Here’s what you should do with your weekends to be happier

For most workers, Friday evening feels like liberation. It’s the end of the week, the beginning of the weekend and the prospect of moments to yourself. But are we giving our weekends the flavor they deserve?

Caught up in the hectic pace of our work weeks, we can be tempted to leave all the tasks that we don’t have didn’t have time to do this for the weekend. So much so that once the weekend arrived, the chores piled up and didn’t really leave time for anything else. This is where Cassie Holmes, a happiness researcher, intends to make us see things differently.

A new approach to the weekend

Leaving chores over the weekend pushes us to plan our days around them. “People associate vacations with a break… Whereas our weekends tend to be a routine where we do one activity after another,” says Cassie Holmes in the podcast Everyday Better with Leah Smart. Our weekends are thus thought of like our working week, according to a precise schedule and tasks to be carried out. This mode of operation gives the impression to our mind that we never stop and does not leave its rest function to the weekend.

In 2017, Cassie Holmes conducted an experiment on more than 400 American workers, the report of which she published in the Harvard Business Review. In this study, she asked some members of the group to treat the weekend as a vacation and others to spend it like any other weekend. As a result of this weekend, she found that those who had a vacationer mindset showed more satisfaction and positivity when they returned to work. During the weekend, they did less cleaning and worked less, stayed in bed a little longer with their partner and ate a little more. At the same time, they were “more aware and attentive to the present moment throughout their weekend’s activities.”

Switch to vacation mode

If we often think of vacations as punctuated by a trip or activities that are out of the ordinary, it is entirely possible to consider our weekends as vacations without all that. The key is to make sure you really let go from the usual routine in a particular way, explains Andrea Bonior, professor of psychology, at Time. This way, you truly disconnect from work and avoid risking burnout. “Taking leave is not a sign of weakness,” she reminds Ms. Bonior. We need it physically, emotionally and mentally. » Each break from work must therefore be appreciated for its true value.

And it starts the moment you leave work. As you end your day, put yourself first that you are going on a micro-vacation. You are sending yourself an important signal. Rather than rushing to start your chores as quickly as possible and not slowing down, set aside as much of your Saturday as possible to relax and focus on having fun. This day will mark the break and you will be able to postpone your chores until Sunday. Take the opportunity to make yourself a good meal, go out, do a relaxing activity or reward yourself when you complete a task. “When used wisely, this simple reframing allows you to enjoy some of the joy of the holidays without taking extra time off,” assures Cassie Holmes for CNBC.