Have you had a restful weekend?
Or did busyness sneak up on you?
I was looking forward to a restful weekend, with no major activities booked on the calendar, so how did I end Sunday feeling tired?
What happened?
As I started this post I thought I knew the answer - I spent all of Sunday, after an initial 30 minutes enjoying coffee and a book, moving from one task straight into the next all day until 8pm. However, when I examined my schedule a little more closely, it could look as though I did something similar on Saturday, but that felt like a delightful day. So, what was different? Let’s start with a quick recap:
Saturday: slow morning coffee & reading; laundry & kitchen cleaning; a bit more reading to finish this 5* read; baking banana bread; cooking a late eggy bread & bacon breakfast; starting to seam a jumper I have been knitting; walking to Tesco and the library with one of my boys and meeting another off the train to walk home together; making apple crumble; more laundry; cooking chicken for an early dinner; watching some TV; cooking a second dinner for the late arrivals; chatting together; bedtime and reading.
Sunday: slow morning coffee & reading; shower; driving to pick up my son (1 hour round trip); cooking an early lunch; driving my son to a fire station taster afternoon; food shopping; baking cookies; laundry; cooking bolognaise; picking my son back up; cooking pasta; laundry (always more laundry!); driving oldest son back to university; back home at 8pm, watched a show and heading for bedtime and reading.
On the surface both days included a little reading, and plenty of laundry, cooking, and driving around. So what made Saturday feel spacious, restful, and quite delightful?
Taking time to finish a novel - I usually read non-fiction in the daytime, and so this was a treat.
Baking and cooking special things - sweet treats, and recipes that are not in our every day menu.
The finishing stages of a jumper and satisfaction in sight!
Time with my family, walking and shopping together, chatting, and with no rush.
Choosing this delicious traybake dinner, that doesn’t really feel like cooking at all.
Aha!
In brief it was little things that made it special, and made it feel spacious. It was busy, but there was only one time-dependent thing of meeting my son from the train. In my cooking I focused on fun and delight, cooking special things, rather than simply feeding everyone; and walking to the shops with good company. I took time for little treats in between tasks; reading and knitting.
Sunday was more functional; and whilst I enjoyed my car rides chatting with my son or listening to music, it’s not the same as a slow walk outside. I’m not sure exactly what to take away from all of this. On Sunday I would have taken little time-outs too, but there simply weren’t those little snippets of time in between the time-dependent stuff.
Even just knowing that Sunday was the way it had to be makes me feel a little better. And now that I think of it, I realise that I hadn’t looked at Sunday with clear glasses before the day started. I expected it to be spacious like Saturday. Actually, if I’m honest, I expected it to be quieter, because I didn’t have any BIG plans. But I failed to notice just how many little things there were, with specific timeframes, that put together all nudged up against each other.
Had I noticed that I would have gone into the day with a slightly different mindset, and may have felt appreciative that although they nudged up against each other, there was no rush or hurry, they weren’t snapping at the heels of the next thing. I would have focused more on the joy of car conversations, plus the podcast listening time on the solo portion of the journey.
So what?
Our mindset is so important to how life feels. Expectations play a big part in mindset, and this is why it is so important for me to take an honest look at my schedule and look for the highlights within it that I want to make the most of.
This isn’t just something for the weekend. My evenings are busy too, with lots of lift-giving and sometimes staggered meal times to accommodate my sporty family.
By giving just a moment’s thought to the timings I can think about what is manageable and drop the laundry shuffle from a few nights; I can plan a meal to cook quickly when I get home late on Monday evening when my husband is out volunteering.
I also know that often when I pick up, I am waiting for up to 20-30 minutes as sports coaches are not always the best time keepers! So, I can remember to take my (fiction) book, or a downloaded show to watch. This stops me clock watching or scrolling my phone. I feel that I have made the most of my time, and enjoyed a little recreation before the drive home.
How about you? What is an activity, or a time of the week that leaves you feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, or disappointed? Instead of blanking it out until it suddenly arrives, could you take a moment to think it through:
What causes it to be tiring, overwhelming, or frustrating?
What could make that part of it just a little easier or more enjoyable?
I hope this makes your week a little happier!