The secret to living a happy and productive life, let me tell you it.

My normal weekend routine includes sleeping until at 10 or 11am, putzing around the house, watching some TV, eating breakfast, eating lunch, organizing, cleaning, possibly changing out of my pajamas to go to yoga, maybe taking a shower, maybe doing some laundry, and eating some more.   

Now, I love this routine.  I get all antsy whenever we have actual plans that keep me from getting in my cleaning/organizing/sleeping/watching TV in pajamas time.  I need my time at home to keep me sane.    But all too often, I find myself feeling depressed on Saturday nights because the weekend is suddenly half over and I've accomplished nothing.  In theory, I strongly believe that rest and relaxation are noble and valid activities for a Saturday.  In practice, OMG NOTHING GOT CROSSED OFF MY TO-DO LISTWAAAAAAAAH I SUCK.

Well, friends: after twenty-seven years on this planet, I have solved my perpetual conundrum.  I have discovered how someone who is NOT A MORNING PERSON can still get the most out of a weekend day, without sacrificing sleep! 

The secret is... go to sleep at 9:30pm on Saturday night.  That's right, you heard me!  Just go to bed at 9:30pm, and you'll be able to wake up feeling refreshed from a hefty eleven hour rest, make yourself a nice breakfast of waffles and Morningstar Farms Sausage Patties (I am convinced that these patties are not at all vegetarian.  They are way too delicious to be made out of soybeans and vegetables), and freshly brewed coffee -- which you made yourself -- and still leave the house by 9am!   I even managed to put in a load of laundry before I headed out to the Farmer's Market!  And it was still before 9am!  I think this deserves at least seven more exclamation points!!!!!!! (!!!)

PS: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After hitting up the Farmer's Market to support my local agronomists (The Omnivore's Dilemma is guilting me into becoming a better person), I also

• Went to Target
• Stopped by Ann Taylor Loft
• Went to Safeway
• Cleaned up the entire back patio, including sweeping, planting flowers, and dragging the hose out of the basement to water the new flowers
• Took down the Christmas lights from the front windowbox, watered the plants, weeded our sidewalk planter box
• Vacuumed the entire house

That, right there, is about two month's worth of stuff.  And I got it all done before Joel came home from his race at 7pm.  Seriously, if I had known this was all it takes to feel so productive, I would have adopted a six-year-old's bedtime ages ago! 

(OK, not really.  I am still a night owl at heart, and I really didn't intend to fall asleep at 9:30.  It just kind of happened.)

In other news: This weekend Joel was informed that he won a Bigtime Coaching Award That I Probably Shouldn't Name On My Personal Internet Site, Now That I Think About It.   So, howza bout a round  of applause for mah man?

In other news (part two): I am absolutely loving everyone's submissions and comments on Mission: Put Together.  Keep em' coming!  You guys are almost making Business Casual fun.  Almost.   

Comments

[janet]

Wow, I'm definitely impressed. It's sad that we have to surrender having a social life for having a clean house and organized life though, huh? But I am learning I probably can't have it all. Gah...what happens when we have children one day?

[RA]

Holy heck, woman. That is super productivity right there. Just reading that made me want to fold up into my food coma and snooze.

[Laurel]

I was the polar opposite of you this weekend--and normally I am very productive on the weekend days. Maybe we exchanged vibes somehow?

[Wickedly Scarlett]

Wow, look at you go!! The trick really is in just getting started. But I find it so much more enjoyable to just grow roots into the couch and not move for weeks at a time...

[Kristabella]

Sometimes when I happen to get up before 9 on the weekends, voluntarily, I am amazed about how much one can do before noon. And then the next weekend I sleep until 1 PM and I go back to my sloth ways. And I'm usually OK with it. Until I have to do laundry at 10 PM.

[nancypearlwannabe]

Sigh. I need to get on the ball with Mission: Put Together. The trouble is, I almost never look put together, but it doesn't much matter since I work with 11 and 12 year olds.

[heidikins]

See, my "productivity" ends when yard work begins... can't help it, I'm a snobby apartment dweller who doesn't even have to take her own garbage out to the street....granted, I also don't have a dishwasher, washer/dryer, or anywhere to put my bike...but hey, it's all a trade-off, right?

Kudos to the Productive Weekend, and CONGRATS to Joel!
xox

[Audrey]

Congrats to Joel, and to you for getting all that done! Tim went through a phase where he decided he was going to get up at 7am every day in an effort to train his body to like mornings. I was a good sport and got up with him, and it was truly amazing the amount of stuff we got done in a day. But you know what was even more amazing? Sleeping in and deciding to forget all about that waking up early plan.

[elise]

Wow, we got an LOL cat AND the good title! And the post wasn't half bad, either :) I, sadly, am still a late sleeper, although EVERY time I get up early, I'm really happy I did it. Kind of like exercise ;)

[Lindsey]

That is brilliant! I always tell myself I am going to get to sleep earlier so I am more productive on the weekend, but I always end up staying up way too late and then wasting half of the day. I need to work on being better about this.

[Jemima]

Wow. All I did was fall down and go to the flea market. I must go to bed earlier.

Congratulations, Joel!

[Lindsey]

Dude, I want to hear all about the Laurel encounter!

[HollowSquirrel]

YAY Joel!! Congrats. I'm going back to work in less than 2 weeks (INSERT OBSCENITY HERE), so I plan on joining M:PT, if you'll have me.

also -- I'm very very very jealous of your weekends (the sleep factor).