The One Secret to a Great Weekend

Reblogged from Todd Stocker's Blog:

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As a kid, I always loved Halloween.  I mean, who wouldn’t?  Go to people’s homes, ring the doorbell, spout off that silly little phrase and get candy!  What could be easier?  As I grew older, I understood more clearly that the origins of this American favorite, were rooted in things that were not of God and I withdrew from the practice. 

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If you’re like me, you enjoy your weekends.  That time of rest from your work or at least a shift in focus is so important to our overall health.  However, studies show that more and more people are feeling less rejuvenated by their weekly break. Is this you?  Here is the one secret to having a great weekend:

Be intentional with your weekend time:

Since our weekly hours are usually spent in time-sensitive deadlines, we over compensate on the weekends and “do whatever we want”.  However, we end up floating aimlessly through the days with no direction.  To steer away from the tyranny of aimlessness, schedule your weekend as you would your work week.  I normally do that throughout the week. How do you do that?

• Look at the hours in your weekend as chunks of time.  Don’t try to determine your activities moment by moment but rather half days by half days.  For me, this is a good measurement.  For example, I know that honoring God in Worship is the priority.  Then I look at the other half day chunks and go from there.
• Engage the “less-is-more” rule.  Don’t overload the amount of activities you’d like to do.  If there are kids events or family happenings that you're required to do, be cautious of adding extra non-required activities.  This makes for a hurried and un-enjoyable weekend.
• Most Important!  Schedule personal flexed-downtime (my word).  Before you are barraged with  the honey-do-list, events or required activities, chunk out a block of time for yourself.   However, know what that time looks like.  Here’s my own example.  On my first day off, I chunk out 8am-11am and call it Todd-time.  During this time, I do the things I enjoy - writing, ready, listening to music etc.  This is the refreshment time of my weekend.  Then I move on and do other activities that may or may not be required.

The key is being intentional and I always try to find time to connect with family and friends at some point a midst the chunks. Question:  How do you relax on a weekend? Peace!