Spend the Weekend Doing Something Productive

The weekend is generally a time to unwind from the previous week by relaxing and doing something fun. However, sometimes you want to use the down-time to do something productive. If you’ve been wanting to use your weekends more efficiently, you can do so in many ways, such as taking care of a gardening or home improvement project, catching up on correspondence and paperwork, or running errands that you would otherwise do in the coming week.

Steps

Doing Home Improvement

1. Make a to-do list of things you need to do around the house. If you want to get to work on your house or yard, start out by writing down all the chores and projects you’ve been meaning to do. These can be small things, like taking out the trash or dusting the bookcases, or big projects, like painting the kitchen or cleaning out the garage.
   • Remember that you’re not trying to do all of the listed items in one weekend. You’re starting out by just listing all the things you eventually want to get done around the house. Afterwards, you can break up the items into manageable chunks and place them in order.
   • Be as specific as possible. For example, don’t just write “Clean the house”. Instead, write “Wash the kitchen and living room floors”, “Clean the toilet and sink”, and “Pull weeds in the back yard”.
2. Prioritize your goals. Once you’ve got a master list of chores and projects you’d like to do, arrange them in descending order from most to least important. You’ll do the top one or two projects this weekend, and then tackle the other ones on following weekends.
   • Take environmental and other factors into consideration when prioritizing. For example, if you have yard work on your list and it’s already late autumn, you should get these tasks done before temperatures fall too low or the first snow falls.
   • Don’t forget budgetary considerations as well. For example, you might be longing to resurface your driveway or refinish your basement, but not in a place financially to take care of these large-scale projects. Keep these items on your list, but know that you’re tabling them until you’ve saved enough money.
3. Start with household chores. Attending to menial cleaning and maintenance tasks might not seem as rewarding or productive as tackling your bigger renovation projects. In fact, though, having a visibly tidied home environment can make you feel more organized, capable, and energized to keep cleaning or take on bigger, upcoming projects.
   • Starting with the easiest chores, such as taking out the trash, doing the dishes, and changing lightbulbs around the house, means that you can cross off several items from your list in short order. This quick payoff can help keep you motivated and build momentum.
4. Take care of outside chores. After cleaning up inside your home, get started on outdoor chores, such as cleaning the gutters, washing the car, or sweeping the driveway. These tasks can be more labor-intensive than indoor ones, though, so only do one or two per day in order to avoid exhaustion.
   • If you live in an apartment, your outdoor to-do list will probably be minimal. Double-check to make sure there aren’t little things you can do to help out, such as vacuuming the foyer or picking up litter from the courtyard, but don’t get distracted or procrastinate by doing unnecessary tasks.
5. Gather supplies for bigger tasks. Once you’ve taken care of all the chores on your list, think about what you’ll need to begin your larger home improvement tasks. If you’re planning to paint, put up curtains, or put in new carpet, for example, you’ll need to visit a home improvement store and purchase things like paint, tarp, tape, rollers, nails, curtain rods, and caulk.
   • Don’t underestimate the time required for these kinds of preparatory errands. In order to allot yourself plenty of time and avoid falling behind on your to-do list, you might want to schedule supply-gathering errands and projects on different days.
6. Recruit friends and family to help out. You may be able to do big home improvement projects on your own, but most people could use a little help. And, even if you’re capable of going solo, having friends and family come over to assist can be a good way to socialize and have fun while being productive at the same time.
   • Make sure that you have all the necessary supplies for you and your helpers. For example, if you’ve invited friends over to do some painting, make sure you have enough painting smocks, brushes, and rollers for everyone.
   • Proper etiquette recommends that you purchase lunch and beverages for your helpers in order to show gratitude for their time and energy. You can order pizza, make sandwiches, or take them out to your favorite neighborhood joint. Also be sure to have plenty of cold water, sports drinks, or lemonade on hand for when your friendly helpers work up a thirst.
7. Hire a contractor if you need professional help. If you're considering a major project involving lots of construction or complex work, consider working with a contractor to reach your goals. A professional will not only have experience doing the kind of renovation you're attempting, as well as useful contacts for purchasing the required materials and finding additional resources or workers when necessary.
   • Just be sure to do your research first by consulting consumer review sites, interviewing different candidates, and asking for references from friends and family.
8. Finish one project before starting another. You might get bored with painting after awhile and want to start on your kitchen cabinets, but try to focus on one task before switching to another. Studies have shown that you work more efficiently when you work on one task continuously rather than jumping between multiple tasks.

