Yup, weekends never feel long enough. It’s a universal experience where we all dread coming to work on Sunday afternoon. Imagine you look forward to Friday all week, and before you know it, it’s Monday morning once again. It’s just a matter of how you spend your weekends to make it feel longer. Here are 7 simple strategies to make the most out of your time.
7. Make Plans in Advance
If you want to have a longer weekend, then you have to plan it. Have something to look forward to, like a lunch with a friend or a hiking trip with your partner. But don’t overschedule your weekend, as it would have the opposite effect. After, let the day flow with whatever activity you thought of. Just be in the moment.
6. Schedule a “Guilt-Free Lazy Hour”
That pressure of thinking about what to do might make time shorter for you. With that, designate a guilt-free lazy hour on both your Saturday and Sunday. You can spend the hour lounging on the couch or sitting outside with a book to read. Remember, rest is important, so give your body time to breathe. However, staying on the couch all day isn’t a good idea. Assign an activity for you to stretch your body and think of something outside of work.
5. Plan Something Special for Sunday Evening
Avoid the Sunday Scaries and plan an eventful Sunday night to end your weekend with a happy memory you’ll think of the rest of the week. It may be arranging a dinner out with your friends or a movie outing of the film you’ve been wanting to watch. It’s much better than morphing at home while thinking of Monday.
4. Do Chores During the Week, Not on Weekends
A list of chores guarantees a short weekend for you. Do yourself a favor and free up the weekend by doing these tasks during the weekdays. Divide it after or before work from Monday to Thursday to allow yourself personal time before bed. When we tick off our to-do list before the weekend, this will give us enough time for actual rest and activities we’ve been wanting to try.
3. Limit Screen Time and Social Media
Spending all your time on social media or watching movies over the weekend is perfectly okay. However, you should limit it to give time for the other things you want to do. Rather than trying to cut off screen time, you can practice a one-screen rule where you put your phone away or turn off the TV in the background. Hours spent on doomscrolling won’t bring you any weekend satisfaction and will make you dread the coming week more.
2. Wake Up at a Consistent Time (Don’t Sleep Half the Day)
Sure, sleep is important, but losing half a day will make your weekends short. Give yourself a slow start on Saturdays by making breakfast without screens and sipping coffee. You can also take a morning walk to stretch out your body. This will give you a good start to your day.
1. Start Your Weekend with a Slow Friday Night
Start your weekend with Friday by planning something fun for the night. Plan a family movie night or get a takeout while watching a series you’ve been binging on. Think of anything relaxing to reward yourself for doing great this week. Don’t waste your Friday doomscrolling on the couch because of exhaustion. Do something fun but relaxing to signal the start of the weekend.
