What does it take to be successful?
Hard work, perseverance and goals, essentially. But those are not the only factors that make someone successful. Successful people use all their time wisely, even their weekends, but that doesn’t mean they are always working.
You might be surprised at some of the ways successful people use their weekends. Here are three things they do, and things you can start doing this weekend, too.
1. Make time for hobbies
You might have this idea in your head that successful people only got to where they are because they worked really hard … all day, every day, seven days a week. It’s true that successful people are successful because they work hard, but they also make time for doing things outside of work, believe it or not.
The majority of successful people have random hobbies outside the professions they are known for. Why is that? Successful people, even you, have things they truly enjoy doing, even if they don’t get paid to do them. That’s because everyone needs to relax and engage in an activity they enjoy, and the weekend is the perfect and ideal time to engage in those kinds of activities.
If we spent all our time working and developing only the skills we needed to get better at that work, we would probably be pretty miserable. You’re going to be much more successful if you practice your hobbies in your free time. They will give you an incentive to work harder during the week and energize you for the work you have to go back to every Monday.
It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you enjoy doing it. You might really enjoy building furniture in your spare time, just for the fun of it. It’s a skill you developed on your own and it has nothing to do with what you do at work.
You can still spend part of your weekend building furniture anyway, because it makes you happy and doesn’t feel like work to you. That is the best kind of hobby: one that passes the time, is still technically productive and one you enjoy putting a lot of time and effort into.
2. Embrace “JOMO”
You may have heard of FOMO, otherwise known as the “fear of missing out.” It’s the reason we constantly check our Facebook feeds and sign up for every single assignment and activity possible. We are literally terrified of missing out on what’s happening in the world, and want to be everywhere so we catch a glimpse of all of it.
JOMO, on the other hand, the “joy of missing out,” is exactly what it sounds like. It’s purposely missing out on certain events and activities and finding joy in not having to be 20 places at once. It is the exact opposite of FOMO, and it is what makes many successful people so content and able to accomplish more.
The more time you spend trying to do and experience everything all at once, the less time you actually spend on each one of those things. Sometimes you have to choose to miss out on certain activities so you can enjoy others.
Let’s say you really enjoy keeping up with college basketball season, but you also coach a team of your own and play on a recreational team on the weekends. You have a choice between sitting and watching games on TV or getting out and playing on your own team. So which will you choose?
You might be devastated to miss this weekend’s championship game on TV, but realize that playing on your own team is much more fulfilling. It’s your hobby. It relaxes you and will let you get out some of the stress and extra energy left over from work yesterday.
In skipping the college basketball game on TV, you are embracing JOMO. You miss watching something you enjoy, but choose to do something else instead that, in the long run, will allow you to be much more successful in other areas of your life.
3. Give back
You spend all week at work, doing what your superiors tell you and often telling other people what to do. You work for a company, whether it’s yours or someone else’s, and your job is to help fulfill that company’s mission and make sacrifices so that they can reach their goals.
When the weekend rolls around, it turns out one of the best things you can do is give back in a different way than you have been all week. Volunteering around your community for a good cause is a weekend pastime you might be able to adopt to feel more fulfilled and develop skills you might not be able to work on otherwise.
There are plenty of reasons people volunteer in their communities and for other causes and organizations. In your head you might picture volunteering as working on a project that doesn’t really interest you, even though it helps other people.
Community service doesn’t have to be a tiring or negative experience, though. The thing about volunteering is that organizations are always looking for people with specific skills or interests. You don’t have to go build houses, unless you happen to be good at that and/or enjoy it. You don’t have to collect food for food pantries, unless that is something you really enjoy doing.
Think of it this way: you could either spend your entire weekend doing things only for yourself, sitting around and watching the hours pass by, or you could spend a Saturday afternoon volunteering, doing something that both interests you and gives you that sense of fulfillment and purpose you might not always get during the week at work.
Success comes in many forms, and success does not mean you have to work constantly 24/7. Successful people make time for doing things they enjoy. They are okay with saying no to every single offer they don’t want to accept. They spend some of their free time giving back to their communities.
Weekends are not just for getting extra work done. If you want to be successful, consider doing what the experts do.
