The 100 Day Challenge, Day 59:
One of the things that gets in my way, and in the way of many of my clients and friends is that we have too many things we want to do all of the time. Can you relate to this? There is so much to learn, do and experience- and that’s the list before obligations come into the picture! The weekends can be a time to tend to make a long list and pile on the expectations. How much enjoyment do you get out of that, really? Do you get a lot done, or do you arrive at Sunday night feeling badly about what you didn’t accomplish?
This weekend do something different. Look at all of the things that are on the schedule already- things you have committed to doing. Write down how much time you have left over, realistically, and when. Now look at the list of all of things you would like to get done- I call this my master list- the one I pull from to write out the next days schedule each night. Which one project or action would make the biggest impact on your life and how good you will feel for accomplishing it? Schedule that in to the time(s) that you will work on it this weekend. Will you be taking steps toward it, or will you be doing that and completely it, too? Be clear about your goal and expectation. After scheduling this one in, assess how much time you have left, and if you have some, take a second thing from the list and repeat what you did for the first one, and so on.
Weekends are totally personal, and some of us work on the weekends, too and if we are not working at our official job, we are driving kids all over town. Having realistic expectations about what can be done will be a real treat. I know some Saturdays, all I plan to get done is some reading in the car as I wait for kids to come out of various activities. If I were to put a bunch of things on a list for Saturday, I am setting myself up for failure as there is literally no time.
I am a big advocate of taking Sundays to just enjoy, especially if you have Saturday and Sunday off from work. A day to be with family, to enjoy a hobby, activity, to create something- gardening, cooking, etc. Time to sit quietly to reflect on the past week and to plan the week ahead. Just slow it down. Be realistic with these things, too. Don’t have a huge list- just plan to enjoy your day, and once again focus on one or two things that you really want to do that day.
Continuing to make the weekends a stressful time to try to get too much done only starts the new week off on the wrong foot.
Try a slower, more reasonable pace- you know what this is for you- this weekend and see how you feel. Enjoy starting next week feeling centered, accomplished, and energized.