There’s a reason why people tend to put things off until the last minute. Results, especially in academic or professional fields, are generally more rewarding if you have thoroughly thought out a plan of action beforehand (and preferably executed it).
So how is this relevant to weekends?
If you’re anything like me, then Sunday typically represents the last day of an otherwise productive week and the first step towards a hopefully equally as productive Monday to follow. Not that I’m always successful, but the fact remains that Sunday is traditionally regarded as being the start of another week.
Amazing Things To Do On A Sunday
“We all know that Sunday is the day of rest.” This phrase is often spoken by people whose schedule is so complete that they don’t know how to fill up their time at home (or anywhere). People who work for 10-12 hours a day and still have no time.
Put down your smartphone for once, put on some music (or turn off the radio) and do these things:
- Wake up calmly! Disconnect from all social networks, even if you have to lie in bed yawning; drink a cup of coffee/tea/hot chocolate and read the newspaper or magazine. Do not use any instruments of communication (TV, smartphone, laptop).
- Go to a bookstore! Not that you can do anything with it (besides wasting time), but it’s nice to sit in a coffee shop and stare at books from different genres, perhaps find one for yourself.
- Go out and meet your friends! Do you have perfect, reliable, old-fashioned friends that never let you down? Check how they are doing on Sundays and invite them for a short meeting in the nearest park or cafe; if this is difficult, contact mobile users.
- Visit some museums! There are free exhibitions, concerts, and festivals that you can attend on weekends. At least it’s more interesting than sitting in front of the laptop or TV screen – even for a short time.
- Go to church! If you’re religious, go to service at your place of worship; if not, walk around beautiful architectural buildings with high ceilings – there are many of them in the big cities.
- Cook something delicious! If you have enough time and seldom cook for yourself or your family, then this is just an excellent reason to be at home all day long trying new recipes from food blogs and cooking books. Don’t watch TV while preparing food, nor listen to music (unless it’s a radio station playing classical music). If you have a partner, buy some ingredients and cook something together.
- Get rid of bad habits! It is very difficult to get rid of your bad habits if you do nothing but work, so it’s great that there is one day in the week when you can fight with all your vices.
- Get rid of clutter! This is not very pleasant, but cleaning garbage for 2-3 hours makes you feel like you have something done and gives you an excellent opportunity to do exercises (you can easily clean the room while vacuuming).
- Do some creative work! If you are a freelancer or doing your own business, try to find the time and inspiration for creative work, even if it’s just working on a new logo or updating your website layout. It’s also an excellent opportunity to get rid of excess baggage from old projects and products that you no longer need and clearing your head before starting fresh.
- Play with your pet! Whether it’s a dog, cat, hamster, or rabbit – spending time with your animal is a beautiful way to relax and have some fun.
These are just general ways of spending the day without working (there are many other possibilities). Still, I think they say more about people than anything else:
You can’t go out and have fun.
You can’t go to church, museum, or library without a smartphone.
You can’t even cook something delicious.
Imagine that!
For those who are interested in these things: I am planning to write a blog post with suggestions of what to do on a Sunday for people who work far too much – follow me on Twitter @allprosperity21.
Productive monday
Talking about productivity, it’s a good general term that I should clarify. Sure, it vaguely means getting work done efficiently, but there is much more to it in reality. There is a quote by Nicholas Carr that says, “time is a flat circle” (that was, in fact, the title of an episode of the TV show True Detective ), and I’d say it summarizes my idea on this topic pretty accurately.
2-3 hours per day to do absolutely nothing sounds like heaven for some people. Still, many won’t have much time to complete tasks once they finish working and their hobbies, so what if I said that the key to productivity for us is how we spend our time and how we evaluate it.
I’m sure you’ve heard people say “I have very little free time” or “there is no time for this” or “work is taking all my time”, but what they usually don’t realize is that it does not work (which pretty much depends on you) but the fact that they fail to take their mind off things.
Sunday routine
To set up a Sunday routine, you need:
- A clear goal – this one is pretty obvious;
- A clear idea of how much time it will take to reach the goal – this one is not as easy, but you have to figure out how long it will possibly take and if you have enough energy for that;
- Estimate your daily workload, including sleeping hours (it’s a good idea to set up a routine that won’t leave you tired at the end of the week);
- Add weekly errands and free time;
- Make a plan – add all tasks to your calendar or schedule planner, so you will always have everything in sight.
It’s important to keep track of your Sunday routine because the tendency is to drop everything once you drop something.
I suggest you set up a routine like this:
1) Create a habit of doing basic morning exercises. Running in the morning will take you no more than 5-10 minutes, and these 10 minutes will be enough to wake you up, make your heartbeat work faster, and provide oxygen flow for your brain resulting in a morning mood boost and increased productivity.
2) Don’t eat carbs before working out!
3) Do strength training two times a week – or at least try to do it every other day because you don’t have to be bulging with muscles; look like Brad Pitt in Fight Club.
4) Drink tea instead of coffee or buy a Keurig if you like coffee – the teabag will do, don’t overdo it.
5) Eat red meat and eggs for breakfast! They’re great sources of protein, which is what your body needs to recover from exercise.
6) Eat fruits instead of pastry. Their glycemic index is lower than pastries, and they also have tons of fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants.
7) Make sure you get enough sleep – I’d say at least 6 hours of it (there is pretty much no magic number).
8) Drink water!
9) Use simple tools like myfitnesspal or pedometer to track everything you eat and do during the day.
10) Don’t forget to have a little fun time every week! This is very important, so don’t replace it with anything else. On the other hand, if you’re too busy but want to spend more time with your friends or family, find a way to be productive in that time (like playing board games, for example).
I hope this article was helpful to you. As always, if you have any questions or comments, make sure to leave them in the comment section below! Good luck with your routines! 🙂