Look, we’re not saying that there’s a perfect formula to spending the weekend; on the contrary, we believe that resting on your Saturdays and Sundays is pretty much free-form in all aspects and should be up to you to decide. Sadly, however, with the Covid-19 global pandemic still spreading gloom and the daily onset of the stress of working from home, more and more people succumb to this self-destructive mindset of never giving themselves a break because of the fear of losing time.
Sure, you could argue that you’re just maxing out your productivity and catching up with a few deadlines that have clogged up your schedule, but there should always be a time and place for putting the work mantra down for at least a day or two. And so, today, we’ll be going over what a real weekend off should look like and recommend you some activities that you could use yourself to bring back sanity to your rest days.
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Weekends Are Best Spent for Recuperation and Recovery
If we haven’t made it clear by now, we firmly believe that weekends are best spent for recuperation and recovery because it’s no good for the body and mind to be pumping out 100% work capacity 24/7. And to help set you on the right path, the three most important things you should be concerned about every weekend are (1) indulging in a bit of fun with your hobbies, (2) unpacking emotional baggage, and (3) channeling any bad energy into something fruitful.
#1 It’s Perfectly Fine to Indulge in Your Hobbies
No matter the progress and efforts to push for the optimal working conditions and capabilities of a person, we are but simple humans at the end of the day. That reason alone should be merit enough to care for yourself. We shouldn’t feel bad about taking a break and having a bit of fun now and then because even relaxing and taking your mind off stress is an integral factor to building your overall resilience.
- Work-Life Balance Must Come First: Whether it’s through cooking, reading, or playing a few games with your buddies online, these are all respected methods of helping you achieve proper work-life balance. And you’d be surprised at how helpful and stress-relieving these activities can be when you dedicate some time of your weekend off to doing them. Of course, you wouldn’t want to spend all your time doing them, but even a few hours can help recharge your energy for the next week to come.
- Nothing Good Comes From Overthinking: If you’re still on the fence about spending your weekends doing something else other than work or finishing up a team project, allow us to remind you that nothing good comes from overthinking. You might assume that having the weekend to mull over every detail will be productive, but, in reality, it might just introduce more nuances and leave you with an even bigger misunderstanding. So, best give your mind the chance to relax and revisit the matter once you’ve recharged.
#2 Don’t Carry Unnecessary Emotional Baggage
Stress isn’t limited to our well-being’s physical and mental aspects, and it can very well impact and create unnecessary emotional baggage; however, weekends should be spent unpacking them instead of carrying these troubles with you. In fact, you might not get any better chance at working through them than on the weekends off because you’ll be back to work when Monday strikes, meaning that you’re starting the week with some unfinished business boggling your mind.
- Speak Up With A Close Friend: In times of emotional distress, we strongly recommend that you look to your support systems and open up with a close friend that you can trust who will listen and maybe even offer you some advice. Sometimes, even just getting it off your chest can help reduce any anxiety you’re feeling and improve your overall well-being in the process. So, don’t go bottling them up and keeping everything to yourself.
- Meet With A Professional Therapist: In more serious cases that you can’t afford to open up with a friend, we suggest that you meet with a professional therapist who can expertly guide you in sorting out these mixed emotions. Unlike your close friends, a therapist has access to modern mental health systems that can help chart and develop the appropriate treatments plans for your specific case, so please don’t shy away from the proper help that you need.
#3 Channel Any Bad Energy into Productivity
Last but not least, an easy rule to follow for your weekends off is simply channeling any bad energy into productivity. It might seem simple enough, but far too many people forget just how effective manifesting the right mindset can be and end up jumping from one blunder to the next. So, don’t overexert yourself in trying to do every little thing, but instead, focus on what you can change.
- Yoga And Meditation: We all have our preferred methods of putting bad energy into good use, but one method that we think everyone should try is busting out the yoga mat and doing some meditation exercises. You see, the time you spend zeroing on mindfulness can really help put things into perspective. Plus, you also work up a good sweat in the process, which is always a fun bonus.
Don’t Let Your Weekends Go to Waste!
Overall, we stand by the notion that spending your weekends with nothing but work and stress is bad inherently disadvantageous for your health. So, don’t let those Saturdays and Sundays go to waste and learn to relax when your body and mind need it most.