5 Ways to Add Value to Your Weekend


Hopefully you’re reading this post over a coffee on Monday morning after a perfect weekend.  Your batteries are fully charged and you’re feeling ready to conquer the world this week.  You’re well rested, invigorated, and able to tackle whatever the week brings you.

No?  Doesn’t sound quite like you?  Maybe you’re like the rest of us, stuffing the weekend so full of activities that you need to go back to work just to get a rest.  Here are a few quick tips that you can use to help get you ready to go back to work on Monday.

1. Spend quality time with your family

If you have a family, this might seem like a given, especially if you’re racing one kid to soccer and another to swimming lessons, but driving and talking isn’t quite quality time.  Whether it’s with your kids or your spouse, schedule some time to spend with them, one-on-one.  And remember, they determine what quality is – so make it count.

2. Volunteer

Find a way to give back to your community or your cause.  The difference this can make in your life is amazing; physically, spiritually, and psychologically.

3. Reward yourself

If you’ve read the first part of this post and thought “sure – when am I going to find the time to do that!?” – create a plan of what you want to accomplish, schedule it, and reward yourself when you reach your target with a treat of your choice.  From chocolate to Guiness – it’s much tastier when you meet your goal.

4. Invest in some “me” time

Find time in the weekend to do something just for you.   It doesn’t need to be a lot of time, but it should be time that you are the only one involved.

5. Turn off your computer

Easy to say, hard to do.  As great as it is, the internet can be a bit of a time suck.  You’re probably on the computer already for most of the work week – leave it alone on the weekend and you’ll probably find you gain a few hours to do the other things you enjoy.

Remember that you only have 168 hours to make your week awesome.


After spending way too long in the corporate world, Jason has switched to full-time freelancing. With any luck you enjoyed this article - and if you need one of your very own, give him a shout! @brandscaping on the twitter, or at brandscaping.ca

Discussion

  1. Richard Gaffney on the 5th June

    I would have added value to my weekend but I was” Rewarding myself” by investing in some “me time” by staying away from my computer.

    Got some good points though.

    • Jason Finnerty on the 6th June

      Glad to see you’ve got a system that works for you! 🙂

  2. Charlie on the 6th June

    Hi, great post! 🙂 for me weekend is almost always time for “self improvements” :> after parties on “friday” 🙂

    • Jason Finnerty on the 6th June

      Hey Charlie – as I’ve gotten older, I’ve found that it takes me more than 2 days to recover from Friday night.
      The other challenge on my weekends is that my wife likes to schedule my time for me…

  3. Lasitha (smashydesign) on the 6th June

    Very good points. I like to add something that i do on weekends. I do learn new things in weekends. Attending classes, meeting gurus, etc. We should learn things that we like. It doesn’t have to be job related thing. But there are hell of a lot things to learn if you want. It is really interesting and enjoyable when you do these type of things also.
    Thanks a lot for sharing your valuable thoughts.
    Cheers!

    • Jason Finnerty on the 6th June

      Lasitha – this is excellent advice – I’m a big of of constantly learning, and I think this can be a great reward after working the rest of the week.
      Who knows – maybe you’ll even learn something that will make the upcoming week easier.

      thanks for the comment!

      @brandscaping

  4. Pablo Valerio on the 7th June

    I would add “Turn off your cell phone”…but if you can’t just use it for personal reasons..

    I suppose No. 5 includes any Internet device.. iPhone, BlackBerry, etc…

  5. Randy Clark on the 18th October

    I think, under invest in “m”e time it would be important to add exercise, get out doors, break a sweat, and read, study, take a class… learn something new. Thank you for the post.

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