Week 1 of “living on the weekend” down, and oh my goodness y’all, it was AWESOME! I’m typing this post on Tuesday, while the experience is still fresh, and I wish you could see me trying to reach through the computer screen and tell you how much different my weekend was. Eeeek; I’m loving this challenge already!
While I won’t always give you a full recap of the weekend, I thought this might be helpful, particularly for the first weekend. Below is a brief run down of how I spent my first “live on the weekend” weekend.
Picnicked at the park Friday evening
Hiked at the arboretum
Shot an upcoming Dr. Allison video
Visited a local farmers market
Ran a 5K race with several of my husband’s coworkers (and had my best time!)
Tried a new breakfast spot
Washed our cars
Tackled a DIY project, dip-dyeing ombre curtains
Spent an afternoon at the the zoo with friends (hence the photo above which my husband loves lol!)
Took an incredible Sunday afternoon nap
Finished writing out my summer bucket list
This was way different than my normal weekend! So here are my reflections after week one.
I can fit a lot more into a weekend than I previously thought. Y’all, this weekend felt like a four-day weekend! At one point on Sunday afternoon, I found myself a little confused what day it was, and for a second, I thought I was on summer break. (Which for the record, I haven’t had a “summer break” since my junior year in college!) I realized this was because by Sunday afternoon, we had already done a ton! While I previously thought a busy and full weekend might feel shorter, it was actually the opposite. It felt amazingly long!
I still had time to relax. While we definitely “did more” over the weekend, I still had some down time to relax and chill. I took an awesome nap, I read a couple chapters from my current book, and we watched an episode of Sherlock. The difference was, my nap was an hour, not three, and we watched one episode, as opposed to five. Living on the weekend didn’t mean I lost my downtime, rather, I was more intentional about it.
I felt much more connected to my partner. Sunday night, as Matt and I crawled into bed, I felt closer to him. For me, this highlighted a key difference in doing things with your partner and spending time together. The more action-based approach creates a different opportunity for connection than merely proximity.
Living takes some effort. I’m not going to lie, there were a few times when I was totally tempted to plop down and zone out. It was tempting to eat at home Friday night, but we put in some extra effort to pack a picnic and walk to the park. It took some effort to get up and wash the cars when HGTV and the couch were calling. But I am committed to changing my approach to the weekends, and I know that change requires intentionality. In these moments of decision, I reminded myself of this commitment and nudged myself out of my comfort zone.
So far, I am surprised and encouraged by this challenge! It’s also been awesome to hear so many readers and clients share how much this concept resonates with them. It sounds like I’m not going to be alone on this journey. So excited to see where this takes us!
Check back each and every Friday for updates, reflections, and some fun videos and I choose to LIVE on the weekend!
I noticed the first week that even if I’m doing the same thing I would have normally done, it makes a big difference in the way I appreciate and enjoy that time. For example, watching TV and getting some cuddle time with my pets on the couch. Instead of zoning out and letting the time go by, I actively decide: I’m going to sit down for an hour and spend time with them and watch TV. It feels more like I’m giving myself that time vs. Just being a bum! 😀
YES, LORRY! I love this and totally agree! It’s the difference between MINDFULLY doing something and MINDLESSLY doing something. So glad you were able to take notice of this. Thanks for commenting!