How to stop working on weekends and relax: 7 lifehacks
To one degree or another, we all learned that work should be loved, because it takes a lot of time, physical and emotional strength. But phrases like “transform what you love into work — and you will never have to work” distort our perception — as if, if a thing is easily given and brings joy, this is not work at all. Sometimes a person begins to finish tails in the evenings and on weekends, because something does not have time during the period of the approaching delivery of the project - and then it becomes a habit. Unfortunately, work without days off can lead to burnout. We have compiled instructions on how to learn how to disconnect from business matters and relax.
Deal with the load
If you constantly “do not have time”, it is worth thinking about the reasons. Most often, procrastination, lack of composure, or inability to stop being distracted seem to be the most obvious - and if you start to scold yourself for it, you can only worsen the situation. It is possible that you are just overloaded and perform tasks for two (or even three). Make a table or diagram with all the processes that you are engaged in, determine how long it takes to complete each one qualitatively - and if it turns out that you have been charged too much, discuss the situation with your supervisor.
Freelancers also have an excessive amount of work - if there are no guarantees that in a month, six months and a year of orders will be enough, then the temptation to grab at everything that is offered is high right now. At the same time, the lack of office and rigid schedule does not contribute to discipline, and as a result, you work seven days a week, sometimes at a strange time of day. Tables and calculations will also help to deal with this situation: perhaps it is worth hiring an assistant, learning how to say no or explaining that you can take up the project only in a month. It will be useful to calculate how much an hour of your working time costs - it will be easier to refuse low-paid projects.
Set boundaries
Many people have been using instant messengers as emails for a long time - they write at a convenient time for them, without waiting for an immediate response. Try not to stick to the phone during off-hours or on weekends, and highlight certain points in the analysis of messages - for example, it is easier and faster to answer everything you received the night before. You can even remove the working instant messengers from the phone, so as not to see messages when you are not at the computer.
Both old and new customers can honestly explain the situation: you are trying to distinguish between personal and work, which means that now you will not respond to messages instantly. Do not be afraid that changing the mode of communication will damage reputation - on the contrary, a serious approach to planning your time is respectful, and, in the end, performance and quality of work are important. And of course, at certain moments, it is necessary to work outside the class hours — for example, if you need to back up a colleague who has an emergency, or if you have to complete an international project when the time difference between countries plays a role.
Find a useful hobby
Sleep problems, muscle pain, problems with concentration can be signs of burnout and just the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle. To maintain health, it is important to switch and be physically active. Look for a sport that will appeal to you, be it ballet, tennis, swimming or crossfit. Find a place to train where it will be convenient to get to - the point is that you want to finish the job as soon as possible and finally rush to the workout.
It is quite possible that you will immediately begin to have more time: physical shaking and switching from one case to another will help you to concentrate better and be more cheerful. Recall that WHO recommends at least 150 minutes of intense aerobic exercise (or 300 minutes of moderate) and at least two strength training per week. This is a guideline on which you can rely, but most importantly - you should personally like physical activity.
Realize the importance of sleep
If you don’t get enough sleep lately, try changing your priorities. Just set the time at which you will go to bed - say, eleven in the evening. An hour before it, stop working and contacting the luminous screens - this hour can be devoted to communication with your family, or you can brush your teeth early and go to bed with a book (just not on the topic of work).
Very often, lack of sleep is due to the fact that a person goes to bed late and gets up early, and not with the quality of sleep. Setting priorities helps to make the regime more healthy: if you put sleep in the first place, then you will start to get enough sleep, because there will be no chance to “earn money before midnight”. If after fostering sleep regimen and hygiene does not pass, or you realize that you are sleeping anxiously or not deeply, you should consult with your doctor.
Leave for the weekend
This item applies primarily to those who work remotely: when the office at home, you are constantly in the workplace. It is difficult to disconnect at the weekend, because there is no change in the situation. In addition, there is usually something to do at home - cleaning, then dismantling cabinets are brewing, and you begin to make a choice in favor of paid work. The result is the same: overwork, confusion in work and days off and the feeling that you didn’t have a rest over the weekend.
Changing the situation helps to disconnect from work completely: it is worth spending one full day away from home - and from the amount of new impressions it may seem like it was a long weekend. It’s not necessary to fly somewhere every time - open the map of your city and select places where you haven’t been (or have been) for a long time. Walk with curiosity, learn new things and try not to stick in the phone. You can make it even easier - not to look for new places, but just to plan your weekend on city posters: an exhibition, a cinema, a dinner, a performance. It seems to you that you have not been to the theater for a long time, because you do not have time - but you just need to plan everything and buy tickets.
Read with full immersion
Fiction is a good way to “escape from reality”, which is needed just to stop thinking about work and check messengers. Do not wade through works that are uninteresting or dislike - there is nothing wrong with throwing a book in the middle. You manage your time and have the right not to spend it on something that does not bring the expected joy.
Find a literature that, like in childhood, makes you forget about everything and feel yourself inside the book. A genre is a matter of taste, but often it happens with exciting adventures, books about travels and detective stories, in which one must guess to the last who the killer is. Remember: you do not waste time and do not prokrastiruete - you use your legitimate weekend to relax.
Finish important matters
Finally, you probably have a list of cases to which hands never reach: go to the bank, prepare documents for a new passport, take a couple of things for dry cleaning or repair, or sign up for a medical examination at a doctor. All this is no less important than work and rest, requires some time and effort, and it is worth planning these things for the evening or one of the weekends (depending, of course, on the work schedule of the institution you need).
The solution of such domestic or administrative issues can not be called a rest - but this is definitely a switch to another activity. In addition, a tick "done" in the list of tasks (on paper, screen or just in your thoughts), like nothing else, increases self-esteem, motivates and helps not to consider yourself an uncollected procrastinator.
Photo: Smallable (1, 2), MoMA
