5 Ways To Love Your Weekdays As Much As Weekends (& Still Get Sh*t Done!)
“Your life is just as much your own during the week as it is during the weekend…”
I’ve recently been struggling with hating my job at the beginning of the week and then by Thursday or Friday, I have convinced myself that it wasn’t that bad. At least it’s almost the weekend, right? All of the dread and disdain that creeps in on Sunday night and looms over the beginning of the week seems to disappear as the weekend approaches. For a few fleeting moments, I can forget – or at least try to forget – about all of the stress related to work and enjoy my time away from the office. For those few fleeting moments, I can squeeze in some fun and relaxation. However, I quickly found myself becoming someone that chases the weekend to find joy. I quickly found myself becoming the type of worker, and person, I said I never wanted to be.
There are many songs and overall trends that encourage us to “live for the weekend”. In between being told to “work hard, play hard” and live it up while we can, a lot of us are not enjoying the moments that make up the majority of our week. Instead we are living a fantasy version of our lives within the small, shrunken 48+ hour window that we have.
“I quickly found myself becoming someone that chases the weekend to find joy. I quickly found myself becoming the type of person I said I’d never be.”
So what does this really say about us? What does this really say about the majority of our lives? It really just means that we hate the weekday versions of ourselves. Even worse, it likely means we have given up on improving it. Instead of brightening up our everyday lives we put this enormous pressure on ourselves to make our weekends as action packed as possible to make up for lost time. Or if you’re like me, you often are at a crossroads between finally getting to relax and have some peace or socializing and making yourself even more busy. Typically, you can’t make time for both. By the time Sunday evening rolls around, you’re either still just as exhausted from an eventful weekend you pressured yourself into having or you have a growing to-do list of all the things you neglected for the sake of relaxing. So how do we really win?
While it may be easier said than done, evenly distributing activities throughout the week will provide more balance. Not only will inserting things you enjoy into your weekday plans balance out the work and play, it will also balance out your energy levels throughout the week.
Just like there is burnout from the work week, you can experience weekend burnout as well if you’re trying to have a non-stop weekend of fun to make up for lost time. Whenever I have attempted to do this, I find myself exhausted on Sunday night and therefore just dreading Monday even more because I never had any time to rest in between it all.
Finding time throughout the week to rest will allow you to not experience weekend burnout. You won’t be starting on fumes to begin with. This may also be easier said than done depending on your job description and responsibilities. At my previous employer, I was never truly off the clock when I left for the day. I would find myself checking my work email and “helping out” hours after I’d come home for the evening. This obviously impeded on my time that could otherwise be spent disconnecting and doing things I enjoy. While some of that comes with the territory, I definitely could have and should have been practicing healthier boundaries.
“Just like there is burnout from the work week, you can also experience weekend burnout if you’re trying to have a jam-packed weekend to make up for lost time.”
Find out what you’re actually seeking and implement it into your life in small doses. Are you seeking to sleep in and watch Netflix or is it a less toxic work environment that you desire? Are you really someone that needs and wants to party every weekend or are you searching for excitement that is missing in your current social circle? Do you want to continue going to overpriced restaurants with your friends or are you desperate for delicious meals that you currently don’t have the time or energy to make during the week? More often than not, what we are chasing is not actually what we need.
So in short, here are some key things I do (that you can too), in order to start loving your weekdays as much as your weekends:
- Evenly distribute your activities throughout the week to allow more room in your weekend for leisure activities (and not just catching up on tasks).
- Find time throughout the week to rest so you don’t crash come Friday and experience weekend burnout.
- Create work-life balance. Insisting upon better boundaries at work often starts with us and our own habits. Honor your breaks, mute notifications when away, etc.
- Figure out what you’re actually seeking from your weekends and start implementing them in small doses throughout your weekdays.
- Pace yourself everyday. Pacing isn’t just for Sundays, it’s a lifestyle and a mindset.
It may be fair to say no one enjoys their job all of the time and work should never come second to having fun, if your job is causing you excessive distress to the point that it is spilling over into your personal life consistently it may not be a bad idea to begin reevaluating your job. There was a time at my previous employer where I considered quitting and working somewhere with a significant pay cut just so that I could have my life and identity back. Luckily, I did not make this rash (and financially dangerous) decision but I understand the feeling of wanting that balance back. Your life is just as much your own during the week as it is during the weekend.
Cierra is a self-published poet and freelance writer with a passion for mental health and self-help. When she is not writing you can find her watching horror movies or attending any and every concert in the Washington, D.C. area.
Image via Unsplash
