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Today is the beginning of the holiday shopping season in the United States (although thanks to online sales it is creeping into other parts of the world as well), and if you?ve been out and about you?ve likely seen stores that are more crowded than they have been all year. With incredible (re: crazy) discounts and every merchant trying to get their hands on the consumer dollar, it seems odd that this day is the one that marks the onset of shopping season, After all, it is the day after Americans give thanks for all that they have ? and all Black Friday seems to offer is the chance to go out and get more stuff to be thankful for (or not) next Thanksgiving.

Don?t get me wrong ? I?m not against shopping. Although I seem to do more online shopping these days, I do my share of spending. But I?m not one for days that the collective population should head out and hit the stores ? whether it be Black Friday, Veteran?s Day or the like. The same goes with Boxing Day here in Canada. I don?t get caught up in the hoopla of it all.

But do you?

If you?re trying to avoid the stores today and are having trobule thinking of alternatives to keep you occupied during the rest of the day, I?ve got The Black Friday Bucket List here — 25 things here that you can do on Black Friday — or during Black Friday weekend — that don?t include shopping. You don?t have to do all 25 (in fact, it’d be hard to do that — you can save some for subsequent years) ? and rather than do them at a discount I suggest you pay full price for each.

The full price of your attention, that is.

The Black Friday Bucket List

1. Read a book that you bought — but havent read yet.
2. Go through the books you have read and donate the ones you no longer need to charity.
3. Start a journal ? either analog or digital.
4. Perform a full Weekly Review.
5. Assemble your wish list for yourself for the holidays.
6. Assemble a list you plan to give to others for the holidays.
7. Write holiday letters to close friends and family to mail out on Monday.
8. Exercise.
9. Spend time with your family outdoors.
10. Catch up on phone calls with those you?ve been meaning to call. (Note: You?ll probably have to leave a lot of messages unless those you?re calling have decided to take a break from Black Friday too.)
11. Prepare a digital photo album for printing for holiday gift-giving.
12. Volunteer your time to a cause.
13. Clean up your computer?s files.
14. Empty your inboxes ? electronic and analog.
15. Bake.
16. Make art in some form or another. Paint, draw, write, whatever.
17. Do those odd jobs around the house you?ve been putting off.
18. Plan your fitness regimen for the next year.
19. Put together your New Year?s Resolutions.
20. Start writing a blog.
21. Declutter your closet, purging it of any clothes you?ve not worn in ages.
22. Put up your holiday decorations.
23. Come up with a plan to reduce your debt and start saving more.
24. Foster your newest hobby. Roasting coffee, brewing beer, scrapbooking, whatever.
25. Dwell in quiet.

This Friday doesn?t have to black at all if you don?t want it to be. In fact, it can be the day where you wipe the slate clean and reconnect yourself with what really matters.

Mike Vardy is an independent writer, speaker, podcaster and "productivity pundit" who also dishes the goods at Vardy.me. You can follow him daily on Twitter, listen to him weekly on ProductiVardy, and read more from him eventually at Eventualism.