In this post, I’m sharing the weekend routine that helps me to stay on track Monday through Friday. This is the final post in a series about routines that help me survive the school week so that you can take my strategies and do the same too!
Welcome to the final part of this three-part series where I’m sharing the three routines that help me to stay organised (and sane) during the school week. Each of these routines are great on their own, but together they make it SO much easier to get to the end of the school week still in one piece.
In the first post, I talked about the school morning routine that helps my youngest, Harrison and I get to the school gates on time each morning. In part two, I shared the after-school routine that helps me survive those few hours between home-time and bedtime. And in this final post, I’m revealing the weekend routine that not only helps me get ready for the coming school week but makes sure I have quality family time with my boys too – PLUS a few tips on how to create a weekend routine that works for you.
So, are you ready to see what my weekend routine looks like?! Let’s dive in!
My weekend routine…
I’m fortunate that my Hubby and I are both able to work from home, and so we’re around one another pretty much 24/7. That being said, we have separate offices and both work long hours, so we don’t really see very much of each other during the day. He frequently travels to the States and Europe and spends a lot of his time on early morning and late-night conference calls. And so our weekends are precious to us and quality family time is very high on our list of priorities.
Finding the balance between spending time together and getting things done can be tough though. I like to make sure that we’re ready for the coming week and that we tick things off the to-do list that we’ve not had time for during the week. But I also like doing things with my boys too. And so, this is the weekend routine that makes sure I’m ready to do the whole school thing all over again come Monday morning. Depending on what we’re doing it may change around a little – especially if we’re heading down to Sussex to visit my in-laws, but nine weeks out of ten, this is what our weekend routine looks like.
- My weekend routine always starts on Friday evenings. When Harrison gets in from school he gets changed and puts his uniform in the wash bin ready for me to wash on Saturday.
- We kick our weekend off with dinner together – usually one of the boys’ favourites (Mexican or Indian).
- I check in on our plans for the weekend and what we’re intending to eat and write a shopping list if needed.
- Friday night is movie night. I work in the evenings Monday – Thursday, but Friday nights are strictly reserved for family time. For me, this is a non-negotiable (I’ll be talking more about non-negotiables in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!). Having this in the diary ensures we kick off our weekends with quality family time.
Saturday and Sunday mornings…
- 6am-7am: If I’m not too tired (sometimes, it’s just too tempting to lay in) I’ll get up and have an hour to myself before everyone else is up. Like my school morning routine, I’ll journal, have my cup of coffee, read and do a little work on my blog.
- 7am-8am: This is Harrison’s cartoon hour. We snuggle on the sofa in our PJs and watch cartoons together. Sometimes it’s something on Netflix, other times we’ll find one of the cartoons I used to watch as a kid on YouTube and watch that.
- 8am: Coffee and cup of tea time! Harrison helps me make his Daddy a cup of tea and we take it up to him in bed.
- 8:30am-9:30am: This is family breakfast time. We always try to have at least one breakfast together where we make something nice for breakfast. Sometimes it’s bacon sandwiches, other times we’ll make pancakes or wraps with scrambled egg, cheese and ham. It’s a great way to start the day! Once a month we’ll go to Starbucks and have breakfast there instead.
- 9.30am: Showers and get dressed. I’ll also put on a load of washing, starting with Harrison’s school uniform. We then either go out or get on with whatever needs doing around the house.
Sunday night is planning night…
You know the phrase, “a Sunday well spent brings a week of content”? Well, it’s true! A Sunday well spent really does bring a week of content – and a week of less stress too! What can you do on a Sunday evening to make your coming week easier to manage? If I want to make it through to the end of the school week, I have to plan out my week the Sunday before. Once Harrison is in bed, I will:
- Check-in on my diary and sync diaries with my Hubby.
- Write out a rough meal plan for the week.
- Write out my shopping list ready for Monday’s food shop.
- Make a list of any errands I need to run and figure out which day is best to do them.
- Check-in on our finances and budget for the month.
- Put out whatever Harrison needs for school Monday morning.
- Get out Harrison’s uniform ready for the morning.
Creating a weekend routine that works for you…
Here’s my simple 3-step strategy for creating a weekend routine that works for you:
- First, what does your ideal weekend look like? How do you want to spend your time and what activities or tasks do you need to do? Make a list of everything you would like to include in your weekend.
- Figure out when is best to do it and add it to your routine.
- Finally, don’t forget to include time to prepare for the week ahead. A few minutes prep goes a long way. Not only will you set your week up for success but you’ll enter monday morning feel like you’re winning already!
Sidenote: Know that you don’t need to account for every hour over the weekend, ask yourself what a typical weekend looks like for you and where you can tweak things to add more of the things that matter.
Be intentional about how you spend your weekend routine time too…
Make the most of any spare pockets of time you have and use it for extra family time. We typically try to use one day as a day to get things done at home (housework, errands, DIY and gardening) and the other as a family day. Sometimes family day is Saturday, other weeks it’s Sunday…it just depends on what we have planned and what the weather is doing. Sometimes we’ll visit a National Trust or English Heritage place or go for a walk. Other times we’ll stay home and play games or snuggle on the sofa watching movies.
My top 5 weekend routine hacks…
#1. Think ahead.
What can you do Friday night to set you up for the weekend? Writing out my shopping list for meals I want to cook and sorting the washing ready for the morning really help me. What will help you?
#2. Know what you want from your weekends.
What’s important to you for your weekend? What do you want from it – what does an ideal weekend look like to you and what do you need to do to make it happen?
#3. Start as you mean to go on.
What can you do on a Saturday morning to get your weekend off to a great start? For me, it’s having quality time watching cartoons with Harrison and us all having breakfast together.
#4. Be clever about how you use your time.
If like me you want a balance between getting things done and having quality time together, make sure you’re being clever about how you use your time. Use independent playtime to get the chores done before you go out for the day. Spend the first hour of the day doing chores before you do anything else. And if you and your spouse are home for the weekend, tag team looking after the kids. Have your spouse play with them for an hour while you catch up on what you need to do and then swap. It really helps you to get things done!
#5. Share the chores.
Make doing the chores a family affair. If your kids are old enough to help, make it all hands on deck with the promise that as soon as things are done you all get to go out.
My weekend routine…
There you have it! My weekend routine and how to create one that works for you. Try creating your own and see how much easier your week becomes to manage!
That’s it for this post! Do you have weekend routine? Has this post inspired you to create one? Let me know in the comments below!
Until next time…
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