When I was in school the weekends were simply two days when I didn't have to go to school. School didn't really hamper my ability to go and do things with friends or have a good time, if anything it helped me see people I wouldn't have otherwise. That sort of structure really made weekends nice, but not necessary. Now however, in adult life, with bills and stress and busy work schedules, weekends are often the only true free time we get. That being the case, it puts a lot of pressure on two simple days. Everyone always says have a good, or even great weekend or on Monday you'll be asked what you did on the weekend or if you had fun over the weekend. I know these are social niceties and people ask to be polite or start conversation, but more often than not if you tell someone you had a bad weekend or didn't do anything over the weekend, you can sense a split second of disappointment. Everyone wants everyone to have great weekends so it does stink to hear about one that was not so, but all that pressure, knowing you only have 48 hours until the routine begins again, often makes trying to relax very difficult.
I crammed so many activities into this past weekend that I actually was awake for over 30 hours trying to do it all. Do I regret this? Not at all, I am young and still very capable of going without much sleep. I will say though that even though I did absolutely everything I wanted to do, I had fun and saw many great people, I don't really feel good. More and more weekends are ending this way for me because using that time to do all the things I want to do with others, gives me almost no time to rest. I know I could just take a weekend day for myself, but it is hard when I only get so much time I'd rather spending it having fun than trying to relax. I guess all I am trying to say is that I feel bad for Saturday and Sunday, days that used to be carefree, now hold the weight of all other days on their shoulders. If Saturday and Sunday can't help you out, Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday and Friday often suffer. So, next weekend I plan to give them a break, no pressure, just go with the flow. Whatever happens, happens and whether I end up feeling better off or worse for wear won't make a bit of difference.
A while back, I noticed that I was trending along the same schedule. Since then, I've tried to have 1-2 (Fri/Sat?) days of activity, one day (Sun?) of zero/minimal accomplishment.
ReplyDeleteIt's working out great so far. That one day to myself/for myself really adds a lot to feeling rested and jolly on Monday.