In defense of lazy weekends

Lately, every day of the week has been jam-packed for me, but I try to set aside one weekend of the month for a lazy weekend. I know plenty of people who make plans for nearly every second of their weekend and, while it’s great to make memories and have fun, I think the value of unplugging and recharging is entirely underrated.

We spend so much time connected to work and other people that we don’t always realize the extent of it. Between the constant buzzing of our phones, the background noise from Netflix, Spotify or whatever other streaming service we’re connected to and the thoughts bouncing around inside our heads, we never really give our brains or bodies a chance to turn off, reset and recharge. 

I’ve found that when I take a weekend off to myself, staying away from work and stress, I feel a whole lot better and more creative and focused. My mind is fresh and I tend to be better able to solve problems and think creatively.

So what constitutes a lazy weekend? I do as little as I possibly can. I spend time cooking, because it’s calming. I do laundry and clean, because I can feel like I accomplish something without being stressed by it. I read and go for walks, because I can’t do these things and pay attention to my phone, too. I take long showers, or even better, a bath, because all of my best ideas seem to come to me when I’m in the shower. When I really need to disconnect, I binge on Netflix for as long as I can, because there’s nothing like mindless entertainment to relax and recharge.

It doesn’t matter what you do, only what it does for you. Whatever you do, make sure that it’s something that you find relaxing, calming and restorative.