The weekend is the gifted time when we get to have time off from school or work (sometimes), but in some cases our weekend is the time when we have to be the most productive. For me, the weekend is the time when I get to treat myself and catch up on work. I do this through lists and scheduling, making time for both fun and work.
Fridays and Saturdays are the time when I schedule in the fun things. I’ll box off time during these days to let myself have fun with friends, shop, not eat dining hall food (no matter how good it is, it always gets old), and do the things I do not always get to do during the week. Sometimes this might even mean to let myself have a lazy day or to nap, but I’ll always know I will have time set aside for things other than school or work. This might not sound “productive” but everyone needs time off to have fun and if you have a lot of work to do ALL weekend, take a friend to explore a new cafe or library.
On Sundays, I get down to business. I recently have gotten into what I call “lazy bullet-journaling”. I think bullet journaling is gorgeous and in some YouTube videos, a piece of art, but I just do not have the time for that. Instead I open my bullet journal and make a list of all my “to dos” of the day regarding homework, my internship work, personal errands, and even small cleaning tasks. I’ll go through the list and color code it with highlighters or box the most important things. I’ll usually number the first five or so tasks I want to conquer first and number the next five as I finish the last set. I’ll do this as the day continues.
I personally find myself to be the most productive when I mix school tasks with errands taking breaks to go outside and pick up a few things and then to go back. I find that the physical task of highlighting, numbering, and getting to cross off my list makes me feel a lot better about accomplishing my tasks, but you can always do this on your computer if that suits you better.
Overall, the way I keep my weekends the most productive is by letting myself not be at first. When I work myself too hard I burn out and need a little time to catch up myself first and by the time Sunday rolls around I am ready to be productive and be ready for the next week. The simple task of making a list and scheduling time for play and work makes me have the most fulfilling weekends and get ready to tackle on the next week.