Welcome back, everyone! Today, we’re here to send you into the weekend full of delight. That’s right, by following the below, you’ll be sure to unplug from work obligations, clear your mind, and capitalize on the free time afforded by the weekend.

Weekend Delight through These Strategies:

• Set Boundaries in Advance: In order to truly achieve the goal of unplugging, it’s crucial to set yourself up for success by creating boundaries in advance. Whether this means a time of day, a specific day in the week, or a limited number of times checked, set a restriction for yourself to follow regarding your work and technology. Implementing these subtle goals will provide you with a sense of achievement and a “rule” to stay accountable to. There are also many ways that you can hold yourself accountable within your own mobile device, set screen time limits and reminders on social apps so that you can truly understand the amount of time you’re spending scrolling.
• Capitalize on Open Space and Time: If you feel the same way as I do, then you know that creeping feeling that settles in that you should be doing “more” when lying in bed or sitting unoccupied. For that reason, try to occupy yourself over the weekend by creating a schedule or set of plans to take action. If it’s nice outside, make sure to get outdoors for a walk, a picnic, a trip to the dog park, a barbeque, a drink outside, or even a workout class. This is also a great way to keep up with friends in a socially casual setting doing something that you enjoy! Especially if you’re looking to broaden your friendships, we encourage you to reach out to someone new and ask if they’d like to get together this weekend to connect.
• Be the Initiator! On the same note as the above, we all know the all-too-easy feeling of allowing others to initiate plans and maintain friendships. However, we challenge YOU to call up a friend for a coffee date, schedule a walk, coordinate a restaurant reservation or night out to the movies, and otherwise get the group together! After all, creating plans with others is a clear bet to pay off for you in the end too; so, look up fun activities in your city this afternoon and call up a friend you haven’t connected with in some time to connect over quality time this weekend.
  • Extra Tip: Today marks the start of Chicago’s restaurant week; is there a new restaurant you’ve been itching to try recently? The next few weeks are a perfect excuse to explore the city and find your new favorite spot to eat.
• Maintain Open Communication With Your Team: If a sense of guilt is taking over your mind, it may be a result of a difference between operating standards within your team or organization. Remember, just because your coworker or manager may stay online through all hours of the night does not mean that you must! Having an open communication plan where you let your manager know when you will and will not be reachable by mail or whatever it may be will relieve your sense of uncertainty and therefore need to stay in contact at all times. Something that I do that I find super helpful is muting any notifications from ‘work apps’ on my phone throughout the weekend – this way, even if someone is emailing on a Sunday, I won’t be reminded of it until Monday morning.
• Treat Yourself to Something FUN! Whether this is a few dollars spent on a new coffee from your local shop, a trip to the spa, an outing to dinner, a sports game, a concert, a new piece of jewelry, an hour of meditation, a daily journaling session, or anything else that brings you joy … treat yourself this weekend! It is all too often that days pass us by without even a moment of acknowledgment of doing something solely for YOU. So, regardless of spend, find an activity or treat that will bring you joy this weekend and indulge.. after all, we work to live!