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I am not OP, but I'm interested in this question too. To be honest, I'm not too sure what "everyone else" does on the weekend either, and am curious about that

I am not OP, but I'm interested in this question too. To be honest, I'm not too sure what "everyone else" does on the weekend either, and am curious about that also. Sometimes I end up intending to be productive, but end up more-or-less procrastinating and neither being productive nor genuinely relaxing. I've often wondered whether to attempt to be more disciplined and productive on the weekend (e.g., work, exercise, piano practice, read "serious" books, etc.), or to embrace relaxing and absolving myself temporarily of any responsibilities. I would very much welcome any testimonials from anyone who has made either decision!

DoreenMichele 8y ago
The reality is that it's a judgement call. Some people have good health and boundless energy. For such people, spending more hours working can pay off -- at least, in the short run. They may actually be heading towards burnout without realizing it. Some people don't have that kind of energy. Pushing themselves too hard actually hurts their productivity in the short term. It can also vary over time for the same person. Maybe some weeks, they can do more, but other weeks, they really need some recharge time. Wisdom is almost always specific to a particular set of details and is about a person having deep knowledge of that specific situation and acting on it in an informed manner. It tends to not generalize as well as we would like.
- impendia 8y ago
  > Wisdom ... tends to not generalize as well as we would like. Ain't that the truth! I should maybe make it clear -- I'm not really asking for advice. Rather, I would find it very valuable to read how a variety of people have answered this question for themselves. There is an inevitable bias to what we can observe other people doing: if I decide to show up to the gym, or to some social activity, or whatever, then I can see other people who have made the same decision. But one doesn't really get the opportunity to see firsthand how people spend their downtime.
  - DoreenMichele 8y ago
    Rather, I would find it very valuable to read how a variety of people have answered this question for themselves. I agree with this idea. It would also be nice if they fleshed out the how with some of the why in their case (without violating their personal sense of privacy, preferably).
dahart 8y ago
To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with curiosity. And I wonder the same thing and have similar questions myself. I just wanted to better understand the question because as stated, it’s open ended enough that it might not yield very useful answers, and it feels like there’s a larger question underneath. If the real question is whether to relax vs be more disciplined, it’s a good question, but hard to answer. We’d have to dive a little deeper on what being “productive” means - that’s an open ended criteria that people define for themselves. Some people don’t feel productive unless they’re working, some define productivity in terms of important things does per hour of work and refuse to measure weekend productivity. It’s all over the map. Maybe the important questions are, “what are you trying to get done this week/year/lifetime”, and “what does it all mean?” ;)
AtHeartEngineer 8y ago
Try using an app like Daylio to track habits and mood. Then try both ways, work your ass off for 4 or 5 days, and then just chill and do whatever for 2-3 days. Then try splitting up your day so X number of hours are hard productivity and the rest of the day is more relaxed. See what works for you.
1rkd 8y ago
I am definitely not a constantly productive person, but a productive weekend day for me usually involves waking up on the early side (5-6am) and then hydrating, eating and fitting in some type of home exercise. Late morning (10:30-11?) go to a cafe with my wife. This time can be social and relaxing, but can easily turn into an opportunity for reading or working on something for a couple hours. I like to bring my laptop to cafes and find it is a very good atmosphere for me to focus. At this point it might be getting close to dinner time. If I have done everything I described then I probably am already satisfied with my productivity, but if I am behind on household chores I might listen to music and clean the kitchen after dinner. Now I can finish out the night with some Netflix or vydia feeling like I earned it. There are a few different permutations to this. Some weekends both Saturday and Sunday might look like this, others one day could have a more involved social event planned. I find that if I start off the morning similarly then the rest of the day tends to go well, so my advice is to master your morning so that you transition into the middle of the day with energy and momentum.

DoreenMichele 8y ago

The reality is that it's a judgement call. Some people have good health and boundless energy. For such people, spending more hours working can pay off -- at least, in the short run. They may actually be heading towards burnout without realizing it. Some people don't have that kind of energy. Pushing themselves too hard actually hurts their productivity in the short term. It can also vary over time for the same person. Maybe some weeks, they can do more, but other weeks, they really need some recharge time. Wisdom is almost always specific to a particular set of details and is about a person having deep knowledge of that specific situation and acting on it in an informed manner. It tends to not generalize as well as we would like.

impendia 8y ago
> Wisdom ... tends to not generalize as well as we would like. Ain't that the truth! I should maybe make it clear -- I'm not really asking for advice. Rather, I would find it very valuable to read how a variety of people have answered this question for themselves. There is an inevitable bias to what we can observe other people doing: if I decide to show up to the gym, or to some social activity, or whatever, then I can see other people who have made the same decision. But one doesn't really get the opportunity to see firsthand how people spend their downtime.
- DoreenMichele 8y ago
  Rather, I would find it very valuable to read how a variety of people have answered this question for themselves. I agree with this idea. It would also be nice if they fleshed out the how with some of the why in their case (without violating their personal sense of privacy, preferably).

dahart 8y ago

To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with curiosity. And I wonder the same thing and have similar questions myself. I just wanted to better understand the question because as stated, it’s open ended enough that it might not yield very useful answers, and it feels like there’s a larger question underneath. If the real question is whether to relax vs be more disciplined, it’s a good question, but hard to answer. We’d have to dive a little deeper on what being “productive” means - that’s an open ended criteria that people define for themselves. Some people don’t feel productive unless they’re working, some define productivity in terms of important things does per hour of work and refuse to measure weekend productivity. It’s all over the map. Maybe the important questions are, “what are you trying to get done this week/year/lifetime”, and “what does it all mean?” ;)

AtHeartEngineer 8y ago

Try using an app like Daylio to track habits and mood. Then try both ways, work your ass off for 4 or 5 days, and then just chill and do whatever for 2-3 days. Then try splitting up your day so X number of hours are hard productivity and the rest of the day is more relaxed. See what works for you.

1rkd 8y ago

I am definitely not a constantly productive person, but a productive weekend day for me usually involves waking up on the early side (5-6am) and then hydrating, eating and fitting in some type of home exercise. Late morning (10:30-11?) go to a cafe with my wife. This time can be social and relaxing, but can easily turn into an opportunity for reading or working on something for a couple hours. I like to bring my laptop to cafes and find it is a very good atmosphere for me to focus. At this point it might be getting close to dinner time. If I have done everything I described then I probably am already satisfied with my productivity, but if I am behind on household chores I might listen to music and clean the kitchen after dinner. Now I can finish out the night with some Netflix or vydia feeling like I earned it. There are a few different permutations to this. Some weekends both Saturday and Sunday might look like this, others one day could have a more involved social event planned. I find that if I start off the morning similarly then the rest of the day tends to go well, so my advice is to master your morning so that you transition into the middle of the day with energy and momentum.