So, you’ve finally got a night off? The first one in months? You’ll be spending it doing the laundry or vacuuming the house, right? Wrong! A  night off with no responsibilities is a great reason to take the time to relax, and you deserve it! 

It’s Time To Relax

Taking time off occasionally can help relieve stress and unwind your mind. Whether you’ve been working all week or just want to cut loose, unwinding is a great way to refresh your mind and body.

Put the coffee on, turn the TV off, put away those work clothes – it’s time for a night off!

The following are five steps you can take when choosing your night in

Plan ahead

Set aside a time slot for your night off. When are you going to do this? What time will you start? These questions will help set boundaries on your time off and make sure that your schedule is filled.

Get in any snacks you need, make sure you have a nice comfy foam bag chair to chill out in, and load up any TV or movies you plan to watch.

Decide on Activities

If you don’t already have activities in mind, think back to what was relaxing to you in the past. Maybe it’s reading a book, listening to music, playing video games, watching a movie – pick something! 

Plan out a few activities that you’d like to do. If you think of more as the week progresses, add them to the list.

Get a Good Night’s Sleep

A good night’s sleep is essential, especially if you want to do anything active. 

Always make sure that you’re getting a good night of sleep, if you’ve got a night off finally, you don’t want to be spending it sleeping or napping, so get a good night’s sleep beforehand so you can make the most of your time off.

Schedule in downtime

Let’s face it, you’re going to be doing something that involves you relaxing and doing nothing. 

You still want to make sure that you take regular breaks though. Even though you’ll be relaxing and doing nothing, things like a short power nap or playing a game of chess are great ways to relax your mind and body while still keeping busy.

Remember why it’s important!

Is taking time off from work difficult for you? Are you worried about what will happen if people find out? Do you think that your family expects more from you? 

These are problems that many people have with taking time off and can be difficult things to change overnight. You might want to find some way to reward yourself for taking time off. 

Maybe creating an incentive is something that you can do. Giving yourself a reward when you’ve taken time off can help ease the guilt of not doing more work, helping you feel like it’s okay to take a break from your routine.

Conclusion

If you’ve had enough of your regular life and need a break, take some time to relax. 

You can spend the time doing things you’ve never done before or do old activities that you love but don’t get to do very often.