I binge watch Netflix. That’s my crutch. I love finding new shows, but they’re so dull that my mind always drifts back to work anxieties before too long. It’s not exactly an optimal use of downtime.

Most highly successful people have an intense passion for some type of leisure activity outside of their occupation. A hobby, if you will.

Winston Churchill was a lifelong painter of landscapes. The writer David Sedaris likes to spend his afternoons picking up trash on the street. NBA star Carmelo Anthony is considered an expert oenophile or a “connoisseur of wines.”

Hobbies are a more optimal use of downtown than TV and social media because they put your mind in a state of flow. You’re working hard, but you’re giving your mind a break from your daytime occupation, and that’s the point.