Why you shouldn't overstuff your weekend with activities, according to a psychologist

Making the most out of your weekend seems like a given.

According to workplace psychologist Jennifer Newman, it's normal to want to jam as many fun activities as possible into those highly treasured days off.

But it's not hard to overplan your weekends, turning what's supposed to be the perfect day into a grind that resembles work.

Newman joined host Rick Cluff on CBC's The Early Edition to discuss how overplanned weekends can lead to stress — and how you can make the most of your time off. 

Rick Cluff: Workers need time off to recover and rejuvenate from work, so why do some dread their weekend plans?

Jennifer Newman: It's because their leisure time has become too much like work. Working is a highly-scheduled activity.

When workers schedule their time off the same way they schedule their work activities, it can feel like leisure time has now become work.

But, aren't workers planning to do things they enjoy?

We associate time off with freedom. If we heavily program our days off, we create a situation where our leisure time is parceled.

The activities themselves, may be fun, but when we give them strict beginning and end times, workers start to feel rushed.

Keeping track of time, while doing the activity, makes time keeping the focus.

So, the scheduling squeezes the enjoyment out of the activity and workers end up wishing they could get out of things they stuffed into their weekend or days off.

What are the effects of over-scheduling our leisure time and why is it so hard to stop?

Having free unencumbered time is important to refreshing oneself. Having a break from work helps us enjoy our jobs and get things done.

When workers get time to relax they're more productive and engaged in their work. Employees are susceptible to burn out and exhaustion without adequate downtime.

You can see it in families where mothers and fathers feel pressured to program multiple activities into their child's leisure time. And, workers without family obligations do the same.

They over-program themselves. And, some can't stop due to anxiety.

What is it about anxiety that causes us to over-schedule our leisure time?

There's a fear of having unstructured time. Some feel compelled to program their time off so they don't feel anxious.

Not knowing what they're doing next or not having something planned in advance creates fear and dread.

They need to fill their time with planned activities.

What's the solution? Should workers stop planning their time off and just go with the flow?

Sometimes, yes. It can be surprising for some, to find occasionally planning nothing can be very relaxing.

But, when workers do plan fun stuff in their down time, it's best to refrain from overdoing it.

Plan one thing with friends and try to create unbounded time. Don't put beginning and end times on yourself.

So, you can decide to meet around a general time, rather than an exact time. And, leave what you're doing open to change.

Something like: "Let's meet up around 3, and figure out what we want to do after that." It's like giving yourself a day-off from your leisure-schedule once in awhile.

So, you can really get a break.

With files from CBC's The Early Edition