Why living for the weekend isn’t helpful (and how to avoid it)
I’ve fallen into the living for the weekend mentality before. I know how easy it can be to start viewing work as something you have to suffer through in order to get to the weekend and fun time.
But when you’re living for the weekend, it quickly sets you up for burnout, illness, disorder, and disease. In this episode of Solicited Advice I offer a few different ways to start moving away from the “living for the weekend” mentality!
The living for the weekend mentality happens when you’re living out of alignment with your unique values and priorities during the week.
If you’re living for the weekend, that usually means you’re struggling through the week.
In order to shift that mentality, it’s key that you find ways to bring more joy into your weekdays.
Plan joyful activities during the week
Try starting by scheduling just one thing you’re excited about each day this week. That could be self-care (and I would highly encourage you to make self-care a part of your daily routine since it’s the way we refill our mental, physical, and emotional energy reserves), or something else which you get excited thinking about.
As you introduce more and more joy into your week, you might find you’re excited for everyday as it comes, not just slogging through Monday through Friday waiting for the weekend to arrive!
Get in alignment with your unique priorities & values
The other piece of this to look at is how you spend the bulk of your time during the week. If you dislike your job, it might be time to consider whether there’s the opportunity to shift your perspective and make it more enjoyable, or if it’s time to look for a new job.
You can learn more about identifying and aligning with your unique priorities and values here.
Balance helps prevent burnout
Finally, it’s important to bring more balance to your life not only to make it more enjoyable, but because the living for the weekend mentality is a great way to set yourself up for burnout.
Living for the weekend often involves expending all of your physical, mental, and emotional reserves in just two days trying to cram in as much fun as possible. And often, you’re so unhappy during the week, that you’re not properly refilling those reserves.
Burnout is a slippery slope leading to illness, disorder, and disease. In order to set yourself up for not only health, but also happiness, it’s important to take steps to move away from burnout and toward balance.
To get started adding in fun activities each and every day, get my free Self-Care Toolkit which walks you through designing a self-care routine that works for your life and your schedule!
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