11 Ways to Come Out of a Long Weekend Without Feeling Like a Waste of Humanity

In this U.S., July 4^th is Independence Day! This year, the 4^th falls on a Monday, which means most of the country has a three-day weekend coming up (if you’re not in the U.S., don’t worry, you can apply this article to any long weekend or holiday).

Back in my “corporate job” days, I remember looking forward to long weekends as a time to kick back, relax, and not think about work for an extra day. On the other hand, I also remember reaching the end of quite a few of those weekends thinking to myself, “Wow, I did nothing. What a waste.”

Believe me, I am all for chillaxing, kicking back with friends and family, and recharging my batteries. However, if you don’t want to end the weekend with a hint of regret, try doing one or more of the following. They’re all pretty simple and you should be able to find time to do at least some of them:

1) Figure Out What You Really Want – Yes, this is shameless self-promotion. If you haven’t done so yet, download my free e-book, Learn the 7 Steps to Getting What You Really Want – Even If You Have No Idea What That Is! Then, take a little time this weekend to go through at least step 1.  Wouldn’t it be great to get back to your routine on Tuesday knowing what it is you really want to do, be, or have?

2) Think About What Great Thing You Will Do This November – Last year I ran the Do Something Great in November challenge. I plan on doing it again this year, and I want even more people to join in. Spend some time this weekend thinking about what huge, great thing you are going to take on in November.

3) Contact Someone You Have Lost Touch With – You know that old friend about whom you keep saying, “I should really give them a call”? But you never have time? Guess what – you have time this weekend.

4) Go Off-the-Grid – Yes, I know it’s hard and scary, but take a few hours, or, if you can, a full day, and completely unplug. No email, no phone, no internet. If you haven’t done this in a long time (or ever!) you may be shocked at how addicted to your technology you really are. And you may be pleasantly surprised at just how nice it can be to shut it down and just be for a little while.

5) Go Clockless – This is one step up from going off the grid. Take a few hours (or a day) where you don’t check the time. I unintentionally did this while on vacation, and it was a weird, but very cool experience. Spending half a day doing things only because I wanted to and they felt right, not because “it was time to,” was an eye opening experience.

6) Do a One Page Strategic Plan – I went through this process recently and it was both simple and helpful. My friend and fellow speaker Laura Posey has a program that lets you create a strategic plan in about 20 minutes. My other buddy, Robert Bradford, who does strategic planning for corporations and wrote the #1 book on the concept, would probably scoff at the On-Page Plan’s simplicity. However, it helped me get clarity, pick a direction, and prioritize my activities. You can get the One Page Strategic Plan e-book for free here: One Page Strategic Plan

7) Take Action on Your Creative Project – Not everyone has some long ignored creative project like writing a novel, creating a painting, or building a Zen rock garden. But if you do, then a long holiday weekend is the perfect time to pick it up. Don’t worry about doing a great job or making huge progress. Just tap back into the joy you feel when you do it.

8 ) Learn Something – You don’t have to cram for a college course, but few things feel as satisfying as learning something new. Read a book, watch a video, attend a one-hour class at the Home Depot, whatever. It’s hard to consider a weekend a waste if you can look back and say, “hey! I learned how to snake my clogged drain!”

9) Clean that One Room – You know the one. The one you have been ignoring for as long as you can. You don’t have to tackle the whole thing, but a little bit of progress will make you feel like you didn’t waste a weekend.

10) Read Some Excellent Fiction – To be clear, by “excellent fiction,” I don’t mean “high quality literature.” If you want to read Twilight, go right ahead (just don’t talk to me about it). Most of my friends and I read, so I am always shocked at the statistics about people who don’t buy or read books. Don’t be a statistic! Or if you are going to be one, be a positive one! Grab a book that sounds interesting to you, and give it a read. If you borrow the book from a friend or the library then, if you don’t like it after 20 pages or so, you can always stop reading without any guilt.

11) Appreciate What You Have – In the U.S., this is of course what we are all supposed to be doing this weekend. Appreciating the freedom and liberty we have available to us. Don’t forget to take a little time to do that, and tale a few minutes to appreciate every other good thing in your life. You are a lot luckier than a lot of people out there…

Give one (or more) of those a try and report back in the comments on how it went!

Have a relaxing, fun, semi-productive, and safe 4^th of July Weekend!

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Do you want help making better long term decisions? How about help figuring out what exactly it is that you want? Or maybe you know, but your problem is that you don’t know how to put together a plan to get you there?  Or perhaps you have a plan, but never feel motivated to follow it? Or you jyst get easily derailed when things go wrong? If so, than the Smart Ass Success! Learn the 7 Steps to Getting What You Really Want – Even If You Have No Idea What That Is! FREE E-Book is for you! It addresses those questions (and more) to help you get on the path towards figuring out what you really want – and then getting it! Don’t let another year pass you by. Click here to download your free copy now!

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By Avish Parashar. As the world's only Motivational Improviser, Avish uses techniques from the world of improv comedy to engage, entertain, and educate audiences on ideas around change, creativity, and motivation. Connect with Avish on Google+

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