Does it seem like you need to find some ways to spend work week evenings doing something productive, because there’s never enough weekend to your weekend? Why not take some of the ‘Musts’ and ‘Shoulds’ out of it, by performing a few small tasks throughout the weeknights? No matter how tight your schedule is, you’ll be amazed at how checking one or two small tasks off of your weekend list by finding ways to spend work week evenings productively can create more time in your weekend, and perhaps even give you a better quality of life!
Every time you go in for a midnight snack or a bottle of water, do you tell yourself you really need to clean out your fridge this weekend? Well, do it on Wednesday! One of the ways to spend work week evenings productively is to turn on your favorite music, pull everything from a shelf, look at it or its expiration date, wipe off the shelf, and put back what you’re still willing (and it’s still safe!) to eat. The nice thing is, even if you get through one shelf and want to call it a night, you can. At least you’ve gotten the ball rolling. Just think—if you did this every night, the fridge would be clean in a week. And who knows what other little tasks can be taken care of next week??
Not only does making your lunch at night save you time in the morning, it can also save you money! How many times have you pressed the snooze alarm one too many times only to be too late to make your lunch that day, causing you to eat out again? While you love the idea of eating out, add up the cost of last month’s lunches out, and it might make you sick! Instead, make a casserole, few chicken breasts, or pot of chili for you to divide up between the next few days at work. Maybe even make enough to throw some in the freezer for those days when you’ve run out of time in the morning but still want to pack something for your lunch. While it may only seem like $5 to$10 here and there for lunch at a restaurant, you will be surprised how much more green you have in your purse if you pack your lunch the night before instead.
Make a date with yourself every other Thursday to write out your due bills. Even if you don’t pay them that night, getting them set up, balancing your checkbook, and knowing how much you have in your checking account to work with is key. It also lets you know before the weekend how much you do or don’t have to spend!
Choose your clothes for work the night before, You may think you know in your mind what you’re going to wear, but how many times have you realized the shirt you were going to wear has a stain, is in the laundry basket, or can’t be found?? Instead, put those clothes on a hanger and put them on a hook on your bathroom door. While you’re at it, flip through your rack of dresses, pants or shirts and remove whatever you know you won’t wear anymore. If you do this every night, you’ll have a load to take to the second hand store or start a yard sale within a few weeks!
Is there the friend or relative that you know you want to call, but time always seems to slip away? You say you’ll call on the weekend, but don’t seem to get around to it. Why not call them on a random Tuesday night? You’ll feel like you’ve accomplished something, and may be surprised at how good it was to talk with them. Keep it short and sweet, literally. Let them know you were thinking of them, and before you get ready for bed (since it’s a weeknight), you wanted to reach out and say hello. They’ll understand this is not a marathon call, and you’ll feel good for making the call.
Are there drawers throughout your house that feel neglected? The drawer of single socks, the makeup drawer that’s splattered with mascara and old eye shadow, the junk drawer that’s more junk than drawer? Choose one drawer on a week night and sort through it. The less time or energy you have that night, the smaller the drawer you should choose. By the end of several weeks, your drawers will be neat and tidy, and all you did was one a week in front of the TV!
How much easier can it be than to throw your dirty clothes into the washer and then go have a bowl of popcorn while watching a movie? If you choose to get a load or two of laundry done during the week, you will find your weekend schedule is a lot more available for the more fun things in life!
There are fun ways to help you accomplish more on those weekday nights than you realized. You won’t be sacrificing sleep or you-time either How do you like to spend your weekday nights?