I love Friday’s! That gradual slowing down as you enter the weekend, the last piece of work you have to finish before you can call it a day, and the sense of relief you have when you realize that you have nothing to do for the next two days.
I like it when I can put down whatever I am doing on Friday afternoon and not have to pick it up until Monday morning. More so, I like not having to worry about work I should be doing over the weekend or in the upcoming week.
I’ve realized that the key to being able to take a weekend off is about closing the mental loops in your head. If you’re constantly thinking “I must email Chris about the assignment” or “I have that assignment due next week, but I can’t remember when” then you will never be able to switch off and enjoy the weekend.
To counter this, I find it useful to conduct a weekly review, last thing on a Friday afternoon.
The concept of conducting a weekly review is not a new thing nor is it anything earth-shattering. The essence of it is to bring together everything that has happened this week, look at everything you have to do next week. Then put it all into a system so that, when you return to your desk on Monday morning, you know exactly what you need to do. This will allow you (and your psyche) to take the weekend off.
I use a variation of a weekly review that was made well known by David Allen in his book Getting Things Done.
This is a somewhat condensed version:
1. Process Your Email Inbox.
That way you won’t spend your weekend wondering if you sent that email you were meant to and you won’t forget anything that you may need to do for next week.
This includes your facebook/myspace/bebo accounts. Anywhere you receive messages of importance.
2. Process Your Physical Inbox.
If you don’t have an actual ‘inbox,’ (they are actually really useful) this is anywhere you collect ’stuff’ during your week; lecture notes, research papers, cinema ticket stubs etc.
Throw out what you don’t need, file what you will need later, and write down any particular ‘next action’ that is involved with any item. For example the next action of a first draft of a research paper may be ‘Edit the first draft’
3. Check your schedule for the next week.
You never know how many assignments or meetings or projects can surprise you come Monday when you haven’t looked at your schedule.
Also write down any new dates on your calender that may result from the first two stages.
4. Check your Projects List.
It’s useful to keep a list of all the projects you are involved in. I have one for each of the courses I’m taking, one for extracurricular activities, one for this blog, and a couple of others.
When you review the list, pull out any next actions regarding that project. For example if you’ve got a group assignment due for a class next week, the next action may be ‘email group to arrange a meeting’
5. Check your next actions list.
A result of doing the above, alongside recording any ‘next actions’ throughout the week, will mean that you should have a list of things that need to be completed in order to move forward in your various projects and activities.
6. Draft your MIT’s for Monday
Out of this list of next actions, write down the two or three most important things you need to do on Monday. That way when you sit down on Monday morning you will know exactly what it is that you need to do.
The important thing of all of this isn’t so much the system, it’s the underlying principal. Which is to put an appropriate physical and mental stop on everything you are doing this week and be able to come back to it on Monday.
As a result of doing this, you should be able to finish what you are doing on Friday afternoon, switch off the computer and enjoy the weekend. Unless you’ve discovered an impending assignment due for Monday morning 
What do you do to put an end to the busy week and enjoy the weekend? Leave a comment and let us know.
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