How to make the most of your weekend

We all feel some kind of relief when we wake up every Friday morning. It’s the end of our working week, so, no matter how hard and long our day may be, no matter how long and stressful our week has been, weekend is coming! We will finally rest and we will do so many things, for which we don’t have time during the week and we will meet with our friends and we will finally give our home a thorough clean-up and we will…. we will…. we are always thinking of so many things every Friday, that we feel completely disappointed and depressed every Sunday night, when we realize that the weekend just ended and we’ve spent most of it lying on the couch watching TV, nevertheless we are not feeling refreshed. Or we may have been running around doing so many things, that we feel more exhausted than we did on Friday. So, what is the best way to make the most of your weekend?

1. Do not sleep late.
I know that waking up early every day with an alarm may be stressful and most of us want to sleep in during the weekend, but if you sleep the morning away, you will lose so many valuable hours from your weekend. So, you may allow yourself a not-so-early wake-up, but try to get up relevantly early. If you are too tired, it’s better to take a power nap later in the day. This will benefit your body and mind in a much better way than sleeping in.

2. Get your mind off work.
If you are a workaholic like me, your work probably haunts you during the weekend. Try to switch off work and allow your body and mind to rest, without feeling guilty. Don’t get tempted to check your work email or to check those documents you carried home in your briefcase – next time leave them at the office, don’t bring your work home on the weekend. You work hard enough during the week, so you deserve a break.

3. Don’t leave all your chores and errands for the weekend.
If you are working long hours, you are probably planning all your chores and errands for the weekend. But when you do that, you don’t really have enough time to rest. So, try to fit most of your chores and errands in your every day schedule. This may be challenging during the week, but think of how much free time you will gain on your weekend. Also try to complete what is left for the weekend by Saturday afternoon. You will feel relieved and free to enjoy the rest of the weekend.

4. Balance your active and passive time.
Sometimes you may feel so tired, that all you do on your weekend is lye on your couch and watch TV. Or you may have planned too many activities, and as a result, you are more tired at the end of the weekend than the beginning. You have to find a balance. Allow yourself to just do nothing for a couple of hours. But also plan some activities for the weekend, without overdoing it. «Everything in moderation”, as ancient Greeks used to say!

5. Meet with friends and family.
The weekend gives you a good opportunity to meet with your friends or your family members, since most of us have little or no free time during the week. Plan to do something fun with them, try something new, a new hobby for instance. Go to the movies or to the theatre. Everything that changes your daily routine will help you relax.

6. Unplug from your social media.
Use your weekend to meet with people face to face and try to limit the use of your smartphone or your tablet or your pc. If you spend most of your weekend checking your social media pages, you will end up tired, with no energy at all, and probably depressed, because you did nothing else. So, get social on the real world during the weekend.

7. Exercise
If you are one of those people that hear the word “exercise” and panic, calm down. You don’t have to do a hard cardio workout or to lift weights to get some exercise. You can just take a long walk, preferably with a friend. This will help you relax and unwind. On the other hand, if you are more of a fitness freak – and I mean this in a good way – plan any kind of exercise you enjoy for your weekend. Or, even better, try something new!

8. Feed your soul
If you are a religious person, attending a religious service will make you feel content and relieved. Praying also helps a lot. We should always remind ourselves of the bigger picture, the things that really matter. We should never forget our spirituality.
If you are not a religious person – although I believe we all are, one way or another – you may consider taking a yoga class or even try to meditate.
Also, taking the time to help others will make you feel happy. You may spend some of your weekend time volunteering in a local charity organization.

9. Avoid Sunday blues.
Most people get really stressed and depressed when Sunday evening comes. Do not allow yourself to get depressed. Plan something fun, something that will make you happy for your evening. Invite a friend, read a book, bake or cook something. Keep your mind occupied with something positive.Also, take some time to plan the week ahead. Make a detailed schedule for everything. You will feel relieved once you have put everything in order. You will feel in control. Moreover, if you want to start your Monday feeling awesome, see here.

Do you have any more tips on how to make the most of your weekend? Please share them in your comments!