As a new dad, I’ve come to realize that setting a realistic goal for weekend chores/jobs is critical. I’m a firm believer in the purpose of weekends is to recover and repair from all of the energy expended during the week. However, as a dad and homeowner, I recognize that there are endless tasks that need to be done every weekend.
Prioritize a manageable number of tasks to be completed
I think this notion supersedes all other tips I can possibly give, and so is the only one I’ll discuss. Each weekend, my wife and I do our best to figure out what really needs to be done. Sure, we will write down a long list of things that we would like to get done, but the entire list never gets done in any single weekend. So, whether it’s a mental re-ordering of the list or an actual reordering of the list, we will work on the three or so items that we find most critical. I find that this makes our ‘weekend warrior’ lives productive and maintains a sense of rest and recovery that we need as humans on our days off.
Photo by Aaron Burden.