How to Make Fun and Relaxation Your Weekend Priorities

I used to really struggle with the weekends.

Parenting alongside regular weekend errands can feel like a real weight, which is why I needed to put more thought into them.

Lots of parents find weekends difficult. You spend the whole weekend caring for children, cooking and cleaning, and you’re even sometimes happy it’s over by Sunday night. 

Or you might cram the weekend full of fun activities and then feel the Sunday blues as the weekend ends.

So how do you balance family and chores and fit in fun and relaxation on the weekend?

Here are three steps to feel less swamped and leave the weekend feeling balanced and fulfilled.

Designate relaxation time

We expect ourselves to have the same energy level all the time and watch the clock for our kids to go to bed so we can “catch up” on things.

Yes, even on the weekends.

I used to struggle with switching off and letting things be, and my coach asked me, “When you look back on your life, would you have liked to have spent a significant amount of time relaxing?” My answer was yes. 

Now I make sure I have lots of white space in my calendar and time to myself to relax. That might be in the morning or Saturday night with a movie, but no matter when it is, it’s a very important piece in feeling like the weekend is for you.

Batch your errands and chores

After working with many clients on this, I can tell you that they all prefer batching errands and chores rather than doing a bit here and there.

If you do laundry Saturday morning, vacuum after the kids eat dinner on Saturday evening, grocery shop on Sunday morning... You can see how it’s seeping into the entire weekend.

Choose a weekend time to do your errands and chores, then experiment.

You might find Saturday mornings too busy to go out and do errands, so switch it to Sunday lunchtime.

You might be out of energy by Sunday afternoon, so you may prefer to do an hour of cleaning around the house on Friday night.

There’s no right or wrong answer, so find what works for you.

Prioritise fun

We can get so wrapped up in the minutiae of keeping our house running and our children on schedule that we forget to prioritise fun.

We expect fun to just show up, but just like clean bathrooms and cooked dinners don’t just show up, fun won’t turn up if we don’t make some effort.

Make a list of fun ideas you can do solo or with your family – brunch, a museum visit, water play – and schedule them for your weekend.

I like to spend most of Sunday focused on fun activities like visiting a new park and having a pedicure. I try not to do any errands or chores that day, but again, experiment with what feels good for you.

Try working through the list over the next month and prepare to see the shift in your weekend mood. 

Struggling through exhausting weekends doesn’t have to be your reality.

Whether you feel relief or sadness when it’s over, use these three strategies to maximise your weekend. By making relaxation and fun priorities and batching your to-do list, you’ll immediately feel less overwhelmed and less resentful.

You can be in control and still enjoy yourself. 

Would you like more insight into how you plan each weekend day? Download this daily planner (for free!) to create a more organised and balanced weekend.