Attending to Paperwork

1. Sort through your mail. Many people don’t have time to go through all their mail during the week, resulting in a rapidly growing stack of envelopes and cards waiting for your attention. Not only can this looming pile of paperwork make you feel anxious, but it can make you miss bills, government notices, and social invitations. You can start tackling this monster of a mail pile by sifting through the articles and organizing them.
   • Divide your mail into separate stacks: one for bills, one for promotional offers and junk mail, one for social correspondence, and one for official notifications.
2. Discard any junk mail. Often, the bulk of the mail dominating your desktop comes from companies hawking their products, sales, and services. While some of this mail—for example, coupons or catalogs—can be useful, you’ll probably want to chuck most of it. Just be sure to open each piece of mail to make sure it’s something you don’t need.
   • When you're sure you don't need a piece of mail, shred or rip up any paper that has your name, address, or other personal information printed on it. This preventative measure is fairly easy and can help you avoid the serious consequences of identity theft in the future.
   • If you’re getting tons of credit card offers from the same company, take a look at the small print at the bottom of the offer. Many times there will be information listed as to how to opt out of further unsolicited mail in the future.
   • Be sure to recycle any paper or cardboard rather than throwing it in the bin with the rest of your garbage.
3. Prioritize and pay your bills. Bills aren’t the most fun part of adult life, but unfortunately it’s necessary to stay on top of them if you want to maintain or build good credit. After setting aside all your bills, go through them carefully and add them to your budget. Write down the amount owed, the deadline to pay, as well as any other pertinent information about the payment.
   • If you pay most of your bills online anyway, consider going paperless. Log into your online account where you usually make online payments and find a menu option or box that allows you to opt out of hard copies of bills and other notices in the future. You'll be reducing paper consumption for the environment as well as diminishing clutter in your personal home.
4. Add social and official notifications to your to-do list. Though it can seem like one does almost all official and social business online these days, there are still many important notices which are sent via snail mail. For example, governmental bulletins such as vehicle maintenance checks, parking sticker renewals, voting reminders and registration, and tax bills and information are all likely to show up in your mailbox rather than your inbox. Open these up and add them to your to-do list to make sure you don’t miss any important deadlines or registrations.
   • Many formal personal announcements, such as wedding invitations and graduation announcements, also come by mail, so make sure you don’t miss out on any fun just because you didn’t open your mail in time!
5. Update your planner. Once you’ve gotten your mail under control, scan through your daily calendar. Add any items or notifications received in the mail, such as weddings, local elections, tax deadlines, or charity events, and make a note of any bills you’ve paid or other correspondence you’ve taken care of.
   • Keep your planner game on point by making entries as detailed as possible. For example, don’t just write, “Interview with Jacobs Company 10:00” under the appropriate date. Write down where exactly the interview is, how to get there, what person you should ask for, what to bring with you, and any other pertinent information you’ve been provided.
   • If your paper planner is packed and you're having trouble keeping up, consider using a digital calendar such as Google Calendar or Outlook. Not only do these electronic options present information and scheduled appointments in a clearer fashion, but they allow you to share events with other parties, add attachments, and sync your calendar with your email.
6. Organize your desk. Depending on what kind of a person you are, your desk might be a perfectly organized and spotless space, or a pit of despair where important and unimportant papers alike go to die. If you belong to the former group, desktop organization can seem like a mighty and daunting task. Actually, though, sorting through your unattended mail and documents was probably the hardest part. Now you just need to get rid of unnecessary clutter, file away important but non-pressing documents, and stack relevant forms and work in tidy, accessible areas.
   • If your desk doesn’t have much drawer space or you’ve already used up all available real estate, order a file organizer online or buy one from a local office supply store. These useful contraptions not only give you a place to store your files, but also allow you to divide them up into different categories and slots.

