Why Treating Your Weekend Like a Vacation is Important to Maintain a Healthy Work-Life Balance & How to Achieve It
Anyone who works Monday to Friday, whether remote, hybrid or in-office, can attest to how important their days off are. However, many people don’t use their weekends to recharge, as most of us have errands and other non-work related activities we have to do. This often leaves us feeling even more tired come Monday morning which doesn’t bode well for us when it comes to getting through the week.
We gathered the best insight from entrepreneurs who work in different environments to understand the importance of treating your weekend like a vacation. They explain how and why it’s vital to take things slow and leave room for self-care instead of making your days off activity heavy.
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Take advantage of Friday evenings
David Williams the founder of A Lean Life says that something he finds to be helpful when it comes to keeping their weekend light in terms of things to do, is to spend their Friday afternoons and evenings organizing for the upcoming week. “My weeks are very top heavy, which means Fridays and sometimes Thursdays are best to plan and organize as I have less on the go. I like to use this time wisely to ensure I make a solid plan of how I will approach the next week, which helps me to get a good picture of what to expect.
Not only does this help me to stay productive throughout the week, but it also means my weekends are less stressful, and I avoid getting the “Sunday Scaries”. I can focus less on what I have to do for work, and instead focus on how I can enjoy my weekend and treat it like a mini vacation.”
Take on a new hobby
Hobbies are an underrated form of self-care according to Sara Robertson the CEO at The Arbors Assisted Living. “Hobbies for me are a great way to try new things and to be able to occupy my time doing something that is good for my well-being. These hobbies don’t always stick, but that’s not the importance of these activities. I find the weekends can be very chaotic, and sometimes we choose to do things that make us exhausted without feeling good at the end of it. Whereas hobbies can sometimes be exhausting too depending on what they are, but we feel much more accomplished, happy and good about ourselves when we make progress.
This makes us feel more energized, and like we are more in control of our weekends instead of them controlling us. This is helpful for our mental well-being and ensures we are using our weekends for fun and relaxation instead of just completing mundane tasks.”
Plan errands for the weekday
“For a long time I felt that I couldn’t possibly use my weekday afternoons and evenings to do anything else but go home, make supper and go to bed.” Says Bryan Mullennix the owner of FeelingVegas. “But there has been a movement recently to take advantage of your “5-9” in the evenings to actually do things like run errands and set yourself up for a successful week.
I use the weekday evenings to do all the things I don’t want to do on the weekends because this leaves my time wide open. Not having weekend plans is sometimes the best because you can take things slow and do whatever you feel like doing in that moment. This allows you time to fully relax and feel refreshed which increases your motivation each week.”
Plan time to be “selfish”
Vacations are all about “me time”, and that is exactly how you should approach your weekends. We all have commitments we have to fulfill, especially if we have kids and family members to tend to. That doesn’t mean though that you can’t plan a little time out for yourself to simply rest, relax and unwind during your only days off. Take time after your kids go to bed, or while they are hanging at their friend’s house to do something for yourself. Don’t use this time to clean your house or run errands, instead use this small window of time to pretend you are on a quick little vacation.
Self-care is a really important aspect of maintaining a healthy well-being, and it can be tough to achieve that during the weekdays when everyone is working or at school. Your evenings become chaotic and busy, which leaves you with little time during the weekdays to plan time for yourself. When you have time during the weekends, seize the moment and ensure you plan to do something fun for yourself, or simply do nothing at all.