We’ve all been there. Its Friday afternoon, a fresh weekend lays before us, and you have grand visions of all the projects you will have finished come Sunday night. Then Sunday night rolls around, and you’ve wasted the entire weekend watching TV, laying on the couch, waking up at noon, and going out for wings and pizza. Don’t let this happen to you! Nothing is more satisfying then a relaxing Sunday night knowing you’ve done everything you set out to do. Here are 5 ways to help you get to that feeling:

1. Set reasonable expectations Nothing can kill your motivation more then too many things to do. When there is so much on your plate, it takes much more mental energy to pick up the fork and eat. No, you are not going to have time to build the entire deck this weekend. Instead, aim for reasonable goals that can be achieved, so by Sunday your plate is clean

2. Go out Friday, stay in Saturday You’ve just had a long week at work, or, if your lucky, working from home. To keep from going insane, a night out on the town is just what the doctor ordered. Go out on Friday, but not on Saturday. Decide before the weekend that Saturday will be the night you work. For me, most of my friends go to the bars both nights. This is great because I can stay in on Saturday in relative peace and get work done.

3. 5 minute Motivators There is something intriguing about having a seperate motivation tactic for use only on the weekends. It seems fresh, and more meaningful. The 5 minute Motivators from Success Begins Today does the job perfectly for me. I usually take 5 minutes on Friday afternoon to implement this motivation tactic for the weekend, and it really gets my blood flowing with ideas and energy. Remember to begin anew each weekend.

4. Follow your regular morning routine Nothing kills motivation quicker then getting up at 11am and lounging around the house for a couple of hours. Perform your regular morning routine. Eat breakfast, go running, workout, go for a swim. It doesn’t have to be at the same time as you usually perform it during the week, just make sure not to push it back too late.

5. Clean house on Friday Before any weekend activities start, perform what I like to call a “Team Clean”. A “Team Clean” is an hour to an hour and a half event where everyone in your house or apartment cleans up together. It is amazing what multiple people cleaning at the same time will accomplish. Make sure to clean your bedroom or office especially well, since this is where you will most likely be working. As your house becomes de-cluttered and clean, so will your mind.

So, I hope to see you on Sunday night, just as happy and motivated as I! If you have any tips or tricks for keeping motivated over the weekend that I missed, leave a comment or a trackback. Have a good weekend!