While the Sunday has routinely been a hard day for some, it has become a more predominant talk topic since COVID 19 here in my office. Everyone wants to know the science or secret behind a good weekend recovery. According to a recent survey, up to 20 percent of Americans spend almost six hours of working over the weekends or holidays. Whether explicitly or implicitly, the societal message is the way to get ahead is working overtime. Any one of my clients will tell you this is what they have learned about balance, work, stress, and working overtime within their sessions with me.
- Set a bookend. Find something to schedule at the end of your day, that forces a hard stop to work. This may look like picking the kids up from the after-school program, a group workout class or knowing you need to get home to let your pup out.
- If you want to avoid burnout, we need to create a new routine for refreshing ourselves when not at work. Find something that is not connected to your work. If you are a noncreative Monday thru Friday, create over the weekends. If you have a passion for feeding others but are working diligently in finance during the week, lend your time down at the foodbank on a Saturday morning. In a cubicle for most of the week without any animal snuggles? Head out to the dog park with your pup or snuggle in while reading with your cat. The point is, do something intentional that is not connected to work, but that fills your bucket.
- To do or not to do-that is always the question. Find balance in down time and in being active in your leisure time. There is no set formula as the activity this busy body requires, it different than someone else.
- Put your phone down and close down that computer. I promise-work can wait and you won’t feel as caught up as you think you will spending time on the weekends working. Accept that life comes with a rolling list of to-dos.
Set intention for your weekends. Put down that work email. Connect with your family, friends and nature!