weekends

Transform Any Weekend Into a Revitalizing Vacation

By in Living Well Tags: , ,

Relaxing_on_Weekend

Do you often feel worn out at the end of your workweek? Do you wish you could take a vacation, but you don’t have the time, energy, or money to plan one? Well, here’s some good news! It’s possible to turn any weekend into a refreshing, revitalizing, mini vacation! Just follow these steps:

  • Free up your time – I’m sure you probably have chores that you’ve got to get done over the weekend. But if possible, try to get some of them done during the workweek (either before or after work). Your goal is to free up as much of your weekend time as possible. You need to have time to relax, without a long “to-do” list staring you in the face.
  • Act like a tourist – Once you’ve freed up some time, you can act like a tourist! There are probably a lot of cool places in your area that you’ve never been to. Go see them! Or, if you don’t feel like making any definite plans, just go to an interesting area or a neighboring town, wander around, and see the sights.
  • Get comfy – Is there anything more soothing and revitalizing than comfy clothes? I think not. So put on your favorite t-shirt and your softest pair of pajama pants, sit down in your comfiest chair, allow yourself the luxury of losing track of time, and relax.
  • Do fun things around the house – Do you like to sit on your couch and read? Do you like to garden? Do you like to cut up old clothing and then try to sew it back together in a cool, fashionable way? (That’s probably just me.) Think about the hobbies that you never seem to have time for, and then give yourself the time to indulge in those activities.
  • Eat something new – If you like to cook, try a new recipe. If you hate to cook, try a new restaurant. You don’t have to travel to try new types of food. You just need to be a little adventurous.

Transforming your weekend into a relaxing mini vacation is not only fun – it’s also good for your mental and physical health. So relax and enjoy yourself! If you allow yourself some time to de-stress, you’ll be well-rested and ready for work on Monday.

 

Breaux, A. (2015, June 20). Turn any regular weekend into a refreshing mini vacation: 5 ideas. Apartment Therapy. Retrieved from: https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/turn-any-regular-weekend-into-a-refreshing-mini-vacation-220345

How Work Affects Your Weekend

By in Leadership, Learning, Living Well Tags: ,

Weekend

A recent research study revealed something that actually seems pretty common sense:

  • People who don’t like their jobs feel really happy when the weekend rolls around.
  • People who do like their jobs don’t feel as excited about the weekend. In fact, thinking about the weekend might not increase their level of happiness at all because they’re already happy and satisfied.

And that makes sense. If you enjoy what you do during the week and you’re happy at work, the weekend becomes less important.

But here’s the part that’s more surprising. You would expect that the prospect of getting to spend time with family and friends over the weekend would make you feel happy and excited. And to a certain extent, it does – but not that much. Researchers found that people who had plans to spend time with loved ones did feel a little more happy and excited about their weekends than people who didn’t have similar plans. But still, the factor that had the most significant impact on peoples’ level of weekend excitement was how they felt about their jobs. That’s how important our work is to us, and that’s how powerful an effect it has.

So what makes people happy at work? Research suggests that two things are vitally important:

  • Working in an open and trusting environment
  • Having a boss who is supportive and feels like a partner

So leaders, take note! Workplace happiness is important. It has a powerful impact on employees’ lives – and not just while they’re at work. So pay attention to the mood around your office. And if it seems like morale is low, try to take steps to improve it. You can make your employees more happy and satisfied by helping to create a work environment that’s open, safe, and supportive.

 

McGregor, J. (2015, July 24). How our workplace environment affects our weekend mood. The Washington Post. Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2015/07/24/how-our-workplace-environment-affects-our-weekend-mood/