Making the Most of Your Days Off by Planning them Intentionally
Do you ever have a weekend go by and by the end of it you're asking yourself, "What did I even do this weekend?" * Raises hand in the air * I am a huge proponent of restful weekends and relaxing to recharge yourself, but so often we spend our weekends just zoning out watching Netflix and scrolling on our phones that we feel neither recharged nor accomplished. We can waste our sacred weekends away without even realizing it. How nice would it be to have a weekend that you can actually remember and appreciate? If you want to know how to make the most of your days off, read on friend!
How to intentionally plan your days off:
1. Before your weekend approaches, start thinking about how you want to spend it. Are you wanting to go on an adventure like camping or exploring a new city? Or are you wanting to have a restful weekend at home? Maybe you're wanting to have a productive weekend where you complete a project or a bunch of items off your to-do list. No matter what kind of weekend you want to have, visualize it beforehand.
2. Mentally or physically write down what things you want to do over the weekend.
Examples for an adventure weekend: roast marshmallows with friends, fish, hike a new trail, spend the night in a new place like a tiny home or a yurt.
Examples for a restful weekend: finish a book, take a bath, meditate for 10 minutes each day, watch your favorite movie, order takeout.
Examples for a productive weekend: clean out an area of your home, start or finish a project you've been wanting to do, catch up on errands.
* Notice how none of these examples include sitting in front of your TV or on your phone for the entire weekend ;)
3. Make time for what you want to do on your days off. Before the weekend comes, decide when you want to do the things you came up with in Step 2. This doesn't have to be long or complicated, just think for a few minutes about how you want your weekend to play out. Here's an example using the restful weekend model:
Saturday:
Wake up and make yourself a yummy breakfast that you normally wouldn't have time for during the week. It can be as simple (but still delicious) as avocado toast or something as fancy as pancakes.
Go on a walk in nature or around your neighborhood for some fresh air.
Read a good book.
Order takeout from your favorite restaurant.
End the night with your favorite movie.
Sunday:
Start your day off by doing yoga from a YouTube video or going to a yoga class.
Take a long bath and listen to relaxing music.
Spend some time meditating.
Journal about your thoughts.
Make dinner slowly, you're not in a rush. Enjoy the flavors.
Go to bed early and let yourself get some extra hours of sleep so that you feel fresh for the next week.
4. Have an amazingly intentional weekend! The point of planning your weekend intentionally isn't to restrict what you can do or to have an overly rigid schedule. The purpose is to simply think intentionally ahead of time about how you want to spend your time. Having days off in this work-centric world is precious, so let's make the most of them.
If you're concerned that you might look at your phone or watch TV more than you'd want to, I recommend leaving your phone in a drawer in your kitchen for most of the weekend and have an accountability partner. If you live with someone like a partner or your kids, tell them your plan for the weekend and that you'd like their help with you not watching a lot of TV or being on your phone too much. If you live by yourself, you could ask a friend to check in with you a couple times a day.
I hope these steps help you to have a more intentional weekend that you can feel good about.
Your gal,
Kayla
