Long weekends

This material on weekends made me smile as it made me think.

1. When you get a Friday off, it feels like a short week as opposed to getting a Monday off which feels like a long weekend.

2. Everyone hates Mondays because it’s the day you have to go back to work. But Mondays are sometimes long weekends. Tuesdays are the real stinkers. You never get Tuesdays off.

3. Enjoy your weekend is a beautiful thing to say. Enjoy the rest of your life sounds more like a threat.

4. As a kid, a weekend with no plans feels like torture. As an adult, a weekend with no plans feels like winning the lottery. Specially a long weekend.

There will be a lot of long weekends this year. Long weekends mean good business, especially for those in the hospitality business. The virus has affected many industries, and one of the hardest hit would be tourism. We need to support our local tourism, and the many long weekends may just afford us the means to do so.

Long weekends are suitable for people to recuperate and rest. I have had people ask me for advice about whether they should quit their jobs or stay. After getting more information, my opinion for them is not to leave their company, but to take a vacation-instead and get some rest. Many are suffering from burnout and they don’t even know it.

Consider the conversation that takes place between the boss and his employee:

Boss: “You’ll have to work late this weekend.”

Employee: “But what about my children?”

Boss: “You don’t have children.”

Employee: “Like this, I never will.”

One wise guy says: “I enjoy spending weekend nights reading about interesting things I could have been doing.”

What are your plans for long weekends? Maybe you need to plan this early.

My recommendation is to get some rest. If need be, mark this on your calendar with and put in the words: “REST.” You need to recharge. 

1. Read good books. Listen to audiobooks or watch educational or inspiring videos.

2. Camping and cramping in a lot of travel to many cities can even cause you more stress and will surely tire you out, so instead of taking on a big trip, a better thing to do is to engage in activities close to where you live. 

3. Take on a big project at home like organizing the closet or organizing files. Work on it leisurely. 

4. Have dinner with your close friends. These are rewarding moments. A simple meal and chit chat with friends over your dining table would be good.

5. Do intermittent digital fasting or do a digital detox. Unplug. 

6. Eat healthily and exercise. You will enjoy the feeling. Get adequate sleep.

7. You may also want to do some volunteer work. Church, charity, etc. This refreshes the soul part of your being. This is one of the most important things you may want to do.

8. Strategize your back-to-work-plan. Streamline your tasks. This makes you anticipate going back to work with vigor rather than being anxious. And when you’re back to work, do not rush to get things done. You need to build up momentum; otherwise, you will have a giant headache. Your brain has been on rest mode for a long time and it requires a while to revitalize it.

Final story: A married man left work early on Friday and went out for a few drinks with the boys. Instead of going home, however, he ended up partying with them all the long weekend and spent his entire paycheck.

When he finally returned home on Sunday, his wife was furious and berated him excessively. After a couple of hours of nagging and scolding she asked him, “How would you like it if you didn’t see me for a couple of days?!?”

“That would suit me just fine!!” the man said.

Well...Monday went by, and the man didn’t see his wife. Tuesday went by with the same result. Wednesday came and went, and the man still hadn’t seen his wife. Thursday, the swelling went down a bit, and he could see her a little, just out of the corner of his left eye.

Don’t waste your long weekends on unproductive activities. Be recharged. Be refreshed.

(Francis Kong runs his two-day Level Up Leadership 2020 workshop-seminar this March 11 and 12 at Makati Diamond Residences (near Greenbelt 1). For further inquiries or reservations contact April at +63928-559-1798 or register online at www.levelupleadership.ph)