If you’re somebody like me, then idle time can turn into trouble time. You might find yourself chasing down friends to hit a local brunch spot with drinks spending valuable money and time only to gain a number of dead calories, a depleted bank account, and a Saturday afternoon similar to your Friday night. Or you might find yourself sitting in the house all day doing nothing but watching TV on the couch letting life go by. Don’t get me wrong; sometimes these recovery days are necessary. Pick up any Cycling Magazine (Shout out to Bicycling Magazine and Cycling Weekly) and you will read many articles discussing the importance of rest. So as I groggily woke up this morning to a dog’s wet nose in my face and a gritty tongue against my cheek, I decided today was a day that I needed to remember to pack my day with things to do.

2-3 years ago, I learned the importance of creating a plan for your weekend. Too often we live for Friday night and fail to remember that when the night is over you still have Saturday and Sunday. (Depending on how hard you go, you may not even wake up on Saturday.) So one night, I decided to stay in Friday night and plan what I would do on Saturday and Sunday instead. This plan worked magnificently.

I woke up Saturday morning refreshed; no hangover, ho headaches, no body aches. I took my car to the shop to get new tires. After an hour there, I came home and cleaned my entire house (a feat that normally takes several days). I then took my dogs on a 30-45 minute walk. I came home and ate lunch and then took a 2 hour nap. I woke up with sunlight still outside and even more rested so I decided to walk my dogs again. I checked in at my mom’s house and then went grocery shopping. I came back home, made dinner, walked the dogs once more, turned on the TV and then finally went to sleep. Sunday was less packed but still had the same element of planning.

I didn’t do this every Saturday after that despite the success and feeling of contentment but at the old age of 29 😉 I have found this strategy to be a great way of making sure that I’m maintaining a level of progress and ridding myself of the usual regret that comes from hangovers, missed opportunities, sleeping in, and the inevitable weekend chores and responsibilities pushed into the week when you have actual responsibilities that you can’t escape.

Instead of planning your week to “live” on Friday night, plan your Friday night to prepare for a productive Saturday and Sunday. Work on your side projects; write that business plan; hit the gym; go knock out that 50 miler you’ve been planning but never got to (shoutout to #CycleLife); go for that run; read that book; plan a trip and go travel; or plan a day to rest. But be intentional about your weekend and you’ll find yourself well rested Monday morning with an amazing story to tell and ready to tackle the work week (while your co-workers are regretting their decisions).

D’Marco

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