Back on track in one weekend

Back on track in one weekend

Sometimes, life can overwhelm you. No shame in that, we all have it! I’ve compiled this emergency plan to get back on track in just one weekend, so that you can start your new week with a clear mind and a clean house.

Friday, I’m in love

It’s finally Friday and you can start your weekend! I would recommend doing something fun outside of the house, like going to the cinema or have dinner with a friend. I find that if you get out of the house and go do something, it feels like an extra weekend day! It also prevents you from ruminating over work, so you actually feel like the weekend is there.

It might feel like you’re too tired to do anything at this point, but putting in the effort will be worth it in the end. And if you’re the type to be too tired at the end of the week, you might want to plan something in advance, so you can’t back out at the last minute. So, get pretty and get going, because you deserve to have fun. You don’t have to go clubbing or something, just dinner or going to the cinema can do the trick.

The only thing I would discourage you from doing too much is drinking alcohol. One glass isn’t going to kill you, so go ahead, but drinking too much will affect your serotonin levels and make you feel even more tired and grumpy. It also affects your melatonin, so it won’t help to improve your sleep as well. Therefore, be careful what you’re drinking.

Saturday morning, jumped out of bed and put on my best shoes

It’s the first real weekend day and it’s going to start off actively with getting your groceries. This way, you can get everything you need for the week ahead and it won’t clutter your mind. So, hit the supermarket, hit the apothecary, hit the market and any other store you need to get things from. The earlier the better, but you also need to make sure you got enough sleep (8 hours at least).

The second step is to get yourself to do some exercises. I find that this is a great way to get the most out of your day and provide you with energy to get everything else done. You can go for a long walk or bike ride or go for a more intense work-out like hitting the gym or running. Since I walk a lot throughout the week, I prefer to use my weekend for more intense work-outs personally, but this is up to you. If you choose the walk, you can also just walk to town for the stores in the previous step.

After this, don’t clean yourself up yet, because it’s time to clean your house! Hoover and mop the floors, get going in your bathroom, clean the windows and tidy up around the house. This is also physically heavy and you might sweat and get dirty stuff on you, so showering is the step after this. I’d recommend leaving your laundry and kitchen for Sunday though.

Since you’ve been super busy today, you deserve some me-time. So after dinner, take a long hot shower (or bath), get yourself a large cup of (caffeine-free) tea, put on a face/hair mask and curl up with a good book. You might also want to see a movie or light some candles or put on some relaxing music for this. Treat yourself to the perfect spa-night. This will relax you and help you sleep better, especially since you’ve also been physically active.

Driving slow on Sunday morning

Since you’ve been so active yesterday, you can take it a little slower today. I’d recommend starting with baking things you’ll use the rest of the week, for instance some bread or breakfast muffins, or banana bread. To stimulate yourself to make healthy choices throughout the week, I’d recommend baking things that are healthy, but also satisfy your sweet tooth. Since these things have to be in the oven for a while, you can do laundry during this time.

If you have some time left over, you can now start the rest of your meal prep. Pre-grill some vegetables, make a large dish of lasagna or soup, or cook some stew, risotto or coq au vin. These are just some examples, but they’re perfect to make during the weekend since they take some time. You’re not as likely to want to take that time during the week, but flavour wise it’s worth it. This is the perfect way to have delicious, warming, healthy meals that take longer, without having to force yourself to make them on weekdays.

After all of your prepping and putting everything in containers in the fridge or freezer, it’s time to clean the kitchen! Make sure your dishes are in the dishwasher or back in the cabinet. Follow this up by cleaning the countertops, stove and oven. If you have time, it’s also good to clean your cupboard, fridge and freezer every once in a while, but this weekend is just about the necessities.

Now that your house is back on track and you’re hopefully reloaded again, it’s time to prep for the week ahead mentally. Use your evening to plan out your week, set some goals and maybe do a little bit of meditation. This will help you to feel ready for the upcoming week, so that you can give it your all and you can get back on track at work as well.

