Be honest…
How long has it been since you have had a whole weekend off?
That is why you started you chose to work from home or simply stay home, right? So that you can work the hours you want to work and have time off without putting in a request three months in advance.
After reading last week’s post, Take Control of Your Stress & Lose the Weight, you are probably more stressed than when you started. This is because you are beginning to think about where you are in your life compared to where you want to be, you are probably not 100% satisfied.
You may be in love with your decision, but are you in love with yourself?
Are you in love with your life?
You should be.
Unfortunately most of us who make the decision to spend more time at home feel even more trapped in a schedule that does not allow us much time, especially once we want to start changing our life, our weight, or our business.
Stop trying to plan your workouts, menus, and week’s activities during the week.
Use the week for taking action. Use the weekend for planning.
If you do not have weekends off, start taking them off now. I can tell you that you are only going to burn yourself out working seven days a week. (I’m just guessing, but you probably hated working weekends at your last JOB.)
Instead use your weekends to organize your life. Saturday and Sunday are great days to plan. They are also great days to get in extra-long workouts. Yes, I know that you are not always completing all your workouts during the week. Stop beating yourself up.
If you can put in 120 minutes of exercise during the weekend, then you can use short bursts to reach the 150 minutes for the week.
Plan your meals for the week and and do your shopping.
Most of the time you will have a predictable schedule. You can even prepare meals ahead of time. Many people batch cook on the weekends to help ensure they have healthy meals throughout the week. In essence, when you do this you will be making your own frozen dinners.
Cook two or three meals, then place them into containers so they are ready for your lunches.
You can even put all the ingredients needed for Thursday’s crockpot meal into a container all prepped so all you have to do is put it into the pot and turn it on.
If you do not have a scheduled planning time on Friday afternoon or Monday morning, then use your Saturday to plan your work week.
Sit down with your calendar and write in all the important events and tasks that need to be completed. Your work week will go much smoother if you have a plan. Do not forget to schedule in your workouts.
I know that things may come up, which cause your schedule to change. This does not mean that you cannot plan ahead. Having a schedule is simply a guide to keep you on course to reaching all of your goals. It also helps you hold onto some of your sanity through the chaos of life.
Last, but certainly not least as I am sure you can come up with many other ways to wisely use your weekends.
Use an hour or two for “me time.”
Pamper yourself a bit. Maybe you want to meditate or maybe you want a long bubble bath. Whatever it is that you desire to do that is just for you, do it.
Taking time to practice using your weekends wisely will lead to more productive and less stressful work weeks.
It may be tough at first, but give it a try for the next month. Stop working on the weekends and use them to prep for your week. Do not forget to spend time with your family and enjoy life.
Do you struggle with finding time to schedule your weight loss efforts? Let me help. Click here to schedule a 30 minute “Get Me Started” session today where we can work out the kinks and leave you with a plan you are happy to use.
Everyday Extraordinary Mompreneur 