Most people who work during the week, often try to fill their weekend with tending to household needs or other family or community obligations. For many, it looks like getting a few extra workouts in, planning family day or weekend trips, doing home improvement projects, taking care of cleaning and related chores, and the list goes on and on.
While it is good to take advantage of your days off when your work responsibilities are put on hold, trying to do too much for seven whole days, every single week, will soon lead to stress and burnout. You know this is the case when you realize on Sunday evening that you haven’t had any time to rest and relax. This is why you are encouraged to use your weekend whether that’s Saturday (or Sunday) or whatever day your work schedule deems as your days off to do some lounging toward refilling your cup and resetting your stress-o-meter.
Leave Your Work for the Actual Work Week (🧑🏾💼)
Many work traditional work weeks of 8-to-5 or 9-to-5 jobs, otherwise may be in lines of work where their schedule constantly changes. That ever-changing schedule when you aren’t sure when you will be off can bring added stress within itself. Nevertheless, if you have a habit of constantly worrying about work whether you are working or not, or worse, consistently handling work-related obligations when you are technically “off the clock,” could easily put a damper on your personal life and your physiological body.
Yes, some may work jobs where they are required to be on-call, like physicians, coroners, detectives, and the like, but even essential workers need time away from work to fully recharge their minds, bodies, and spirits, with their own personal preferences. Without they can easily stretch themselves too thin leading to burnout because they “work” 24/7, whether they are physically in the office, talking to customers/clients, answering emails, or just overthinking about work in general.
The best thing you can do is only focus on work while you are at work. Whether you work remotely, or in the office, make sure you have a way to distinguish between work and home. If you happen to work from home, then strongly consider having a dedicated workspace, that you only enter into when you are “on the clock”. This makes it easier to switch your mindset from work to being at home once you leave that room/area. Simply put, if you aren’t in your office or at your desk, you should not be focused on your job.
Scheduling Too Much Over the Weekend (📅)
Another big mistake with not having proper days of rest is trying to schedule too much into your weekend. Weekends are great for doing chores, meeting up with friends, and running errands, but you should not dedicate your entire weekend to such. Again, if you do, you may find yourself suffering from a “case of the Mondays” because you have begun your work week exhausted and bumped out because you didn’t “set aside any time for Self.”
We are all guilty of doing too much. Therefore, you (and I) really need to find the right balance between getting stuff done and having some free time for ourselves. Schedule it if you have to – make it an actual appointment with yourself toward implementing practice self-care practices.
Pick a Day to Rest (🛋️)
The best way to find this balance is to have Saturday be your 6th day of work or personal responsibilities for the week, then leave Sunday open for yourself. In this case, Sunday could be your day of rest, which means not spending all day running errands, doing household chores, or working. It is normal to want to take advantage of the weekend to get things done, but when you schedule most of them for Saturday, you have more time on Sunday just for you.
This doesn’t mean you have to lay around all day, but it is a day when you decide what you want to do with your time. This might be a fun outing with your family, going shopping, taking a midday nap, baking cookies, or doing crafts at home.
Your Mind and Body Need Rest! (🫶)
Remember that both your mind and body need proper rest. You should have at least one day or even half a day a week with no work, no chores, and no responsibilities. This is needed for proper self-care, stress relief, and just allowing your mind and body to unwind.
Here is an idea of some things you can do over the weekend or on Sunday in order to rest both your mind and body: write in your journal, meditate, get out in nature (hike/walk), spend time with loved ones, take a hot bath, read a good book, or watch a good movie.
Got Ideas? Need Help? (🆘)
Feel free to utilize the comments section below to share how you de-stress. Or, if you are one of those people who makes everyone else a priority and yourself last, then consider signing up for our Holistic Wellness Coaching to see how we can help you put yourself first. Or, perhaps you are a do-it-yourself, then check out our Wellness Wheel, where you can assess your life across eight areas to see where you’d like to make some much-needed changes. (You can even bring your results to your first coaching session.) Also, be sure to join our mailing list so you stay in the know. #dphealer
