As the end of yet another month looms I am trying to slow things down and focus more on my own house and the people who mean the most to me instead of agreeing to do all sorts of little design and styling jobs that I should just politely decline as they don’t make me much money and at the end of the day I prefer to do the work that inspires me and do it well, then leave the rest for someone else to take on if I can help it.
While sitting here at my dining table I read this article yesterday ‘Weekend habits of successful people’ and it made me analyse my own weekend behaviour so I interviewed myself to compare my answers to these folks. Here goes:
(Forewarning – my answers are fairly boring but so are all the people interviewed for this article i thought?!)
WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU DO WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?
Very little. I stretch and then lie around in bed with my husband and hound talking for as long as possible, sometimes reading mags or browsing intagram for design inspiration before deciding what we want to eat. On weekday mornings we both spring out of bed very early before I spend a few hours at my computer then walk the dog and head to the office so on weekends I reverse this and try not to get up before 8 or 9. This is followed by a long breakfast cooked at home and eaten in the garden or out if we are feeling lazy or haven’t done the online grocery shopping.
Saturdays I head to the markets to buy our fruit and veg for the week and sunday I head to the beach or botanical gardens for a stroll while it is cool as Darwin’s average daily temp is 30+, Then I potter around in the garden and try to catch up with friends or family for afternoon drinks at different locations before a quiet dinner usually spent at home.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO DO FOR YOURSELF ON THE WEEKENDS?
Have nowhere to be. I blame my star sign Sagittarius for my absolute hatred of routine and time frames. I like to be free to choose where I go and at what time so on weekends I try not to commit to any plans and breeze through the day like the crazy gypsy that I am.
The only thing I do religiously (and will happily commit too) on weekends is hanging with my fella and dog and drinking wine.
WHAT ARE THE ACTIVITIES OR ERRANDS ON YOUR “MUST-ACCOMPLISH LIST” EVERY WEEKEND?
I walk barefoot somewhere pretty and I do something that makes me smile. Other than that I have nothing that I allow to be “must accomplish important’ on weekends, I find that it fuels my creativity to do this. I usually take some photos, walk at the beach or park, read papers, magazines or blogs of people that I admire but aside from this my sundays are very much about me. I am so so sick of “must do’ items by friday that I rarely even check my emails on a weekend.
WHAT DO YOU DO ON SUNDAYS TO PREPARE FOR THE WEEK AHEAD?
Sunday nights in our home are generally spent having dinner on the couch watching 60 minutes and having an early night. I try to do NOT ONE LITTLE BIT of work on sundays as I work from home mondays anyway so I write a “to do’ list first thing monday morning and start my week there at the kitchen table rather than tucked away in my little home office.
HOW DO YOU DEAL WHEN YOU’RE AWAY FOR THE WEEKEND?
I LOVE being away on weekends and as long as I get home with enough time to fit a walk, a wine and dinner in before falling in my bed I am perfectly happy to go away often as there is no better inspiration for a true creative than seeing new things. I am of the belief that real designers or artists (or any creative types) don’t need routine in their lives like other folk do and the ones that are trapped in boring lives will never really be happy in their work until they set themselves free!
xox