What was once two blissful days full of shopping, museums, and hangovers have now become two more days into a never-ending cycle.
Our weekend as we know it is gone and as summer nears, we have more and more FOMO for our past weekend lives. Many of us would likely take a blustery November day to go outside to the Holiday Markets full of strangers over being cooped up inside in 80-degree weather. So how can we put on our c’est la vie attitudes as we near the warmer months and the inevitable indoors that come with it?
For starters, making your weekend look like a weekend is a good place to start (hangovers and all.)
Make Consistency a Priority
Just as you stick to your Monday-Friday work schedule while working from home, it’s a good idea to stop working at the same time on Fridays as you usually would. Or maybe even a little earlier if your work is done! Whenever you consider it to be the end of your workday, close your computer, turn off your phone, and do an activity that takes up the same time as your old commute home. It’s important that we physically and mentally trigger the feeling of “leaving” for a weekend, even if we’re staying home. Regardless of when you end the day or what activity you choose, consistency is the most important thing. Perhaps you pour yourself a glass of wine or make yourself a cocktail and pump up the tunes. It’s important to still celebrate the feeling of making it through another work week because, let’s face it, a corona week often feels like a month.
Splurge on Sleep(ing In)
When it comes to a schedule on Saturdays and Sundays, there isn’t one. Maybe you recall your teenage self staying up until all hours of the night on AIM or watching TV. Now is the time to time travel and experience that lifestyle again! If your body isn’t already exhausted, stay up late for the hell of it and enjoy the delicious feeling of sleeping in. I don’t know about you, but there’s nothing like waking up with no alarm, looking at the clock, and falling back asleep without guilt or running out of bed.
Ball Out In The Kitchen
Another way to enjoy your weekend? Eat decadent meals! As many of us have seen, the amount of banana bread everyone’s making has skyrocketed. (And the amount of sourdough bread along with it.) If you’re looking for a creative—and time-consuming—project, there’s nothing like making bread or pasta from scratch. Your weekend is the time to really ball out in the kitchen and try a new recipe that may take hours to make, but the payoff will be worthwhile. Caution: you may come out of this quarantine as a pseudo-Italian chef.
Relax By Invigorating Your Hobbies & Self-Care Activities
For your afternoons, spend time on your hobbies and self-care. Dedicate a few hours to taking a bath or a nice long hot shower, putting on a face mask, and doing your nails. Take naps if you need them and get creative. Maybe you break out a coloring book, a new puzzle, or start with a blank sheet of paper. If you’re not really into any of that, try a DIY Etsy kit! And, if you’ve been falling behind on your bookshelf, now is a great time to catch up. My suggestion? Put your phone away, put on an awesome playlist, and have at it for hours and hours!
Create a New Nightlife Adventure
Perhaps the time when we get the most lonely is at night when we would be going out with friends, going on dates, or going to one of the thousands of events we used to plan ahead for. Weekend evenings nowadays are spent binging both our food pantry and our Netflix watch list, but they don’t have to be. Instead, why not recreate your weekend the way it was meant to happen? For example, have a dance party! Pick your favorite decade or artist and pretend you’re at a nightclub or concert. Get dressed up as if you were going to go out, pour yourself a drink, and dance around your apartment like an idiot. If you’re alone, have a virtual dance party with friends over Zoom. Plus, it’ll be good exercise toward your banana bread intake ?
Explore New Ways To Use Zoom
Speaking of Zoom… now is the time to catch up with your friends. Have hour-long conversations, play virtual games like Pictionary or a digital scavenger hunt, ask questions like, “find your favorite clothing item,” or even buy the same ingredients to make a meal together. Although the in-person connection is lost, the possibilities are endless when it comes to what our virtual world can achieve.
Most importantly, take the time to listen to your body. If you need to lie in bed all day, do it. If you need to blow off steam and be active, partake in all of your favorite online workouts. To truly make it feel like a weekend, you should spend it taking care of you.