25 & Trying

Everybody’s Working for the Weekend

Weekend Time!

When I think of the weekend, the first thing that comes to mind is the hilariously funny clip from Zoolander where Ben Stiller is in the coal mine, as “Working for the Weekend” plays. Because YouTube’s copyright laws are even in more full effect, I cannot link to it here. Because I can’t find it.

Either way, the juxtaposition of coal miners and Stiller’s amazing outfit to a background of 80′s tunes is fairly priceless – and worth digging through the Internet abyss to find.

Every weekend I have goals (not so different from the week, even if some goals are – DONT check work email), but somehow the weekend evaporates. Friday at 5:30 is possibility, and Sunday at the same time is this feeling that we didn’t get enough done. Can I get an Amen?

In the past, I posted about the blues that we all can experience on Sunday afternoons. The impending responsibilities, plans, exercise, projects, and social engagements can definitely feel like hyper-drive from the *relative* calm of the weekend.

But I’m thinking more about what we can do to make the most of our weekends, without feeling like they are our only source of happiness and/or escape. This is a big goal of mine in 2010 – and I hadn’t even realized it until I thought more about what I spend my weekends doing.

Recognize the good in the week. This is one I constantly struggle with, and will probably continue to. This makes weekends easier to savor – because you understand the GOOD things about the week ahead. My husband’s really good at this. I need to get better.

Make plans that won’t book up every free minute. This is key – mostly to your sanity. There are always going to be a million things you COULD be doing. Just make sure they’re really things you WANT to be doing. You need to remember to leave some space open for just…being.

DO SOME EXERCISE. This is something you should be maintaining all week long – but it could be a good time to do a long run, or class, or something (even a walk counts!) that makes you forget about the things that make you the most stressed.

Try not to Segment. This is a hard one for all of us color-coded nerds out there. We are used to calendars, Outlook invites, scheduled gym time, and other things that keep us limited. Sometimes I find myself thankful for DVR because it provides that type of segmentation – it’s dangerous. If things take you longer on the weekend, try not to let it get to you. The fight’s not worth it, and ultimately, we all should de-segment more of our lives.

I am trying to make the weekends work for me more…get things done without the loom and gloom of obligation. It’s really HARD. The more things I have to do, the more I feel secure. But sometimes we have to enjoy life for what it is.

I wake up, kiss B and think that I am really GLAD it’s the weekend.