Blog 341: What Successful People Do On Weekends
I’m writing this fireside, at Pine Lodge, amid a full-on recharge. I’m celebrating that for the last 12 months; I hit my goals without losing my mind. I loved my work, loved the grind, and had more fun in the last year than ever.
No kidding, 2022/23 might be the happiest year of my life. Summer at the cabin. A wonderful year of work. Close to 30 days of skiing which included visiting 3 new mountains (Whitewater in Nelson, BC, Sunday River and Saddleback in Maine) and one old favourite (Le Massif east of Quebec City.)
What I figured out that made such a difference was how to use my weekends to recharge properly. Too often, my weekends became sofas instead of springboards. Here is what I figured out.
You don’t want to lay back; you want to go on the attack.
1. Have Fun
If you spend your workweek running – or worse, flying – from place to place, you may think you want to stay in and quiet all weekend. Don’t. See your friends. Have plans. Research shows that having plans, and anticipating experiences, is a significant component of achieving more happiness. When you’re in the middle of Wednesday, knowing that you have something fun to do in a few nights, your weekend and your Wednesday will improve.
2. Turn your tech off
I will admit that it took some practice, but now I have no trouble at all turning off all my tech and ignoring the world. From the moment I get to my house, I shut everything down. Sometimes I leave it off for a few days. I find that when I have 5 minutes to kill, it’s too easy to haul out my phone and get sucked back into work. Keep in mind I LOVE what I do, which is the danger of not respecting weekends and recharging; if I’m not careful, I’ll work every day, happily.
3. Let someone else wash the windows …
Don’t do errands on weekends. Everyone else does. It’s too busy, takes too long, and eats up all your time to have fun. Get your stuff done during the week; the grocery store at 7:30 PM is empty.
4. Turn Sundays into social nights
Sunday nights have become my new favourite time to meet up with friends. Most people are free and have a more relaxed vibe than at the formal get-togethers people expect on Saturday nights. Order food, have a beer, enjoy your friends, and you’ll be far readier for the workweek than if you spend that same time thinking about your inbox.
Failing to relax, have fun and refresh on weekends will make you a less enjoyable, grateful person and business owner.
Success requires recharging the batteries from time to time, so you can hit Monday refreshed and ready to conquer -- if not the world, then at least your own life.