A slow weekend is about doing less so you can feel more grounded. With a few simple rituals—like moving gently, cooking slowly, and creating pockets of quiet—you can reset your energy and start the new week feeling balanced instead of burnt out.
Have you ever looked up from your screen on a Friday evening, realized the whole week blurred together, and wondered where your energy went?
Yeah, me too.
Some weekends feel like a chance to “finally catch up,” which usually means cleaning, errands, emails we ignored, or trying to squeeze in every social plan possible so we don’t disappoint anyone.
But here’s the thing I learned the hard way: when your weekend turns into a second job, Monday hits harder.
A slow weekend isn’t about doing nothing. It’s about choosing the kinds of activities that refill your energy instead of draining it.
The kind that make you feel like a human again, not a productivity robot on low battery.
So if you’re craving some balance, here are seven relaxing things you can do that genuinely help you reset.
Let’s dive in.
1) Create a morning ritual that feels like a treat
There’s something magical about the first hour of the day when the world hasn’t started buzzing yet. No Slack messages. No notifications. No demands.
Just your breathing, the soft morning light, and whatever small joy you choose.
For me, it’s coffee. Not the rushed weekday version where you chug it between tasks, but the slow ritual of grinding beans, hearing the kettle boil, and savoring that first sip.
It reminds me of opening a restaurant early in the morning—the calm before the chaos, when you can hear yourself think.
Your version might be tea, a gentle stretch, or sitting outside for a few minutes.
The point is to start the weekend from a place of calm instead of jumping straight into activity mode.
One question to ask yourself is what a peaceful start to the day would look like if you weren’t in a hurry. Try that.
2) Go for a no-pressure walk
A walk with no destination hits differently.
I used to treat walks like workouts—pace tracked, distance noted, calories logged.
Until I realized I wasn’t actually noticing anything around me. I might as well have been on a treadmill.
Slow weekends are perfect for wandering.
Just pick a direction and go. Look at the buildings you usually rush past. Listen to the sounds you never pay attention to during the week.
There’s a whole world happening outside of your screen, and it’s surprisingly grounding.
There’s a reason so many people say walking helps them think. Movement unlocks thoughts that stay stuck when we’re glued to a desk.
And if you really want to experience the moment, leave your headphones at home. Silence is underrated.
3) Cook something slowly and intentionally
This one is close to my heart.
After working years in luxury F&B, I picked up a deep appreciation for doing things slowly in the kitchen, even if it’s just for myself.
There’s something therapeutic about chopping onions at your own pace, simmering a sauce, or waiting for a roast to finish instead of nuking something in the microwave and calling it dinner.
Food made slowly just tastes different. It feels different.
You don’t need a fancy recipe.
It could be a simple pasta dish you’ve been craving, a tray of roasted vegetables that make your kitchen smell incredible, or a loaf of bread you finally attempt after watching people online knead dough like it’s a meditative practice.
Cooking gives you a break from your thoughts because your senses take over. There’s aroma, texture, color, and taste. And the reward is a meal that feels like self-respect on a plate.
4) Disconnect from the pressure to be "on"
There’s a quote from Cal Newport I think about often: “Clarity about what matters provides clarity about what does not.”
Some weekends, what matters is rest. Which means turning down the noise.
We’re so used to staying reachable that a few hours without responding to texts can feel rebellious. But you’re not obligated to be available 24/7, especially on your time off.
One thing that helped me was putting my phone in another room for a couple of hours. At first, it felt strange. Then it felt like freedom.
This isn’t about cutting yourself off from the world. It’s about creating pockets of quiet where your brain isn’t constantly reacting to something.
If you want a fun experiment, set a two-hour window where the only rule is no screens. See what you naturally gravitate toward. You might surprise yourself.
5) Tend to something that grows slowly
Plants have a way of reminding you that not everything needs to happen fast.
I’m not a full-blown plant dad, but I do keep a few herbs and small plants around. Tending to them—watering, trimming, repotting—forces me to slow down.
It’s a reminder that growth takes time, patience, and care. Pretty good life lesson, if you ask me.
You don’t need a whole balcony garden to benefit from this. Even one small plant is enough to give you a sense of grounding.
There’s a reason psychologists talk about the mental health benefits of caring for living things. It nudges you back into the natural rhythm of life instead of the frantic pace of digital time.
6) Do one thing just because it relaxes you
It’s funny how we often reserve relaxing activities for when we’re “burnt out enough to deserve it.”
Why do we treat rest like a reward instead of a requirement?
A slow weekend is the perfect moment to do something that has no purpose other than making you feel good.
You might curl up with a book you bought months ago but never opened. You might rewatch a comfort movie you know word for word.
You might take a long shower without the usual time pressure or journal about whatever is floating to the surface in your mind.
None of this has to be productive. In fact, it shouldn’t be.
If your brain starts saying, “This is a waste of time,” that’s exactly how you know it’s not.
7) Reflect on your week before stepping into the next one
And finally, take a few minutes to check in with yourself.
Not in a heavy, overthinking way. Just a light reflection on what actually happened.
What went well this week?
What drained you more than expected?
What did you wish you had more time for?
What’s one small thing you want to make room for next week?
I started doing this after reading The Road Back to You, a book about the Enneagram.
One of the chapters talks about how self-awareness shifts everything in your day-to-day life.
Turns out it’s true. You move through the week differently when you understand what actually affects your energy.
A five-minute reflection can help you walk into Monday with intention instead of dread. And that alone restores balance.
The bottom line
A slow weekend isn’t about escaping your life. It’s about rediscovering your pace.
We spend so much of the week reacting—emails, deadlines, messages, responsibilities—that it’s easy to forget what it feels like to just be.
These small rituals and intentional choices can shift everything.
They help you reconnect with yourself, refill your mental battery, and remember that rest isn’t the opposite of productivity. It’s the foundation of it.
So the next time the weekend rolls around, try not to rush to fill every minute. Leave some space.
Your mind and body will thank you for it.
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