Book Review: What the Most Successful People Do on the Weekend
**Note: The opinions expressed in this review are my own. I was not compensated for my review, and I do not receive commission on the sale of the ebook.**
I was recently given an advance copy of Laura Vanderkam’s newest ebook, What the Most Successful People Do on the Weekend.
I’m a big fan of Laura’s productivity and time management advice. You’re probably already familiar with her best-selling books, 168 Hours and What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast.
We’re all looking for ways to manage our time better and get more done in our busy lives. And I totally bought into Laura’s guidance in her previous ebook about how to make your mornings more efficient.
But when I heard she was now tackling our weekends, I admit I was a little skeptical.
I mean, come on! This is the weekend we’re talking about. Two full days to lie around, sleep in late, watch bad reality TV, blow off our chores and diets, and never get out of our pajamas.
How can weekends be productive? Isn’t this our downtime?
Once I got over my initial aversion to revamping my weekend, I realized that Laura’s not talking about filling every second of Saturday and Sunday with busy-ness.
In fact, What the Most Successful People Do on the Weekend can actually help us get MORE fun, enjoyment, and time with our loved ones. It’s all about prioritizing!
Here are the 3 biggest “ah-ha”s I had while reading this ebook.
The Weekend Is Longer Than You Think
It might seem like the weekend is over in the blink of an eye, but that’s just not the case. From 6:00 pm Friday night to 6:00 am Monday morning, you have 60 hours to devote to your weekend plans. Even if you sleep for 24 of those hours, you still have 36 hours to use any way you see fit.
That’s a lot of time! The weekends seem short because most people waste their precious hours sleeping in, zoning out in front of the TV or computer, or thinking about what they want to do (without actually doing it). Which brings me to the next insight…
Happy People Plan Their Weekends
Planning 3-5 weekend activities, or “anchors” as Laura calls them, is essential for getting the most out of your weekend.
These anchor activities help you (1) plan time for the things you need (and want) to do, (2) have flexibility and breaks during the days so you’re not running around like crazy, and (3) appreciate the anticipation of a fun event.
I never considered how important anticipation is, but it’s obvious when you think about how the build up toward an event is almost always better than the actual event. Looking forward to a romantic dinner on Saturday will keep you in a positive mood all week.
A Tech Sabbath Can Save Your Sanity
I’ve written before about how we can become overwhelmed by technology and all our gadgets. Shutting off your laptop, turning off your phone, powering down the video games, and avoiding the TV for a portion of the weekend will give your mind time to recharge.
You’ll be able to have a conversation with your family without being distracted. You might even be inspired to take a walk through your neighborhood! Some of my best ideas come to me when I’m away from the distractions of technology.
The ebook offers great tips for getting done what you need to do, choosing pleasurable anchor activities, making sure you get downtime, and feeling refreshed and ready to go on Monday morning.
I especially liked the examples of awesomely planned weekends (which I’m totally going to steal for my own weekends!).
Ready to make the most of your days off? Click here to preorder your copy of What the Most Successful People Do on the Weekend.
If you have a book or product that can help busy women become more productive, balanced, and stress-free, please send me an email at sage@sagegrayson.com.
How do you like to spend your weekends?
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Anticipation is a very important thing. It’s as important to have things to look forward to as doing the things.
Also i wanted to say – I got your card today! Thanks so much Sage.
You’re so welcome, Megan! Happy holidays! 🙂
Sounds like a great book! We plan our weekends and have been enjoying them so much more since we started doing so. It does make a difference! I’d like to start doing some tech fasts in 2013, too. I think those would be nice sometimes. 🙂
I need to remind myself to put down my phone. I can’t believe how often I check my email. Tech breaks are definitely in my future.
Smart advice. And researchings studying human perception of happiness have found that anticipating a fun activity gives people more joy than actually doing it. So recognizing and savoring the anticipation is very smart.
I love anticipating a fun event…especially if it involves food. 🙂
I am so glad you wrote this post!! She is so incredibly right, there really is a lot of time every weekend once you think about it. I try to balance R&R and productivity every weekend. Sometimes the balance is a bit off but I try to restore it and even it out 🙂 My biggest thing to work on is the tech sabbath. I’m such a tech junkie I should really work on that :X
I know, there’s really no excuse when you think about how many hours we have during the weekend…which I tend to waste far too often! Taking a tech break is something I’m working on too. Checking my email every 5 minutes just isn’t productive.