I’m not sure if you have a job, you’re self-employed, or your a student; but this post can apply to almost everyone. Have you ever woken up on Monday morning and thought to yourself, “What happened to that weekend, I didn’t get anything done!” The thing to ask yourself is, should I be working in the weekend? Although we may not be impressed with ourselves by relaxing for 48 hours straight, it could be doing a lot of good for us.
So what are some of the pros and cons when it comes to weekend work?
You have 28% more time per week
It’s actually 28.57% to be exact, and I really should have rounded it up to 29%, but hey – I like even numbers, okay? What does 28.57% more time each week mean for us?
More time does not mean more work will be done
This is 100% (exactly) true. Sure, we might get some work done in the weekend. Will it be of good quality? Maybe. The problem lies in that area that takes up some of our conscious and subconscious. If we know on Monday that we’re going to finish up some work in the weekend, we may become less productive. The thought of having an extra two days enables us to relax a little too much, procrastinate. You know the rest.
You have to track your progress and make a conclusion as to whether the weekend helps you increase your total work, or leaves it the same.
In defense to the above, 28% is a hell of a lot of time, in fact, it’s approximately 104 days per year. That’s a lot! I’ll create an example for you:
There’s two people, John and Mark. They both work for the same company and regularly get assignments that have to be handed in fortnightly. John decides to spend an hour each day on it after he gets home from work, and after completing 3 or 4, he gets sick of having to come home from work and continue working. The quality of his assignments are slowly degrading.
Mark, on the other hand, decides to commit half his Saturday to completing the assignment. He finds that he’s well-focused and productive during this time. The quality of his assignments impress his boss who later rewards him with a promotion.
It’s a simple example, but it shows how that extra time can get us ahead.
Burning Out
Having a stressful job for some people can mean that working over the weekend does more bad than good. I can’t place enough importance on relaxation and taking breaks, they are essential. Using the weekend as a burn-out prevention tool can be a wise decision, if you feel like taking a break over the weekend would help you be more productive next week, then do so.
I find that weekends are also a good time to relax and reflect on the past week. I personally do this on Sunday, as I treat Saturday like a normal weekday. Reflecting on the week is great to track progress, you might want to plan the next week out as well.
The Value of Weekend Work
I’ve sort of touched on this in the example I gave above; weekends can be a great tool to help us a get a head-start on our projects for the coming week, just remember to not actually leave it until the weekend! Another value that weekend work possesses is working in your own environment. If you’re a person who works outside of home, you may find that being around your family or doing your work outside in the sun helps you to be more focused and productive.
Conclusion
Weekend work may be either good or bad for you, and it’s definitely not a consistent thing. The best way to find out what works is to try it! If you feel like relaxing this weekend, then do so, but first consider the outcome of relaxing vs. working for a little.
Do you work in the weekend? Yes? No? Leave a comment below with your response
I wish there was an 8th day that existed where you were forbidden to work! lol
In a perfect world
This is something I really struggle with, especially with launching a new site soon. I figure that I should work (aka hustle) as much as possible but burning happens often (I know…duh) and then recouping from burnout is even worse.
I keep “wanting” to test with just being more effective during the week but then I start thinking about how much time I’m wasting by not working on the weekend.
I’ll just have to bite the bullet and just test it. Perfect timing with this post, I feel like I’m on the verge of another burn out.
Great article!
Hey Vesone,
I’m in a very similar position actually. Also starting a new site and I really don’t want it to draw away from PassiveProductive, which is what I want to focus on. I know what you mean! It can be hard to track also, hard to know if you’re actually more productive only working 5 days a week.
Let me know how it goes anyway! Thanks
For those who have wife and kids, working at the weekend is a disrespect to them!
I have a rule…I don’t work at weekend. If I can’t to my work during the week, there is something wrong with my planing, so I need to organize myself.
What I try to do in the weekend is to work on my personal projects, but I do that out of hours, because I believe that the rest of the time belongs to my family! They deserve it!
Well that’s fair enough! I should have really included that in the post.
That’s a great rule Nuno, it makes perfect sense. You’re right, family comes first. Thanks for the comment!
Hey Sam,
I’m really liking the blog man. Working on the weekend can definitely go either way. It can be useful to get work done when you are fresh or it can speed up the process of burn out.
Personally, I’ve started honing in on my own method. I wake up at 7am every morning, grab some food, and start things slowly. By 8am, I am on the computer and working. I stay there until about 12 when I break for lunch and a shower. Then I come back from lunch refreshed and I work for a few more hours. I’m always done my work for the day by no later than 3.
I shared that routine because I do work on weekends. I treat everyday pretty much the same (except for Sunday), but I am always done by the afternoon. A lot of days I’m done by 1pm and then I am able to do whatever I want. For me, breaking up my days like this has been really beneficial and I haven’t felt the slightest hint of burn out.
I actually have a very similar routine to that, and I find that I get all of the important or ‘complicated’ stuff out of the way first, normally before 3pm like you said. I’ve been changing up my routine a lot recently though, experimenting pretty much!
I’m not sure if you have the same problem as me, but I find it hard to know when I’m done. You say that you’re always done by the afternoon, right? I never really know when I’m done, I know there’s something I could probably do, whether it’s my blog or another project. I guess it’s important to tell yourself when you’ve done enough for one day, that it’s time to take a break, etc.
Thanks for the comment man