Getting a Head Start on Errands

1. Write down all the things you usually do after work. From grocery shopping to picking up dry cleaning to getting the car washed, chances are that you run a lot of errands during the work week. Make a list of all these customary after-work assignments, as well as those specific to the current week, such as shopping for a birthday gift or purchasing window treatments for the living room. Then, make a note of where you need to go to complete each errand and how much time it will take.
   • Keeping distance from your home and between each errand in mind, group together as many errands as you think you can do in a day. If there’s more than a day’s worth, split up the errands into Saturday and Sunday to-do lists.
2. Take care of any non-grocery shopping. Before you run to the grocery store, take care of any other purchases at specialty stores or general merchandise retailers. That way you won’t have refrigerated goods in your car while you’re trying to run into Target or pick up some special ingredients for your stir fry.
3. Deposit checks and withdraw cash for the week. Instead of running to the bank every lunch time or after work, take care of all your banking needs at once. Calculate how much cash you’ll need through Friday and withdraw it all at once, and gather together all checks which you need to deposit so you can do it at the same time. This will save you cash withdrawal fees and precious minutes from your day, as well as help you stay on top of your spending and budget.
   • Many banks offer mobile apps you can download onto your smartphone. You can’t withdraw cash from them, but you can deposit checks, check your balance, transfer money, and pay bills, saving you some valuable time at the end of the week.
4. Plan out your meals. In order to get grocery shopping done for the whole week, you’ll need to make a detailed plan of what you’re going to eat each day. Write down the meal as well as any ingredients you need to purchase, and all ingredients you already have.
   • There are many free or low-cost meal planning mobile apps, such as Yummly, Anylist, and Pepperplate, so take advantage of these resources if you’re feeling overwhelmed with thinking about your meals ahead of time.
   • In order to make your shopping trip more efficient, cluster your ingredients into helpful categories, such as produce, meat, spices, and dairy. You can even use a grocery list mobile app, such as Anylist or Paprika, if you don't want to make your own.
5. Buy all ingredients for your week’s meals. Purchasing a week’s worth of groceries rather than stopping into the market on an ad hoc basis can save you valuable time during the work week. It can even help you stick to a healthy and balanced diet. So, once you’ve got your meals and required ingredients listed, purchase them at your local shop or superstore and stock them in your cupboards and refrigerator.
   • Buying in bulk can make your shopping trip easier as well as more affordable, so consider visiting a warehouse club for items such as toilet paper, rice, cereal, and oats.
   • This can be a more difficult task if you don’t own a car, but it’s not necessarily impossible! If you live within walking distance to a market, buy a folding wheeled cart that you can use to haul your groceries home from the store. If you need to take some form of transport to the store, consider taking the bus there and then getting a taxi or ride-sharing service on the way home.

Dedicating Your Weekend to Self-Improvement

1. Wake up early. No matter how you end up making your weekends more productive, getting up early will give you more hours to dedicate to your chosen activity or chore set. Start by setting your alarm for a manageable morning hour, such as 9:30 or 10 am, then move this alarm up at half-hour increments. After a while, you’ll find that getting up earlier on a consistent basis will make you more proactive, energetic, and quick-witted throughout the rest of your work week.
   • If you’re used to sleeping in on your weekends, start your new morning regimen slowly. Give yourself one weekend day a week to sleep in to your heart’s content rather than trying to rise early on both weekend days.
2. Take up a new hobby. Studies have shown that developing a new skill or participating in a new activity can make you a more well-rounded, creative, and decisive person. Once you get into the swing of your new hobby, it can also provide incentive for getting through the rest of the work week and even turn into a new career path or create a new social circle in your life. Knitting, painting, writing, and cooking classes are all great, creative hobbies that can enrich your life, while yoga and dance classes or club sports teams can fun ways to improve your physical fitness.
   • If you already have a hobby but don’t know where, how, or with whom to practice it, check out social websites designed to acquaint people with similar interests and purposes. For example, meetup.com organizes local groups for anything from Scrabble playing to mountain climbing.
3. Register for a language, computer, or continuing education class. Broadening your horizons intellectually is one of the most rewarding ways to spend your free time and weekends. If you’re interested in advancing your career, ask your supervisor if your job offers supplementary education courses. If you want to do something different, consider signing up for adult education courses at the local college or community center.
   • Learning a new language has been shown to improve one’s quality of life in particular. Not only does it provide insight into another linguistic system and culture, but it can also enhance mental function, creativity, and critical thinking in all aspects of life.
4. Find a volunteer position. It may seem counterintuitive, but one of the best ways to improve your own self-esteem is through dedicating time and energy to helping others. Volunteering has even been shown to have physical health benefits as well as lower incidence rates of depression. Whether you choose to help out at the local animal shelter, the soup kitchen, or a community library or farmer’s market, you’ll add dimension and depth to your life while cultivating valuable personal qualities, such as empathy, confidence, and work ethic.
   • The GiveGab mobile app and websites, like Volunteermatch.org and LinkedIn’s volunteer listing site, can help you find volunteer opportunities in your area.
5. Relax! Just because you’re spending your weekend sleeping and lounging, doesn’t necessarily mean you’re wasting your time! Studies have shown that proper rest and relaxation are essential to a healthy lifestyle, so make sure you’re taking the time to recharge your batteries before you take on any extra weekend tasks and commitments.
   • This is especially important if your day-to-day job demands a lot of overtime or physical labour. Instead of running yourself ragged on the weekend, do restful activities that are still thought-provoking and productive, such as reading, writing, or watching documentaries.

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References

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