“Free time is a terrible thing to go to waste.”

E.A. Bucchianeri

As Bucchianeri wisely stated, free time is precious and we should use it accordingly. When free time isn’t (unfortunately) a substantial component of our lives, the moment we grasp it, it often gets filled with something we’re passionate about and haven’t had the chance to dedicate ourselves to or we lazily procrastinate through it. The latter could become the case even in an eventual situation in which we get a lot of free time on our hands; when being swallowed by the deep and confusional sea of options of things we could possibly do, the easiest option seems to be ignoring it and somehow just navigate through it. However, the easiest option often isn’t the best one.

The best option is to dedicate your free time to self-development, possibly surrounded by your loved ones, a cozy house with an optional garden or a beautiful view of the sky and a vast variety of snacks. We would like to suggest you some ideas, options and activities to try out to keep yourself busy during your free time.

What to Watch

You might be thinking, does this mean binge watching is a waste of free time and I should give up on it? As actors, we’d be crazy (and most likely had chosen the wrong profession) if we were even remotely suggesting that watching movies or series is a waste of time. That is why we actively encourage you not to give up on it, especially when you’ve got a lot of time to watch a variety of things, because that is one of the most immediate ways of learning. Being a multilingual and multicultural agency we would like to propose international works which will make you dive into new cultures and worlds.

France

• Le Destin D’Amelie Poulin: A lighthearted romantic comedy directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet which will warm your heart through its magical atmosphere and hypnotising simplicity.

• Enfermés Dehors: Albert Dupontel directed and starred in this, interpreting a homeless man who gets access to a police uniform which leads him to a series of discoveries and adventures.

Colombia

Monos: Directed by Alejandro Landes, this drama focuses on a group of armed teens watching over a hostage on the Colombian mountaintop Monos.

“There are escape attempts, murder and a descent into more squalor, suggesting that, as with William Golding’s Flies, filmmaker Alejandro Landes is delivering an allegorical message of some sort.”

Washington Post

Czech Republic

• Tři oříšky pro Popelku is a 1973 czechoslovakian adaptation/ spin on/ original version of Cindirella. The beautiful soundtrack will become stuck in your head.

• Cosy Dens (Pelíšky) is a 1999 Czech film directed by Jan Hrebejk. Pelíšky is a bittersweet coming-of-age story set in the months from Christmas 1967 leading up to the ill-fated 1968 Prague Spring. 3 keywords: teenage love, family and communism.

Israel and something different

• Waltz with Bashir: Ari Folman produced and directed this unique animated documentary film, focused on the 1982 Lebanon war. It won many awards, among which a Golden Globe for best Foreign Language film. If you are interested in a new one-of-a time experience and to get educated about an important event in Israel history, this masterpiece is a must watch.

And if you are a theatre lover…

Don’t worry we haven’t forgotten about you and guess what? You can watch plays from the comfort of your home too! 
An amazing platform that offers a selection of theatre productions  is Digital Theatre +.  Moreover, only recently the National Theatre has started to broadcast live performances on the National Theatre Live website.

Physical Activity

Physical activity is important for your overall well-being and you don’t need to necessarily go to a gym to keep fit. Actually, it’s surprisingly effective, more stimulating and less time consuming (because you save the travel to and from a gym) to do it within the confines of your propriety.

There is a whole universe of training sessions available online, the biggest and best platform for them (FREE) probably being youtube. In order to be consistent and see the results, challenge yourself and add it into your routine; here are some workout suggestions:

•  30 days with Adriene: a 30 day yoga journey which will accompany and develop your physical and spiritual growth. Challenges overall are an easy solution to the routine recommendation. 
• Total body pilates: a workout for your body which will enlighten your core, lengthen and strengthen your entire body.
• Cardio dance workout: burning calories and sculpting your body while having a boogie.

Educational

With a lot of free time on your hands you’re lucky because you can finally finish reading that book you left half read 2 years ago, because too much work and responsibilities got in the way…or you can indulge yourself and read something new and informative.

A very good series of books available on Amazon is the BIG IDEAS SIMPLY EXPLAINED, among which you can find  The Psychology Book, The History Book or the Business Book. 

And if perhaps you get passionate about a new subject among these you can dabble in an Ivy League course to expand your knowledge and even potentially acquire a certificate. There are 450 Ivy League  courses available for free on freecodecamp.org in any subject you can possibly think of, provided by high-end universities such as Harvard and Yale.

If you’re in the academic mood a great middle-ground between the above suggestions is Masterclass: a platform offering classes by the masters of their crafts such as Martin Scorsese teaching Filmmaking, Natalie Portman teaching Acting, Neil Gaiman teaching Writing and Gordon Ramsay teaching Cooking.

Get Creative and Have Fun

On the note of cooking, having fun and freeing your inner master-chef during your free time is extremely gratifying and filling (in every sense).

If you are in the mood of being artistic you could try doing some DIY projects, collage work or wabi sabi. That way you will merge productivity with fun by creating something useful for your house or garden, such as a rug or a personalised mug.

Or else, take out your cards and table games and challenge your house-mates or family; a cool app is Psych which includes many quiz’s in which you can participate both with the people near you and far away.