Ever woke up on Monday morning and could not remember a thing you accomplished over the weekend?
I'm sure you have. Between household chores and errands that have been waiting for your attention all week, it is often hard to fit in some family fun and personal time during the weekend. We often feel like being on a schedule during the weekend takes away from the freedom of being on our own time. However, it takes as much scheduling, planning and organization to have a fun and productive weekend as it does to have a productive work week. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your weekend:
1. Plan. Take some time during the week to make a list of things to accomplish over the weekend. In planning, set a realistic schedule. For instance, you would not want to plan a long project, such as painting or gardening, on the same you have to attend a birthday party or wedding. If it does not fit your current weekend schedule, do not plan for an activity that could be done during another weekend. Estimate the amount of time that it might take to complete each task and include start and end times in your schedule. Be sure to include
family activities. Afterall, the whole point of planning is so that you can
have more time for family time.
2. Prioritize. Outside of making time with your family, be sure the most important tasks completed first. For instance, if you expect to have clean clothes to wear to work during the upcoming week, you know that the laundry must be completed by Sunday night. Once you've completed your most important tasks, you can enjoy the rest of your weekend guilt-free.
3. Get an early start. Lying in bed until noon sounds great for a Saturday morning - especially after having to wake up extra early during the week for work. However, giving yourself the same early start that you have given your employer all week allows you to have more time to enjoy with your family. If you normally wake up at about 8 am on the weekend, try awaking 2 hours earlier to get your day started. Set the alarm, as you would for work during the week. Afterall, being on time for your family is just as important as being on time for work. We often ignore this truth, since the consequences aren't as quantifiable. Because we don't see the loss of family time in our pay checks, we tend to take it for granted. However, ignoring the need for family and personal time can lead to added stress that we, as working moms, can do without.
4. Focus. Whether you are doing household chores or running errands, stay focused on the tasks at hand. Resist the temptation to turn on the TV while doing chores, or to stop at the mall for leisure shopping when running other errands. You can do these things during your personal time, once you have gotten all of your important tasks out of the way.
5. Get help. It's okay to admit that you cannot do it all alone (many of us have a hard time acknowledging this). Go through your to-do list and delegate. Get the rest of the family involved in the household chores. If you have older kids, assign some chores to them and give them a time frame during which to complete each task. Ask your hubby to run some errands that you may not have time to get to. This sort of team work
will not only take some of the load off of you, it will also help you to get
things done faster, leaving extra time for the fun stuff.
So yes, having a productive weekend requires some of the same measures we take to be productive during our work week. Having weekends off is a privilege that some working moms do not have at their discretion. If you do enjoy this privilege, don't take it for
granted. Make the most of this time so that you can start your Monday mornings feeling refreshed and completely rejuvenated, knowing that you've had an enjoyable weekend.
For more work/life balance tips, go to www.careermommies.com
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