When your weekdays are dedicated to working and stressing out, remembering all your tasks and finishing up whatever work you've got left over, you have got to make your weekends (your only remaining two days of solace), ones to remember so you can forget everything else. There are simple and easy ways to make your weekends clear, free and only about you. Here are 4 ways to make your weekends more relaxing.
Finish What You Started
You want the weekend to be all about you, right? If you have got work leftover from the duration of the week, considering spending a few more hours the night or two nights before to finish up everything you couldn't, so that when the weekends comes around, your schedule is cleared and worry free. Try turning this into a weekly routine until it becomes a habit or second nature. Your mind will thank you this weekend.
Send out emails that are still waiting to be sent or memos you might forget. Shred any files you don't need and clear out the junk from both your office and your mind. This is your time to rid yourself of the excess worry and stress.
Log Out Completely
The night before the weekend, make sure to log out of your work emails and turn off notifications. This weekend is your time to keep work as far away as possible. Now that you've finished leftover work, leave an auto reply on your emails detailing that you'll get back to them as soon as Monday rolls by. It will serve you to keep separate devices for work and regular life, so as to not mix and confuse the two.
Spending time looking at emails and lingering around your work space will not benefit you if you are serious about getting a good restful couple of days. Only by disconnecting can a weekend become relaxing.
Schedule Your Alone Time
You want to reserve this weekend for yourself. Once you've got something scheduled, sticking to it is the only way you'll secure a weekend alone. Be brave enough and have solidarity to turn down invitations. If you can't completely avoid social interactions, then try to schedule only a portion of your weekend for complete solitary activities.
Blow off some steam with physical activities that'll have your blood pumping and increase healthy hormones like serotonin. If you workout during the week and are in need of leisurely activities, try settling down with a good book or finishing a puzzle you haven't gotten around to doing.
Off Work Cold Turkey
As tempting as it may seem to spend your Sunday night planning and worrying about the impending work week, cluttering your mind and not letting it get the break it deserves will only hurt you during the week. Don't begin any project or so any preemptive work, as these things can be done during the week, where most of your energy will be expended anyway.
Remember that this work week is all about you and your need to refresh so you're so much more prepared to face the incoming work week. It will serve you to remember that your mental and emotional health will dictate your quality of work for the rest of the week.