Overall tips for the weekend

Although the weekend is pretty strictly divided into steps, there are some things that are important on all days. The first thing is something I’ve already mentioned on the first day, but it’s important overall:

  • Don’t drink (too much). Alcohol affects your mood and sleep quality. Although it might relax you in that moment, it’s not beneficial for your mental health overall. Keep to tea or fancy smoothies if you can!
  • Hydrate! This might feel contradictory, but it’s really important to stay hydrated. You are quite active this weekend and you’ll need the energy and cleansing qualities of water. Look for tips on drinking more water here.
  • Eat well. You’ll be busy and food might not feel like a priority. However, it will provide you with the energy you need to do everything. And, since fast food really doesn’t help with making you feel better physically or mentally, try to find some delicious healthy recipes. You can also make an extra batch when you’re meal prepping, so you can make sure your dinner that night is already taken care off.
  • Prepare for the weekend by making a kick-ass playlist that’ll motivate you during exercising, cleaning and cooking. Everything is better with some good tunes. Click on the subtitles for inspiration!
  • Don’t be too hard on yourself. This plan is pretty strict and if you’re tired to begin with, it can be hard to do everything. So, if it doesn’t work out completely, don’t sweat it! This plan was made to make you feel better by the end of it, not worse.

I hope this plan works out for you the way it does for me. Especially when you’re busy, things can seem to slip and getting back on track can seem almost impossible. However, this will help you a long way! And remember, if you’re really feeling out control, talk to someone like a friend, family member or professional. Everyone needs a little bit of help sometimes and there’s no shame in that. Maybe you can even help each other out!

What are your tips and tricks to get yourself re-focused and back on track during the weekend? Let me know in the comments below! If you want more content like this, please subscribe and get my free e-book to help you save money without too much effort. You can also find me on Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter, so you’ll never have to miss a new post.

Lots of love,

Lisa

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refocusing and reenergising

Hi there! My name is Lisa and I am the author of Mind and Body Intertwined. I have a bachelor's and a master's degree in psychology. During my study, I found out how much the mind and the body are connected and it fascinated me, which is why I started my blog. Would you like to join me on this little corner of the world?

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review GlucoRelief
1 month ago

This is my first time pay a quick visit at here and i am really happy to read everthing at one place

Em
Em
2 years ago

These are all really good tips and I’ll definitely follow them next weekend! I have such hectic weeks and really need to have a structure to my weekend to make the most of it, so thank you for sharing! I will put all of that into practice!
Em – https://www.earthlyem.co.uk

Boffin Bubble
2 years ago

Lovely read! I couldn’t disagree that by putting in some cleaning and tidying in weekend can be lifesavers. They are so relaxing no matter how physically exhausted I am😅. I would also like to add that by journaling on Sunday can act as a great self-reflection medium mediating us to look back what we have gone through from what so little we think of – it is empowering and fulfilling to start afresh for the next week.

Thanks for sharing this insightful post!

Laurie Trueblood
2 years ago

These are good tips and well thought out for planning. I really looked your title of jumping out bed and putting on your best shoes. This wording is just so energetic and positive! I personally struggle with getting it all done on the weekends so these are good tips for sequencing. Thank you for sharing

Soffy
2 years ago

I have a bad habit of hibernating and staying home at weekends during the colder months. However, I completely agree that going out doing something makes a world of a difference. We went to see a light show yesterday, it was unplanned, it was freezing but so worth it!

Molly @ Transatlantic Notes

These tips are great! I definitely spend time on the weekend to eat well and to spend time making things from scratch to nourish both mind and body! Thanks for all these other ideas — I will be using some of them this weekend.

Eleanor
2 years ago

Wow this sounds like a very productive weekend routine to follow! I also like to do my cleaning on the weekend, although I tend to do laundry on Fridays for some reason 🙂 I also try to get back on track, using the weekends to catch up on anything that I’ve had to forget about during the week. I need to work on my alcohol consumption as I know it isn’t good for your physical or mental health. Fantastic ideas, thank you for sharing x

Charity
Charity
2 years ago

You definitely had a productive weekend. Thanks for sharing.

mummyconqueringanxiety
mummyconqueringanxiety
2 years ago

Great tips for getting organised and staying healthy.

I need to do some work on staying hydrated and cut my alcohol and caffeine intake down.