The weekend is the perfect time to relax and unwind. But let’s face it, many of us may have to work or catch up on projects or errands. More often than not, the weekend goes by extremely fast and before you know it, you’re back to your regular weekly responsibilities on Monday.
If you manage your time and schedule well, weekends can leave you feeling well-rested and refreshed instead of overworked and stretched too thin. Here are some key steps to help you feel well-rested after the weekend.
Make Sure Your Calendar Reflects Your Priorities
We all know how great it might feel to finish work on a Friday and have the entire next two days to do whatever you want. As someone who usually works weekends, I know how working and tackling projects on a Saturday can be draining so I make sure my calendar reflects my priorities.
The weekends are a common time to rest and reflect. You can still be productive but don’t neglect your other priority – relaxation. Or, maybe your priority is spending quality time with your friends or family. Start filling in the available scheduling events on your calendar based on your priorities for that weekend.
Maybe you have to get groceries and work on a home project. You can block out time to get these things done by 1 pm. That way, you’ll have the rest of your Saturday and Sunday to take it easy and do whatever you want.
Disconnect From Non-Priorities
The great thing about setting priorities is that you can now know what isn’t your priority and act accordingly. Once you have your weekend schedule planned out, make sure you’re intentional about disconnecting from any non-priorities over the next few days.
This means, if you didn’t prioritize checking your email 50 times a day and scrolling through social media for 3 hours, don’t include this in your weekend activities. Disconnect by limiting your cell phone use, being intentional with what you watch on television, and even staying on social media if it’s not a priority. Setting boundaries by disconnecting will help you feel well-rested after the weekend.
Don’t Drastically Change Your Sleep Routine
I was recently listening to a podcast and I thought it was a great idea when the host was mentioning how you shouldn’t drastically change your sleep routine on weekends. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with sleeping in a bit on Saturday morning, but to go from getting up a 6 am for work during the week to sleeping in until noon may not make you feel as well-rested as you’d think.
You may think that sleeping in will help you catch up on the sleep you lost during the week, but it could have the opposite effect. Researchers have found that this actually doesn’t happen and that women who spent 2 or more hours catching up on sleep during the weekend were more likely to have poor cardiovascular health.
Now, keep in mind that resting when you’re tired is perfectly fine. So it sleeping in occasionally if that’s what you want to do. However, I believe the research is just saying don’t deprive yourself of getting the proper amount of sleep during the week and try to catch on on weekends by drastically changing your sleep schedule.
Adults should get an average of 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night consistently. Plus, there are many other ways to feel well-rested after the weekend that don’t involve oversleeping.
Exercise
A few weeks ago I planned to meet one of my friends so we could get our nails done on a Saturday. When we were trying to figure out a food meetup time, my friend told me that she preferred to meet later in the day or afternoon since she usually does a longer workout on Saturday morning.
I thought this was an excellent idea so I started trying to add more exercise to my weekend schedule as well. It’s a challenge for me to stick to a workout routine at all so I usually don’t get as much exercise in during the week. I now like to take weekends to move more whether it’s going for a walk or extending my gym session for an extra 20 minutes.
I try to keep my commitments low so that exercising doesn’t sound like a chore. But going down an extra block when walking my dog or extending my workout for 20 minutes really isn’t too much of a sacrifice. Plus, exercising on weekends can help clear your head and improve your mood and energy levels.
Schedule Time For Self Care
If you want to feel well-rested after the weekend make sure you always schedule time for self-care. Determine which self-care activities you enjoy and work them into your weekend plans. Aside from exercising, I love to spend more time reading, take a bath or do my nails on the weekend. Other times, I may opt to review my goals, plan out how I’ll complete items on my bucket list, or plan and prep my meals for the week.
Each activity fills my cup and that’s what self-care is all about. While daily tasks and work projects might drain your energy, self-care is what fills you up and can restore some of that energy and excitement for the next phase of life.
By prioritizing your schedule and focusing on self-care, you can not only set yourself up for a successful week but also feel well-rested after the weekend and ready to tackle whatever Monday may hold.
Choncé Maddox
Choncé Maddox is a professional writer who recently left her job in the web design industry to produce killer content and manage her own writing business full time. She is passionate about helping entrepreneurs be more productive and create a life they love by doing fulfilling work. On the side, she runs a podcast and blogs about getting out of debt at MyDebtEpiphany.com.