Every four years we are gifted with the one thing we all need most, time. Time really is our most precious resource, and this year we are gifted with an extra 24 hours, a whole extra day’s worth of time.
This is an incredible opportunity to do the things that you have always wanted to do but never seem to have the time for. Even better, this year Leap Day lands on a Saturday, which means we don’t have to spend that extra time at work!
So that begs the question, what will we do with this rare gift of time?
TRY SOMETHING NEW
Many of us get so caught up in our daily routines we tend to neglect ourselves. So why not spend this extra day doing something you’ve been wanting to do. Break out of your rut and go for a road trip. Visit a place you’ve never been before or go exploring on a hike. Do something daring and try zip lining. Take a fun one-day class just for kicks. Learn to sing, dance, draw, paint, or play an instrument. The sky’s the limit!
SPEND TIME TOGETHER
Time spent together with the ones you love is never time wasted. Reconnect with an old friend or visit that family member you don’t see nearly as often as you would like. You could even make it a party. Just do a quick search online for Leap Day party ideas and you’ll find plenty of inspiration to get your friends and family together for a good time. Maybe even get together and watch the movie Leap Year just for fun.
READ A BOOK
How many of us have told ourselves we would like to read more? I’d wager most of us. Why not take this extra time to read that book you’ve always wanted. For a few ideas, here are a few books that can be read in a day.
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech
How Full Is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges
Sphere by Michael Crichton
Speed Reading: How to Double (or Triple) Your Reading Speed in Just 1 Hour! by Inspire3 Publishing
As a bonus, many of the books above can be had for free via Amazon Prime, Kindle Unlimited, or borrowed from your local library. If you prefer to have a physical copy, thriftbooks.com is a great place to find inexpensive used books.
LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE
You may not be able to become fluent in another language in 24 hours, but you certainly can learn to introduce yourself. Learning just a few phrases can help you connect with a larger community of people. For instance, you could learn how to introduce yourself and have a brief conversation in sign language in just a few minutes with this video here.
If sign language doesn’t interest you, why not learn how to introduce yourself in Spanish, French, or German. Duolingo or Rosettta Stone are great apps to help you get started with learning another language. Its’ a big world out there, but by learning a few phrases we can help make it a more connected one.
CREATE A FOUR YEAR PLAN
Why let January 1st be the only day we set goals and aim to achieve great things in the future. It will be another 4 years until the next leap day, so ask yourself, where would you like to be in four years. What kind of person do you want to be and what kind of things would you like to have accomplish.
Taking the time to sit down and plan for your future is time well spent. You can even get yourself a 4-year planner to help you map out your goals. After all, it has been said that, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” Therefore, if you’d like your wishes to come true, make a plan.
ENJOY THE GIFT OF TIME
These are just five ideas on how you could spend your time this year on Leap Day, however, whatever you decide to do on February 29th, make sure you enjoy this precious and rare gift of time.
What do you plan on doing with your extra day this year? Let me know in the comments below!
For more fun ideas for how to spend your extra day this year, check out #Gr8Blogs for a little extra inspiration.
Cat Michaels – Five Easy Things You Can DO with Your Extra 24 Hours on Leap Day
Rosie Russell – We’re Leaping and Hopping for Leap Year 2020
Jim Milson – Happy Leap Year Day! What Will You Do With Your Extra Time?
Rebecca Lyndsey – Very Superstitious …
Carmela Dutra – How to Take a Leap on Leap Day
Sandra Bennett – What Will You Do With an Extra Day?
Auden Johnson – How Will You Spend Your Extra Day This Leap Year?
Julie Schooler – 3 Easy Ways to Make February 29th Your Best Leap Day Ever
Thank you for sharing this wonderful and useful information, Chris! I love the way you presented the idea of beginning to learn another language by simply learning to introduce yourself as a first step, and the list of books that could be read in our one extra day is brilliant. Thanks again and very best wishes! ❤️
Thanks, James!
I enjoyed the suggestion of a four-year plan, I think I might just do that. Also, I have never seen the movie leap year. Maybe I should check that too
I really love doing four-year plans, it really helps me and my wife to focus on our goals and priorities.
Loved your ideas. As someone who learned sign language rather late in life, I can support the idea that taking that first step can lead to wonderful places. Hope people check out your video – as you said, your efforts to learn how to introduce yourself will be greatly appreciated by the deaf. And what a clever idea, listing books that can be read in just one day to enrich your life. As you said, extra time is a rare gift. Hope everyone puts it to good use on leap day!
Thanks for the feedback, and I hope you have a great leap day. Let me know if you have any books I should add to my list 🙂
I enjoyed reading through your list of things to do for Leap Day, Chris.
You mentioned Zip Lining. It’s not for me, but our youngest son and husband did it a few years ago. What an exciting experience they had.
Your reading suggestions are great and I’ll make a note of them. Thanks!
Learning something new is always fun to do. I like to play around making videos, myself. You mentioned learning a new language. For those wanting to learn Spanish, the Rosetta Stone program is the best I’ve seen.
The 4 year plan sounds like a wonderful idea! I never thought of that one before.
Happy Leap Year Chris!
Thanks, Rosie. My wife and I have done it a couple times and it was spectacular, especially the one they have on Catalina Island. If you have any other good book suggestions, just let me know. I remember doing Rosetta Stone with Spanish years ago, and I agree, its a great program. Appreciate you dropping by and I hope you have a great leap day!
Chris, I love the idea of reconnecting with family and friends. Never enough time to do that! I’ve worked around interpreters but never picked up sign language myself. You’re motivating me to learn simple phrases. I’m not a big planner but like the idea of looking back to see how much progress I made during a four-year span.
That’s a great point, Cat. Looking back at ones progress is great. I’ve been practicing journaling for the past few years and it has been great to compare where I was in the past, where I am today, and where I want to be in the future.
Ohhhhh love the idea of books you can read in less than a day – thanks for the leap day suggestions!
Anytime! If you have any books I can add to the list, just let me know 😀
I like the learn a new language idea. Thanks for the video. Learning a few new phrases could help me with my own stories since I’m creating fictional languages. Alo like the 4-year plan. I definitely need to do that. Thanks for the tip!
Thanks! That is really cool about creating a fictional language. How do you go about getting started with something like that?
Hi Chris, great post to start your blogging journey with our amazing Masterminders. I like the idea if trying something new but it won’t be zip lining. 🙂 Loved the movie Leap Year, I just might have to watch it again. As for another language, I would love to learn ASL, we have neighbours that are deaf, they lip read most of the time, it would be lovely to surprise them one day and converse in ASL. I already speak Bahasa Indonesia, although it is a tad rusty these days, maybe I could spend the day brushing up on that, but I will be at a marketing workshop for authors all day. Welcome and thanks so much for joining us.
Its been great being about of the Masterminds group! Thanks for reading my blog post and I think it is incredible that you speak Bahasa Indonesia. What prompted you to learn that language?
Love all your ideas. I’m definitely going to be reading. I started a new book yesterday and hope to finish it tomorrow. I love doing new things. Zip lining is very popular here in West Virginia but not something my husband and I have done. He’s not a big fan of heights, even if he won’t admit it. Here though zip lining is taken to a whole new level by being from mountain to mountain.
I also need to watch Leap Year…again. I’ve only seen it around fifty times. Lol
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