Weekends are short compared to the grand design of life. It's a well-known fact: two days, or less for some, a week doesn't actually provide much time to cool down, relax, and be able to do the 101 things you set out to do. In order to make a weekend seem longer, you need to plan it better and organize what you will dedicate to it. Here are some ideas to get the feeling that the weekend lasts longer.
Steps
Step 1. Get up at the usual time
The biggest mistake is assuming the weekend is the right time to sleep all the time. When you do this, not only will your body lose its rhythm, you will also be saying goodbye to precious time that can be better used. Go to bed earlier if you are exhausted on a Friday night and sleep a little more on Saturday if you are actually destroyed; however, this shouldn't be a regular habit.
Step 2. Dedicate your schedule first
Nobody wants to take care of the housework and few people feel thrills of pleasure when cleaning, loading washing machines and vacuuming. But these are things that need to be done. So, the sooner you do it on the weekend, the better. Set a time frame, for example from 7 to 9 in the morning on Saturdays you will only do this, and ask all family members to cooperate. You will have a great sense of relief after you are done and the rest of the weekend will be free. This is also a good time to prepare food toppings, to freeze them, or to start cooking the dishes that you will set aside to take to work later in the week.
Step 3. Get the grocery shopping out of your mind too
If you can, try grocery shopping during the week. That'll be one less thing to worry about. Otherwise, add it to the early Saturday morning household chores list and finish it before 10 am, before people get up and walk to the store. Always avoid shopping in the afternoon during the weekend: this is when everyone else does it and you will be stressed by traffic, the hard search for a free parking space and queues in the shops. It's just a waste of time. Use this time to go to the hairdresser, to take the dog to the vet, or to tidy up the laundry.
Step 4. Set aside time to pay bills and to do other regular chores
Instead of leaving your documents on your desk, which will be waiting for you like a black cloud in the blue weekend sky, determine a specific time interval to sit down and deal with them. If you have time in the week, this is a good way to get rid of it and not do it on the weekend. Otherwise, add it to your Saturday morning chore list or allocate time between tasks so it doesn't interfere with weekend activities.
Step 5. Plan to do things
Weekends seem longer if you go out and have fun. Mark some events to do on the calendar. When in the newspaper you read about events that interest you, cut out the page and put it on the agenda. Consider what they enjoy doing with you, your family and friends and plan ahead:
- Plan a sporting event, whether you play sports (for example football in the park) or go to a game in order to cheer for your favorite team.
- Plan to go to the museum, zoo, park, art gallery, local fair, school-run bazaar, circus, etc.
- Plan to visit relatives, friends, hospitalized people, etc.
- You decide to relax; trivial as it sounds, you should set aside some weekend time to really rest, and that includes not using electronic gadgets!
Step 6. Plan a trip out of town
Get in the car and change the air. Have a lunchtime picnic or stop for a meal in another city. Getting out of the place where you live gives you the idea that the weekend lasts longer because your mind is dedicated to new things to look at and contemplate. Go hiking, cycling, running, skiing, surfing, sledding, bird watching, plane spotting, writing poetry under a tree, etc. Do whatever you like on your out-of-town trip.
Step 7. Make good use of the evenings
Plan to engage in evening activities that don't involve television, computers, and video games. These things suck up time without even realizing it and suddenly you find yourself wondering how the hours have flown. Rather, go out and do something different:
- Go to the cinema (shows are organized for fixed times, so you can prepare yourself properly).
- Go bowling or other indoor activities.
- Go out for dinner; you don't have to go to an expensive restaurant, just invite a group of friends or your family to go to a place suitable for a pleasant evening, made up of conversations, communication of news and food.
- Go to a concert; whatever your musical taste, there is nothing that improves the mood more than a concert.
- Go shopping; a trip to the mall can be a lot of fun for window shopping and eating out without breaking the bank.
- Go to the pub; have a few drinks and have a good conversation; you don't have to stop for the whole evening if you don't want to, just add this activity to the others.
- Go to the bookstore; browse books, have a cup of coffee and buy a good novel.
- Go to the theater - you will be transported to another world for a few hours.
Step 8. Plan your meals
Organizing what you'll eat can suck up a good chunk of the weekend if you're not well prepared. A lot of frustration can come from simply not knowing what to cook because you have just gotten out of the routine determined by work or study and you don't want to think about cooking; By planning your weekend meals in advance, it's easy to go to the kitchen, follow the recipe, and serve the dish. And make use of devices that save you a lot of time, like the dishwasher. Another good idea is to avoid overly elaborate recipes if you don't like cooking. Otherwise you will only regret having set foot in the kitchen.
Step 9. Treasure the weekend
It is important to respect the time you have, which means not doing things that take hours unnecessarily away. Spending more time worrying about its inexorable passage will not be profitable. Weekends are a time of reinvigoration, to be reserved also for reflection. Give yourself this space and don't blame yourself for lost time.
Step 10. Do something fun on Sunday afternoon
Get everything ready for Monday on Sunday morning, so at six in the evening, instead of feeling like the weekend is almost over, you can watch a movie and enjoy its last bit.
Step 11. Watch less television, play less video games, consume time, which will pass too quickly
Advice
- Relax and just enjoy some free time.
- Always finish your work early, so when the weekend ends you will feel much less stressed.
- Keep the house tidy. This is vital for finding more time in your life. And don't carry extra unnecessary stuff in it - the time you spend shopping to buy new things takes hours away from your other interests. Avoid it like the plague and buy only what is essential, useful and does not create disorder.
- If your professional life is really crazy, consider getting help around the garden and at home to have more time on the weekend. While you have to pay for it, it is important to weigh these costs with the time it takes to weed, water the plants, and clean the house from top to bottom. Sometimes the equation doesn't work if you spend all your time cleaning and gardening!
- Try to avoid clouding your weekend by overdoing it with alcohol or other mind-altering substances. This steals your perception of time and ends up leaving you with headaches, hangover symptoms and fatigue as your ability to do things is impaired. A forgotten weekend cannot be defined as such.
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If you have to accompany your children to numerous places over the weekend, now is the time to start making plans and sharing efforts. Consider the option of asking yourself things like:
- Which of my children is old enough to go alone to the places they should go?
- Which parent / guardian / neighbor / friend / other relative is best placed to accompany the children at a certain time? You could share resources with others and take turns transporting them, so you have several weekends free from this commitment.
- Can some activities be done closer to home?
- Are the children happy doing those activities or maybe it's time to change them (look for some closer to home)?
- Can they sometimes stop at a friend's house for a change or go to a certain activity with someone else?
