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HOW SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE MAKE THE MOST OF THEIR WEEKENDS



We only have a few thousand weekends over the course of our lives.

If you live to be 80, you only have 4,160 weekends in total.

Four thousand isn't that much! So, don't let your weekends go to waste. Don’t squander them.

Too often, we don't think enough about what we would like to do during the weekend and therefore end up doing little routine tasks, and missing the best parts of our life.

We are living harried lives, and our work-weeks are forever parked to capacity.

The weekend is therefore considered by many to be almost sacred.

Laura Vanderkam, in her book "What The Most Successful People Do On The Weekend," gives some tips on how you can make the most out of your weekend.

"What the most successful people know about weekends is that life cannot happen only in the future. It cannot wait for some day when we are less tired or less busy." 

The first step to taking control of your weekends is making conscious choices.
Instead of doing something by default, plan ahead and choose how you want to spend your time. "In a world of constant connectivity, even loafing time must be consciously chosen, because time will be filled with something, whether it’s consciously chosen or not — and not choosing means that the something that fills our hours will be less fulfilling than the something our remembering selves will likely wish we’d elected to do." (Vanderkam)

Make a bucket-list of the things you dream about doing, and you'll find the ones you can do every weekend.
When the weekend rolls around, there may be so many things that you want to do that you freeze up and end up doing almost none of them. That's why it's effective to have a really good list.

Plan anchor events each weekend, but don't plan out every minute.
Most people cringe at the idea of planning their weekends. But placing a few "anchor" events on your calendar doesn't mean you need to plan them down to the minute. 

As you make your plans, don't discount something you haven't done in years.
This happens mostly to parents. They get so caught up in planning their kids' lives that they forget to schedule fun activities for themselves. 

Be disciplined and commit to the choices you make.
If you plan to read a book, then get the book out and schedule specific time to read it. Don't busy yourself so much or wait too long that, when the scheduled time comes, you are tempted to postpone or replace reading with listening to music. 

Weekend mornings can be the best time to do things for yourself.
Weekend mornings are easily wasted in lazing about. Instead, set them aside for personal pursuits. "If you're training for a marathon, it's less disruptive for your family if you get up early to do your four-hour run than if you try to do it in the middle of the day. To get up early, you'll probably have to avoid staying up late the night before, but this is a good idea in general." (Vanderkam)

Establish small habits to create new traditions for your family.
"Happy families often have some special weekend activity that everyone loves but no one has to plan each time"(Vanderkam).  It could be as simple as making pancakes or taking a stroll on a Sunday evening. Whatever it is, make it a ritual. Soon, these will become traditions, and traditions become comforting memories, which are proven to boost happiness. 

Set aside specific hours for down time, and turn off your phone.
It's important to schedule down time, otherwise you may never find time to unplug for the whole of the weekend. This time is intended for you to relax. It could be an afternoon siesta or just reading a book. Whatever it is, take a tech "Sabbath" for a few hours on the weekend.

Keep chores, errands, and busy work to a minimum.
Keeping chores to a minimum on the weekends is really important. Finishing chores shouldn't be central to your weekend because they often expand to fill all the available time. Instead, try to do a chore each day during the week. If that's not possible then set aside small windows of time during the weekend that will motivate you to get the chores done quickly and return to your fun activities.

Be sure to make plans for Sunday night so you don't sit around stressing about your job.
Planning something for Sunday nights is an easy way to avoid stressing about work in anticipation of Monday. That can happen even when you like your job, but for people who don't like their jobs, Sunday night stress can be draining and sad. So, schedule something fun during the evening because it extends the weekend and keeps you focused on the fun, rather than the next morning. 

Finally, planning actually makes weekends happier, and unlocks a key mechanism of joy.
Anticipation accounts for a huge chunk of the happiness we feel. This comes from thinking about the events we plan. "As you look forward to something good that is about to happen, you experience some of the same joy you would in the moment. The major difference is that the joy can last much longer." (Vanderkam)

So start with this weekend and do something different.

*Adapted from an article by Carolyn Cutrone published in the Business Insider, January 2014
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Ritam Getaways is a middle range budget accommodation for the business traveler and holiday makers. Our maiden establishment is in South Coast, Kenya, 15 Kilometers from Likoni Ferry on the Likoni-Ukunda Road. We bring you living spaces that will refresh you at the end of the day, re-energize your body for tomorrow and rejuvenate your warrior's spirit. Welcome to our exciting spaces!

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