When I realized my life wasn’t what I wanted it to be, I knew I would have to make some changes. I sat down and figured out what I wanted my weekend to look like. Now I just had to arrange things to get there.
Eliminating What I Don’t Want To Do On Weekends
The catch about the things I didn’t want to do on weekends: they still had to be done sometime. That left me with two choices: reschedule them, or delegate them. Here is how I changed my schedule:
- Housework. I used to do my weekly cleaning on Saturdays. It takes about an hour and a half to do everything, including mopping all of the non-carpeted floors, cleaning three bathrooms, dusting everything, and wiping down the kitchen. I have delegated changing sheets and towels to my husband, and my daughter is responsible for her own bathroom and bedroom. The rest I do on Thursday evenings between work and dinner. Since we do leftovers on Thursday (a.k.a. Smorgasbord night), I don’t have to worry about cooking commitments during this time.
- Shopping/errands. I grocery shop every week, usually at two grocery stores (Kroger and Lidl). The pet supply and discount store are about once a month. I use online ordering and drive-up pickup at one grocery, the pet supply and discount stores). I pickup on Fridays, making the rounds in one swoop.
- Blog writing. A long time ago, I had set tasks that I would do on the blog every single day. Then I didn’t produce as much content, and things shifted. Now I have to get back into doing something every day, or I end up frantically getting articles ready the day before they publish.
- Meals. I used to do a lot of cooking on the weekends and repurpose the leftovers throughout the week. Now, using my crockpot and pressure cooking, I prefer to use them on the weekends – and the weekdays to produce meals with minimal fuss.
- Work. I currently work from home and will be transitioning to part time back in the office. I don’t work for my employer once I leave the room where my work computer is set up. Anything I need to do on my own business, as well as continuing education, I work into the week.
Scheduling What I Do Want To Do
With my weekends now opened up, I can now commit to building my ideal activities. Saturday morning I still get up at 6:00, but after my morning routine I grab a cup of coffee and head right to my desk for a writing session. At about 8:00 I can get ready, having put a solid hour of writing behind me before everyone else is up.
On Sunday morning, if I do not attend church (currently still on Zoom), I can spend the morning sitting outside reading. I can make an effort to read non-fiction books that will help me grow. In the afternoon I craft with one of my friends (usually Facetime) and wind up the day with phone calls to my mother, friends and accountability partner.
By sitting down and thinking things through, I can aim for an ideal weekend.
