Work-Life Balance and The Weekend – Escape or Improve?
When the weekend comes, most people are (understandably) tempted to just “check out” and take their well-deserved escape from the daily grind. Weekends are commonly viewed more as a vacation than as the valuable resource they are, so many people halt all thoughts of work and just make plans to enjoy themselves. (And there’s nothing wrong with that. God knows we all need some time off to recharge and avoid burnout.)
Does Your Weekend Really Recharge You?
There’s nothing wrong with relaxing on the weekend; kicking back, “vegging out” and doing just enough “nothing” are definitely on my plate once I head home from the day job. An ice-cold beer or two is certainly in the cards as well.
At the same time, though, if I let that become the entire focus of my weekend, I’ll end up unsatisfied, frustrated, and less-than-recharged come Monday morning. I know this because I’ve done it far too many times. Escape from the pressures of the week can be a necessary thing, but it’s only a single part of a balanced diet.
The key here is to make sure you’re not taking your weekend for granted and to view it as the perfect time to work on those work-life balance issues that have been stressing you out during the week (especially if you’ve had some time to work on defining them in your personal war room). If you slate out some of that time on Saturday and Sunday to improve the overall level of fulfillment you have in your life – even if it’s just an hour – you’ll feel a big difference come Monday.
Rock Your Weekend, Revisited
If you’re a longtime reader you’ll remember the Rock Your Weekend challenge, where I urged you to take 60 minutes this weekend to do one of those fulfilling, necessary things you’ve been telling yourself you just don’t have the time for. As you can see in the comments on that post, those 60 minutes can become an experience that takes a weight off your shoulders and makes you feel more balanced for the week to come.
So get yourself some “escape” time this weekend. You deserve it. But at the same time, make an appointment with yourself to revisit your war room and get a head start on living a more balanced life. You’ll thank yourself for it. (And join us in the Rock Your Weekend challenge!)
This is the part where I’m supposed to tell you to subscribe to this blog by email or RSS. You’ll thank yourself for that, too.
Dave,
I’m doing it right now (tweeting back and forth with you, playing with some old computers, chatting with another friend – Monika, and having a nice glass of wine – Mezzomondo Negroamaro…)
Just kicking back and not thinking about much at all
well, I am thinking. Life plans – what will give me true fulfillment.
Brett Legree’s last blog post..the greatest thing since sliced vikings.
I’m one of those people for whom the weekend means nothing. They are just two more workdays. I used to never take breaks, but lately, I’ve been getting the message from just everyone I know that I should take a break. However, since all days are workdays, what I’ve done is learn to take frequent breaks (and the occasional long one), so I think I’m balancing out OK.
But the thing is to never beat myself up over a break or feel like I’m slacking—-recharge time is ABSOLUTELY VITAL TO SUCCESS. I feel much better about things now that I’m doing this. My family likes me a lot better, now, too.
Thanks for puttin’ the reminder out on this, Dave!
Michael Martine’s last blog post..Readers or Prospects? Gateway Blogs Have Reader-Prospects
[...] schreibt Dave Navarro einen sehr guten Artikel über die Work-Life-Balance und das Weekend: “Work-Life Balance and The Weekend – Escape or Improve?“. Er fragt, ob Sie Ihr Wochenende wirklich dazu benutzen, die Batterien aufzuladen oder ob [...]
[...] Navarro macht sich ein paar Gedanken über die Work-Life-Balance und das Wochenende. Dabei konzentriert er sich auf das Dilemma, das Wochenende entweder dazu zu nutzen, die Batterien [...]
Perfect post for today Dave ( hi Brett, hi Michael) . Is it okay if I say that when I was putting on that facial spa mask this morning I smiled and though briefly of you?(Weekend cjhallenge) I woke up a 2:39am this morning.Tossed ,turned, ideas had to get out and onto paper…whole other story there , but the point is I have to balance that. sooo spa are us today, and later some organizing….
Janice Cartier’s last blog post..Loving the Line
Hi Dave,
nice post indeed. But, my weekends are really messy to me. I have to do a lot of *family job* on these days. So, i cannot make myself all the time. As for example, yesterday, i went outside in the morning with my mom & came back in the evening..
Today, i went outside with my grandma, visited some doctors, came to home.. cleaned my snickers… little cleaned my desk… went outside after that for some medicines for my grandpa… came back to home..
worst!! just worst… i hate weekends!!!
how can i make my weekends more nice??
@Brett -
Hope your weekend rocks.
@Michael -
Here’s to the breaks. Glad you’re taking them.
@Janice -
Glad the Weekend Challenge is on your mind
@Zico -
One way to work around that is to do some of those family jobs during the week … freeing up that weekend time. Another way to help make it “nice” is to focus on appreciating the connections with your family … people aren’t around forever, appreciate them while you can …
@Dave,
So far, it has – and hope yours has been the same.
-Brett
Brett Legree’s last blog post..the greatest thing since sliced vikings.
Hi Dave-
Ahhh, amazing what some sleep can do and a balance of a little work, a little play. It can even improve my typing. Your weekend challenge to me was a reminder. While it may seem like a small tweak, some high quality personal time can really renew, reset, and re-energize. Here’s thing, if we don’t do it, nobody else will…so we need to look closely when we set those compasses…make sure the captain of the ship is taken care of too, in whatever form that means for us each as individuals.
So I hope your weekend is going well. Looks like things are fine in “”Vikingville.
( Oh, if you haven’t seen the movie Wanted, I highly recommend it. WOW. It’s not for the fainted hearted, but pushes all kinds of artistic envelopes. It also has a message you might like. Last line of movie. )
Janice Cartier’s last blog post..Loving the Line
I believe a refreshing weekend is something that every one of us deserve. We can effectively delegate pending assignments to virtual assistants and enjoy a hassle free weekend and still remain free of the tension of work getting hampered.
I hope everyone had a great weekend!
@Ishani –
Love your domain name!
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[...] schreibt Dave Navarro einen sehr guten Artikel über die Work-Life-Balance und das Weekend: “Work-Life Balance and The Weekend – Escape or Improve?“. Er fragt, ob Sie Ihr Wochenende wirklich dazu benutzen, die Batterien aufzuladen oder ob [...]
I wish getting over a broken heart can be so easy.. but its not