who provide essential services and may not enjoy the perks of a public holiday.

However, this post is for those who have no control over their 7am to 5pm (or longer) work schedule and have to show up at work every day except on weekends and national work free days.

If you fall under this category and not sure what to do, here are 6 Productive ways to spend a work free day:

Book a Personal Branding /Photography Session.

Do you offer skills/services or product as a side or main job? If yes, then totally consider a personal branding session.

Personal Branding is more than just a headshot. It is basically the practice of people marketing themselves and their skills/careers as a business/brand.

It is a collection of things you do to invite potential clients into your business, captivate, help them connect and relate with your business in an authentic way by using visuals creatively.

Booking a photography session is hugely a part of personal branding and it is a way of marketing yourself and your services from a place of true authenticity.

We are in an image driven era and clients like to see how things are done before they invest time and resources. With personal branding sessions, you can create visuals that show them how you deliver your product or service, how your handle their request and ultimately offer them value.

These visuals should portray your brand and tell stories of your business processes. Take out the time to create new branding content for your business, be consistent with the message you intend to portray, the colours and most importantly your personality. Be authentic.

We probably spend so much time at our day job and keep rescheduling or stalling activities that projects the core of our personal brand. Find the next free work day and book a session to create amazing content for your brand.

Developing your brand through visuals is also great for marketing campaigns, social media feed, websites and public speaking gigs. Remember you will be addressed the way you present yourself.

Update Your CV/Resume

I was having a conversation with a friend and somehow mentioned the need to update my CV with my new skills. She was taken aback and asked if I was actively searching for a new job.

The truth is, you do not have to wait until you are actively searching for a new job before you update your CV. If you have a white collar job, your CV is one document that must alway be ready.

If you have more than one career path, create different CV’s to portray your different skills. Have you acquired new skills and certifications? Have you learnt a new language? New achievements?

A work free day is the perfect time to open a tab on your laptop for yourself!!

Add those new skills and keep your CV ready for opportunities. Take it a step further and prepare a cover letter for each position you are fit to apply for if you were actually looking.

If you have no idea how to start, this article on Free CV template is helpful. Canva is also an app that has free cv templates you can edit.

Research Ways to Monetize Your Skills/Talent

With the growing economy and increasing standard of living, It is no longer news that one’s livelihood cannot be sustained with just one source of income.

This has made it important for individuals to find various ways to earn an extra income and one sure way is monetizing your skills.

When you get a free day off work, use the opportunity to research on how you can monetize your skill. Everything takes time but here are some things you can plan with:

• Identify what skills your are exceptional at
• What platforms to reach your target audience
• What you need to start up
• Find a strategy that allows you balance more than one job.
• Create a structure
• Find out what competitors are doing
• Write a draft proposal to pitch to brands
• Include PowerPoint presentation for better organization
• Join support groups or a community of like minds
• Get a certification for your skill
• Always seek professional counsel

Very popular examples of skills to monetize include: Freelance writing, CV Writing, Email Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Product and Brand Photography, Blogging, Virtual Assistance, Fashion Styling etc

You can click our Work With Me page to find services we can help you with.

Attend Networking Events

As much as you will love to stay indoor on a work free day, it is important to use the free opportunity you have to meet up with people or thought leaders in your field of interest.

While it is clear that most information you need is already on google, can be researched and self taught, it is also important to note that you can learn a lot just by listening to experienced people share their stories.

They have made the mistakes and may be kind enough to share, you can learn for their stories and ask further questions.

So, even though it feels good to stay indoor on a work free day, do not miss opportunities you could get from being in the same environment with thought leaders and connecting with them.

Indulge in a Self-care Activity

Self-care is what work free days should be made of.

Kick off your shoes, do what you love, spend time with the people you love, read a book, watch your favorite series e.t.c

The list is endless and cannot be exhausted, but choose to do something that keeps you happy and rejuvenated.

It’s usually the little things.

Update/Declutter your Digital Footprint.

Have you ever typed your name in a search engine?

What does google know about you? Will you find only tweets about the VMA’s, EPL, Big Brother or your favorite TV show?

You may be pardoned if these results are a search from 2010. However, if you are a career driven individual, it is very important to a have a digital foot print that represents who you are (socially and career wise).

We hear about it every day, we probably know a few people who got jobs online especially social media apps serving as a major tool.

Only very few people now use social media as a platform to just post pictures or as a dating site.

A number of employers now include ones image/use of social media to determine if a candidate can and will represent a company in good light.

Still doubting this? Take a look at your LinkedIn feed and you will be amazed at how serious it is now being taken. Professional headshots, full description of major skills and interest, affiliations, certifications e.t.c are all listed on profile pages with a possibility to attract a potential employer.

Another popular reason to declutter you digital space is using the Oscars / Kevin Hart controversy as an example.

Controversial tweets from Kevin Hart’s timeline resurfaced online just days after he was announced as host for the 2019 Oscars. Even though he apologized years ago, he still got backlashed for it and this led Kevin Hart to step down as host for the 2019 Oscars.

Your digital footprint refers to the set of traceable activities on the internet. To make sure your brand, skill and personality is best represented online, you can:

• Find time to scan your timeline/feed and remove content that you no longer resonate with.
• Post images that portray your personality/brand message.
• Document your career progress/achievement online. This can serve as proof for what you tell employers you can do.
• Start a blog/website for your brand
• Write for other platforms. Request for post credit.
• Use the same brand name on all your choice platforms for easy recognition.

Again, when you search your name on google, what do you find?

Work free days are the absolute best. However, spend it being productive. If you have not done these already, use the free chance you get to organize your personal growth and of course rest too!

Share your thoughts in the comment section

How do you spend a work free day?

Phaytea

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