Do you wake up on Monday morning with a sense of disappointment that you “wasted” the weekend, and don’t feel like you did very much or actually relaxed? It’s time to take back your weekends. These tips from guest blogger Maxine from Almost The Weekend should help you.
If you feel like every weekend tends to fly by in a blur of chores, catching up, feeling tired, and never really recharging your batteries, then here are some easy ways to make the most of your weekends.
First, figure out where your weekends are going wrong
What is it that you’re not enjoying about the weekend? This won’t be the same for everyone.
Are you spending too long on never-ending housework, laundry, and DIY jobs? Are you staying up too late then sleeping all day? Are you making plans you never see through, or not making any plans at all?
Take an objective look at your weekends and it should be fairly easy to identify what are the biggest issues. After that, think about what you would like your weekends to look like. More relaxing? More sociable? More adventurous? More peaceful? Less work?
Once you have a better idea of the goal, it will be easier to figure out practical ways to get there.
Try to change how you think about weekends
There are loads of easy ways to make your weekends better, but if you’ve got a nagging feeling that you keep “wasting” your weekends, you might also need to consider that and work on a change of mindset.
We do tend to really value our weekends, because if you work a 9-5 job then they’re your precious time off, so of course, you want to feel you’re making the most of that. But try not to put too much pressure on the weekends. Those days off are your time to relax and enjoy. If you haven’t achieved everything on your to-do list, that’s ok. You’ll probably be able to fit some of the things in during the week, and another weekend is coming around in a few days’ time.
Don’t let chores and errands take over the weekend
We all have an endless list of “stuff” we need to get done at the weekend. But what you really don’t want is to get to Sunday night and feel like boring life admin was the only thing you did all weekend. You’re far more like to resent the impending Monday morning if you haven’t done anything fun, or you feel exhausted from running around doing chores.
An easy way to address this is to schedule time for your errands and tasks, and not let them creep into the rest of your time. If you can manage it, doing as much as possible on Saturday morning is a great way to stop feeling like you’re spending all your weekend on the boring stuff.
Book an online grocery delivery for Saturday morning, get up and clean the house before you have a shower, pop out to the shop/post office/anywhere else you need to go and get as much as you can do before lunch.
This approach might sound like the last thing you want to be doing on a Saturday morning, but getting through all the tedious things early in the weekend can be really rewarding. You’ll feel like the rest of the weekend is genuinely your own free time to do what you like. Try it and see what you think.
Another thing that can be really helpful is to set a timer for any jobs you’re doing around the house. When the clock’s ticking, you’ll probably work faster, check your phone less, and achieve more. It’s a really useful way to stop the weekend from being taken over by housework and DIY.
Fun is more likely to happen if you plan it
It’s true that “organised fun” sounds like a punishment rather than a reward to most people. But it’s also true that if you properly plan something that you really want to do, it’s more likely to happen. Vague weekend plans can easily drift away and never actually take place.
If you want to meet friends, make a solid plan rather than an ambiguous promise to catch up. If you want to go somewhere, plan the where, when and how of the trip. Book tickets for things in advance. Get dates in the calendar. That way, plans will come to life and you’ll get to do the things you want.
The other benefit to planning the enjoyable stuff in advance is that you can look forward to it during the working week. Why not have a bit of fun with your other half, maybe you need to introduce some toys to help? Check out sex toy reviews and have some fun!
It’s ok to push back on weekend pressures
Sometimes, we don’t enjoy weekends as much as we’d like because of external pressures on how we use that time. If you’re feeling pressured into doing something every weekend, you’re less likely to enjoy it and can even end up feeling resentful.
Whether it’s a family event, a regular social gathering (or Zoom call during COVID), or anything else, sometimes you just want to give it a miss and do something different. And that’s perfectly fine. Let everyone know you’ve got other plans this weekend and don’t feel guilty about it. It’s your time and you’re free to spend it how you like.
Do something to make your weekends a bit special
One of the reasons we love weekends so much is the joyful feeling we get of our time being our own. So harness that feeling and do some things to make your weekend feel a bit more special than the daily grind.
It doesn’t need to be anything big or costly. Make a special breakfast, take a long bath in the morning or have a home-spa day, order dinner to be delivered, or have a family movie night with everyone’s favourite snacks. These things take very little planning and help to bring a sense of occasion to your weekend.
Feel no guilt about doing nothing
It’s easy to overfill your weekend and try to cram in as much as possible. Two days isn’t a lot and if you’re squeezing in too much, you’ll end up with no time to relax. You can also end up stressed if you don’t manage all the activities you thought you could.
Even if you’re happiest going at a fast pace, try to be realistic about what you can practically fit into your time, and don’t feel guilty about leaving time to do absolutely nothing. And if you hate doing nothing, think of that time as your chance to fill it with exactly what you like!
Take charge of Sunday evening
Sunday evening can feel like the gloomy wasteland of the weekend. Monday morning’s looming, it’s time to head back to work and school, and no one’s ready for that. Instead, face it head-on and make sure you do something relaxing instead.
The easy way to achieve this is to get your usual Sunday night prep done earlier in the day. Work clothes, kids’ school bags, lunches, and all the other things you need for the week ahead can all be prepared long before the evening. You’ll then be able to do something enjoyable on Sunday night, get to bed on time, and be ready to face the week.
Have a lovely weekend!
