Simple Ways To Make Your Weekend Feel Like More Than Two Days
Weekends never feel long enough. By the time you leave work on Friday, you’re probably already thinking about the things that you need to get done before the weekend winds down. There’s laundry to get done, groceries to buy, and if you’re lucky, some quality time with loved ones. By the time you’re ready for bed on Sunday night, you might wonder if there’s some way to make weekends feel longer.
No, you can’t do anything to make the weekend feel longer than 48 hours, but there may be some ways that you can get more out of the time off that you have. With some effective weekend time management, you can go back to work on Monday knowing that the weekend is only a few days away.
Don't Let Friday Night Disappear
Friday night might be one of the most overlooked parts of the weekend. It’s easy to feel like your weekend doesn’t actually start until Saturday morning, but there are a few hours of Friday that you have at your disposal. After a full workweek, it's tempting to spend the evening recovering from the week without really deciding what you want to do. You order dinner, watch something, scroll through your phone, and suddenly it's time for bed.
There’s nothing wrong with a restful, quiet Friday night, but it may be a great opportunity to check off a few “smaller” tasks. Throw in the first load of laundry, wipe down the kitchen counters while dinner is cooking, or tidy up the living room. Getting something that seems small done on Friday night can help you feel more relaxed when you wake up on Saturday.
Put Errands In One Part Of The Weekend
It’s easy to let errands that you’ve put off throughout the week sprawl out into different parts of the weekend. You need groceries, so you go to the store Saturday morning. Then you remember you need something from another store. On Sunday, you realize you forgot an item, so you make another trip. Somewhere in between, you stop for gas, return a package, and pick up something you ordered. None of those errands take a lot of time by themselves, but when they infiltrate multiple parts of your weekend, they can become a bit of a time drain.
Consider grouping your weekend errands together. Before you make your first stop, make a list of all the places you need to go and the things that you need to do. Instead of making multiple small trips, try to devote one or two hours to all of the errands you need to run. This allows you to spend the rest of your weekend doing things that are more enjoyable.
Stop Carrying Work Into Your Free Time
One of the main reasons that weekends feel too short is that many people struggle with finding a good work-life balance. While technology has changed the way that most people work, it can also leave you feeling connected to your job, even when you’re supposed to be relaxing. You may check an email over your Saturday morning coffee or respond to a few text messages while you’re at Sunday brunch.
Even if these steps don’t take a lot of time, they can leave you feeling connected to work when you’re supposed to be resetting and getting ready for the upcoming week. Creating some distance can make a difference. That might mean turning off work notifications, avoiding your work inbox, or simply deciding that you're not going to solve Monday's problems on Saturday. If something genuinely needs attention, handle it. Otherwise, write down what you need to remember and return to it when you're actually working.
Don't Schedule Every Hour
Weekend planning isn’t about having every hour accounted for. Instead, it’s about making the most of your time off work. That doesn’t mean that you shirk your responsibilities, but it does mean that you allow yourself some time to enjoy the things that bring you joy. Grab dinner with a friend, play a board game with your family, or put your phone down and enjoy a few episodes of your favorite TV show.
You don't need to make every weekend memorable. You don't need a packed itinerary or a long list of accomplishments. Sometimes the best weekend is the one where you got the necessary things done, spent some time doing something you enjoy, and never felt like you were rushing from one obligation to the next.
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