The Weekend Lift: 3 ways to shake things up

Every week, it’s the same old story. The office routine, family duties, endless WhatsApp texting, stressful engagement on social media, doomscrolling the internet, sleep deprivation, binging-watching TV shows, a halfhearted attempt at self-care, and so on.

 

And the weekend? It doesn’t get much better either. You follow the same old routine, unless, of course, you decide to shake things up. That means stepping away from the predictable and trying something completely out of the box.

 

Here are a few offbeat and fun ways to make your weekend count.

 

Have a silent morning: Spend the first half of your Saturday—and even Sunday if you like—in complete silence. No talking, no music, no phone, etc. Take a break from the chatter and distractions of daily life. You can use this time for quiet contemplation or to do something by yourself, like a hobby or just enjoying the stillness, if that’s even possible in a city.

 

The Guardian carries an interesting piece on this topic Quiet, please! The remarkable power of silence – for our bodies and our minds.

 

Try a digital detox: You can follow up your silent morning with a digital detox challenge, starting with an hour and gradually stretching it to a few more. That means no phone, no TV, no laptop. Instead, replace screen time with something more tangible, like having an engaging conversation with a loved one, journaling (with an actual pen and pencil), sketching and painting, or even picking a random ingredient from your kitchen and turning it into a dish. A digital detox is said to help you develop healthier tech habits and reconnect with the real world.

 

An article Opinion: USF, make a social media detox your 2025 resolution over at The Oracle tells you how, among other benefits, boredom in the absence of social media can actually motivate you to pursue other hobbies.

 

Go on a bookstore hunt: This blog often writes about books and the love of reading, and nothing pleases its creators more than an unplanned visit to a bookstore or book sale—picking a book based purely on its cover, title or the back blurb. It’s one of the things that make book browsing such an enjoyable experience. At the end of it all, it’s a day well spent.

 

Last month, we wrote a piece titled Six bookstores in Mumbai worth visiting, and they really are.

 

You can step out of your comfort zone and do anything you like on the weekend, including having a no-plan day—where you wake up and do whatever feels right in the moment, time travel through music and add forgotten numbers to your playlist, watch classic or franchise movies, learn a new hobby or craft, take photos and create a visual story of your weekend, explore your city and visit places you’ve never been to before, eat at a restaurant you’ve never tried, or even organise and clear old files and folders on your laptop.

 

Your idea of a weekend should be to relax and feel rejuvenated, and have fun while you’re at it.

 

© Pocketful of Happiness