Does the weekend pass you by?
I don't know about you but my weekend can very easily become consumed with 'jobs' that need doing, and by the end of the weekend I feel I could do with another weekend to recover from that one.
Maybe for you it's the other way round: you've spent the time relaxing, seeing people or doing other nice things that you don't have time for in the week, and you get to the end of the weekend and you haven't had time to do the many essential jobs that await you.
It's easy to get to the end of the weekend and just feel frustrated, drained, inadequate and rubbish about yourself and your life.
Finding the right balance is hard.
As I write this I'm aware most of us probably already have our little routines of how we make our weekend work and what we include in it.
To be honest, I've just overwhelmed myself thinking about all the things it would be good to include to create a nice balanced weekend. If I tried to pack all this into every weekend I'd be on the floor exhausted by the end of it. But here's some of the things I was thinking:
- Get some essential jobs done
- Do something you've been putting off
- Do something you WANT to do
- Put some music on and have a good boogie
- Contact or meet up with someone for a catch up
- Have a nice lie-in, afternoon snooze, or early night (or all three!)
- Celebrate something you've achieved this week
- Do something towards being organised for the week ahead
- Do a wind-down activity like having a bath, reading a book or watching a good bit of Netflix
- Do some form of exercise
- Any other idea you might have...
Every weekend can't be filled with ALL the right ingredients for a balanced weekend. But every weekend doesn't have to be the same.
Maybe each weekend can have a slightly different emphasis, depending on what the biggest needs are at that time.
One week getting jobs done may take a higher priority, but the following week being social or relaxing take precedent, with a bit of the other mixed in alongside.
Are there one or two things from that list that jump out at you that would be good to include in this coming weekend, alongside your normal routine?
So, here's your 5 step guide to a satisfying weekend
1. What do you NEED to do?
We all know there are a million and one things that could be listed in this section. But which ones are the priority this weekend?
Clean undies are a non-negotiable for me, so doing the washing is definitely on my list!
2. What do you WANT to do?
If you could pick something that isn't essential or for someone else, something that's for you and something that you actually want to do, what would it be?
Sometimes it might be a bigger thing.
Other times it may be a smaller thing.
Hopefully it won't be a smaller thing every time.
3. Decide what ISN'T essential this time around
Out of all the things you could be doing this weekend, or would like to do, some must be more urgent or important to get done first.
If you had a list of 10 things, could you number them from 1-10 in order of priority?
If number 10, 9, 8, 7 or 6 didn't get done would that be okay?
I like to keep 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 on my list so that if they get done it's a bonus. If I don't get them done I know they're still there and I could try and fit them into other bits of time.
But you may rather prefer to take them off the list for this time, so that it is more achievable and you get the satisfaction of completing the list rather than feeling like you still have things hanging over you.
People are different, so do what works for you.
4. Decide what order you want to do them in
Which order do you like to get things done in?
Do you prefer to:
- Do essential jobs first and then relax
- Relax and recover first, in order to have the energy to get essentials done
- Mix it all up with a little bit of this, and a little bit of that (I can feel myself bursting into the birdie song at this point!)
5. Be flexible and enjoy!
That's it you're done!
My weekends have a basic structure of the things I fit into it. Usually they also have something that's unique to that specific weekend, depending on what's happening in life at the time.
If I was going to pick something off of that list that I want to take time to include this coming week, it would be to put some feel good tunes on and have a boogie around my kitchen to release some feel-good chemicals into my body and mind. Also to get a meal rota planned so I don't have the dilemma of what to cook every night.
How about you?
Your weekend is a time to nurture yourself in whatever ways feel right for you. Planning it means you're far more likely to take advantage of that time so you start your week feeling rested and rejuvenated.
Good luck and have a good one!
And as always, if you need any help with this feel free to get in touch.
Ruth Gorrie (Coventry, CV2)
