Most of us need to plan our fun it won’t happen. If you are anything like me, you might end up spending your free time mindless streaming Netflix. It’s a bit nerdy, but it works.
About a year ago, my husband started a new work schedule. With this new shift, he works six days and then has three days off. At first glance, that sounds great, right?!?! A three-day ”weekend” each week! Sounds amazing!
This schedule also means that Jesse gets only one full weekend off a month, but his coworkers with cover him if something comes up. And I after over a decade at my day-job, I have PTO coming out of my ears. So I could easily take off time to do fun things during the week.
That first summer, we just winged it. We made no real plans. We did do a few fun things. But, for the most part, we spent our few precious days off together catching up on chores and mindless watching sitcoms on Hulu.
That is when it dawned on me – unless I scheduled fun, it is not going to happen. So I sat down with my calendar figured out when our days off overlapped and made some plans and penciled them in.
Super sexy, right?
That depends on you, I guess. But it is useful.
I would love to be one of those spontaneous people that drops everything to jump into the car on a grand adventure with no pre-planning. But I am not that person. If I don’t have plans on a Saturday I spend the day watching Netflix and staring at Insta-Stories.
But with a bit of planning, we were able to check out restaurants, head out on a quick overnight stay in a cute town, and spent a few sunny fall afternoons checking out new breweries. All while tackling some remodel projects around the house.
I feel a bit like Liz Lemon with her spreadsheets when I get out my calendar and start planning fun. But what can I say? I love a good spreadsheet.
If you don’t plan fun things to do, chances are you will not do them. I am not talking about creating a bucket list (although you can if that is your jam). I am talking about penciling in a drive to that fun cheese store on your next free Saturday. And since part of happiness comes from anticipating fun things, you will end up happier in the long run.
The warm, sun-filled days of summer are still a way off yet, so now is the perfect time to sit down and plan out some fun. Why don’t you give it a try?
Photo by Vicko Mozara on Unsplash
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