Productive Things to do Every Weekend

Lately I've been trying to motivate myself to make healthy changes and choices, and not just when it comes to eating right and working out. Two things that I stress a lot in my life are the amount of sleep I get and my productivity level. I aim for eight hours of sleep every night (which in reality is rarely the case), and I try to keep myself busy or at least mindful of what I need to accomplish in order to be productive.

A few weeks ago I had a four day weekend and set out with the mindset that I would accomplish a ton of things on my days off. Instead, I ate like all of the food in my house and watched Keeping Up with the Kardashians for hours on end. I wound up crying to one of my friends on the phone because of how much time I'd wasted. I could've been working out, blogging, doing homework, reading, organizing my room, or really done anything except sit around and veg out!

In general, I put a lot of pressure on myself to be productive, and it doesn't always work out (like yesterday I spent a solid two hours on Pinterest on my couch..), but something I have come to realize is that there are ways to be productive without feeling like it's the end of the world to take a day off and just relax and do nothing. In fact, there are productive things to do while you're relaxing! It's like killing two birds with one stone.

and you know what they say...

So how exactly can you be productive every weekend without really doing anything?

1. Unsubscribe from unwanted email lists // Ever since the middle of junior year I have noticed an incredible amount of emails popping up in my inboxes from random universities and schools offering me scholarships and reminding me of application deadlines. Among tons of random college junk emails like those, brand emails from stores I don't shop at, and random emails from sites I've never even heard of, I find myself constantly deleting messages from my inbox all day. I signed up for unroll.me, which only takes a minute, and easily unsubscribed from over 100 unwanted email lists I was on!

2. Plan out blog posts // For me, writing blog posts is the fun part, but coming up with the topic is half the battle. On the weekends I like to scour Pinterest, catch up on other blogs, and read my favorite websites for inspiration to come up with post ideas/topics for the week. I try to keep an organized calendar with a flowing list of ideas on my phone so I can just whip out a post every night without stressing about have nothing to post.

3. Make a week-long to-do list // Sometimes making a nightly to-do list doesn't let you see the bigger picture of things you want to accomplish throughout the week. Write down a few tasks or goals that will take you more than just one night to accomplish, like maybe cleaning out your closet, slimming down your inbox, or reorganizing your desk. You'll feel productive at the end of the week by having one bigger project checked off.

4. Read the news // Catching up on what's going on in current events could make you feel a little more up-to-date and like the 5 hours you spent Netflixing on Saturday morning were justifiable (since, you know, you at least were aware of what everyone else out in the world was up to).

5. Clean Your Room // Starting the week fresh with a clean space is essential to giving yourself a clean slate to work with! Decluttering your space equals decluttering your mind, so you're set to crank out that whole to-do list once Monday morning comes. I always wind up throwing a ton of clothes around my room throughout the week and picking them all up over the weekend only takes a few minutes and really makes me feel like I've pulled it together. Honestly, it's just because I don't have to look at a messy space and think "oh, that needs to get done, too", because it's done!

How do make your weekends productive?

PS- Will you be watching the Oscars tonight? I'm thinking I'll take over my kitchen at some point this afternoon and whip out a few yummy appetizers. I'm really in the mood to cook!

xoxo