This Is the Single Best Way to Make Your Weekend Feel Longer
Ever feel like Monday morning comes way too fast? We feel your pain, even with a morning routine that motivates us to wake up, or good habits that inspire us to slay the day. It’s pretty awful how the work week can drag on forever, but the weekend seems to pass by in the blink of an eye. Since working for the weekend is no way to live life, we were thrilled to stumble upon recent research that explains why Saturday and Sunday go by so quickly, along with what you can do to make your days off feel longer. Scroll on for the secret — you can thank us later.
The secret to Making Your Weekend Feel Longer
In a recent article on NYMag.com, David Eagleman, Stanford University professor and author of The Brain: The Story of You, says that the trick to “stretching time” is pretty simple: Seek out newness. Yep, that’s right! According to Eagleman, your brain creates a more detailed account of what you do each time it encounters something unfamiliar, which might be an unknown activity, place, or experience. Interestingly, this doesn’t apply to something your brain finds routine. So, if you spend your weekend forcing your brain to focus more on new stuff, you might be able to create the sense that you had more time. Mind blown!
Eagleman says it’s the same feeling you had when you were younger; time passed more slowly because you were busy taking in new experiences. “When you’re a kid, everything is novel and you’re laying down new memories about it,” he says. “So when you look back at the end of a childhood summer, it seems to have taken a long time because you remember this and that, this new thing, learning that, experiencing that. But when you’re older, you’ve sort of seen all the patterns before.” You’ve probably experienced the same feeling while sitting in a class — it feels like it’ll never end while you’re watching the clock, but when you look back on it, it almost feels like it never happened. Since switching up your activities is key to creating the feeling of having more time, you should look to make plans that incorporate some sort of new adventure.
5 new Things to Do This Weekend
If you’re excited about stretching your weekend but don’t know what to do, here are a few activities we love. No wild changes required.
1. Complete a creative class. A creative class is a great new experience that’ll also work your right brain. Carve out time to finally learn how to use Photoshop or master DIY nail art.
2. Tackle a project. Whether you decide to make jewelry during wine night with the girls or spruce up your apartment with bae, tackling a new project is a fab new experience that can help stretch your weekend. After the fact, you’ll feel great about your new experience and your finished work (a win-win).
3. Venture to a new brunch spot. Grab your S.O. or best friend and head to a new-to-you restaurant instead of your Sunday standard. Consider this the perfect excuse to check a restaurant you’ve been wanting to try off of your list. You’re welcome!
4. Switch up your exercise routine. Love barre? Try kickboxing your way through a sweat sesh. Dedicated to SoulCycle? Try a boot camp one morning, instead. Either way, you’ll get your heart pumping — and, who knows, you might discover an exercise class you love even more.
5. Take a mini adventure. From exploring an unfamiliar neighborhood in your city to driving a couple of towns over to scope out a cute coffee shop, you’ll love the change of scenery.
While Eagleman says that having a blast trying new things *might* make time fly quickly in the present, you’ll, hopefully, feel like you had more time come Monday morning and as you go through the next week. We think it’s worth it. Plus, the couch and Netflix are always there when you truly need ’em.
Ready to stretch out your weekend by filling it with fun, new things? Tell us how it goes for you on Twitter @BritandCo!
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(h/t NYMag.com; photos via Getty)