How to Bring Routine into Routineless Weekends

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels

Photo Description: A person with light blond hair lies on a white bed, appearing relaxed or asleep. Beside them are an open laptop, a cup of coffee, a pair of glasses, and an open notebook with writing and a pen — creating a calm, slightly messy weekend scene that blends rest and unfinished work.

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I’ve always hated weekends, especially in my childhood. While other kids were excited to get away from school, I felt flustered. Where is the routine? What do I do with my day if I don’t know what to do?

I still experience this a lot in my adulthood. If my weekend is routineless, it may have been as restful as not having a weekend at all. My sleep schedule messes up and I’m left waking up exhausted on Monday morning. It’s simply not a pretty sight. In recognizing that I suck at weekends, I have learned some ways to be better at making the most of them.

The easiest way to make weekends better is to create your own routine. This probably seems like a no brainer. If there isn’t a routine, make your own. But how? Here are a few ways to consistently bring routine into your weekends:

Make an itinerary

During your week or on Friday night, consider making an itinerary planning what you will do on your weekend. This is a bit time and energy-consuming, I admit, but it is sometimes needed. I don’t use an itinerary every week, but when I know I have many errands I need to complete, I like to make a schedule so that I don’t get overwhelmed with what I need to do once Saturday rolls in. 

Using an itinerary makes sure that I have a reason to start my day and am not left distressed during the day about what to do.

Plan your morning

If you aren’t able to implement a detailed routine into your weekends for whatever reason, consider only planning your mornings. Sometimes weekends feel harder to start because I don’t have a clear ‘cue’ to get moving, or my energy feels stuck. If I have nothing to do, what’s the point of getting out of my pyjamas?

Planning your morning doesn’t have to be something elaborate. It can just be a simple reason that motivates you enough to start the day; once your day has started, it’ll be easier to decide how to enjoy the rest of your day.

For me, I often rely on my dog to plan my mornings. I eat breakfast and take him out on a morning stroll. Other times I will make an effort to check out the new cafe in my neighbourhood, or try the latest Starbucks drink. Sometimes my anchor is practical, like a Saturday morning medical appointment—it’s not glamorous, but it gives structure. 

Overall, the aim is to increase routine in your weekends in ways that take low effort.

Register for recreational programs

Signing up for recreational programs is one fun, easy way to create routine in your weekends. I love recreational programs because they provide a couple months of fixed programming, so I don’t need to constantly plan every minute of my weekend. The best are drop-in programs, because they’re always running and often free, so there is really very little you have to do to implement this into your weekend. 

Look into your municipality’s recreation guide or website to find programs that interest you. You can also search online for programs offered by private businesses, though those may come with heftier costs. 

I also love recreational programs because they bring other benefits. Recreational programs can improve physical activity, social connectedness with others, and mental wellbeing. They get you out of bed and often out the door. If you are interested, they can create an opportunity to find social connection, especially with others who share similar interests. For me, having already paid for the program can sometimes make it easier to follow through and commit to attending.

If recreational programming isn’t your thing, here are some other routine-enhancing activities to try out:

• Social club arrangements with friends, such as weekly book clubs or coffee dates
• Weekly visits/phone calls to friends and/or family
• If you don’t have a dog, offering to walk a friend, family, or neighbour’s dog
• Establishing a weekend ritual, such as always starting Saturday morning with a tea and reading a book, or always having a picnic lunch at a nearby park
• Committing to a volunteer shift at an organization of your choice

Conclusion

I hope I could help increase routine into your weekends. Do you have any unique ways of tackling routineless weekends, or routines you like to share? Let me know in the comments and let’s inspire each other 🙂

In my next post, I will open up about my harmful stim, skin picking, and how I managed to become skin picking free after twelve years.

Photo description: An infographic titled “How to Bring Routine into Routineless Weekends” shows a hand surrounded by four blue circles with tips: plan your morning, register for recreational programs, make an itinerary, and do routine-enhancing activities like social visits or weekly calls.