Congratulations! You (yes, you) have been awarded a highly coveted — but rarely found in adulthood — prize, sought after by kids and adults alike…a snow day.

Work called to let you know that it’s true — you won’t need to get yourself out of bed today. You can spend all of the time in the world binge-watching that latest Netflix series and eating all of the Doritos and candy you want.

But hold on just a minute. You can still have a lazy snow day…and at the same time, use the unexpected day off to get ahead.

Your car is covered in snow. Your doorway is blocked. Your trash can is inaccessible. Especially if you’re up early for work anyway, and it’s stopped snowing…why not clean everything off now? You can always go back to sleep if you’re tired later on.

Now that you cleaned off all that snow (and, presumably, went back to sleep)…what’s next? Here are a few ideas:

• Bills. You know they’re there. They’re not going away. You’re always rushing to pay them when you’re working — go ahead, get them off your plate. You’ll be happier in the long run.
• Send a hand-written letter — or even an email or Facebook message — to that friend you’ve been meaning to reach out to but just haven’t had the time to.
• Cook for yourself with these great snow day recipes.
• Read this thriller short story about political corruption.
• Plan a Thanksgiving dinner…for February.
• Spend some time revamping your resume, your LinkedIn page, writing in a career goal journal or building a career brand mind map.
• Shop on Amazon for more than just books, and make money while doing so.
• It’s cold out. Book (or at least research) your next vacation.

And, finally, after enough productivity…go ahead. Climb into your favorite chair or couch, turn on your smart TV, grab your snacks…and reap your reward. While as an adult it is important to budget your time and utilize any unexpected free time you find, it is also important to relax — and a busy work week doesn’t afford that opportunity too often.