--- title: How Can You Make Your Weekends More Awesome? description: What’s the research have to say about making Friday through Sunday that much better…? For The Most Part, Don’t Trust Your Instincts Ever eat or... canonical: https://time.com/42206/how-can-you-make-your-weekends-more-awesome/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-29T04:01:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:53:53.871Z article:section: Ideas og:title: How Can You Make Your Weekends More Awesome? og:description: What’s the research have to say about making Friday through Sunday that much better…? For The Most Part, Don’t Trust Your Instincts Ever eat or... og:url: https://time.com/42206/how-can-you-make-your-weekends-more-awesome/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9ebb6b30501b3a2f/698687e706f2c1296332e1e7/476804941.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: How Can You Make Your Weekends More Awesome? og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Can You Make Your Weekends More Awesome? twitter:description: What’s the research have to say about making Friday through Sunday that much better…? For The Most Part, Don’t Trust Your Instincts Ever eat or... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9ebb6b30501b3a2f/698687e706f2c1296332e1e7/476804941.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Can You Make Your Weekends More Awesome? by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Mar 29, 2014 4:01 AM UTC  Mixed race man sleeping in armchair Mixed race man sleeping in armchairJose Luis Pelaez Inc—Getty Images/Blend Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Mar 29, 2014 4:01 AM UTC What’s the research have to say about making Friday through Sunday that much better…? ## **For The Most Part, Don’t Trust Your Instincts** Ever eat or drink too much, feel awful, then do it again… and feel awful again? As counterintuitive as it may sound, we’re actually pretty bad about remembering what really makes us happy. Reading Harvard happiness expert Daniel Gilbert’s bestselling book [Stumbling on Happiness](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400077427/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=1400077427) my main takeaway was this: --- > “” --- In [Gilbert’s own words](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400077427/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=1400077427) (and backed up by many studies): --- > “” --- When most of us have leisure time, do we do what truly makes us happy or do we opt for what’s easy? Easy wins it most of the time. Via [The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307591549/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0307591549): --- > “” --- The things we frequently choose to reduce stress are often the least effective: Via [The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of It](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1583334386/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1583334386): --- > “” --- ## **So What Works?** Spending time with friends on the weekends [definitely helps](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-the-secret-to-making-your-weekends-more): --- > “” --- But you knew that already. What are we missing? [Research shows](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-weekend-activities-best-help-you-recover) that “mastery experiences” are also key to helping people recover from the workweek. So what’s that mean? _Doing stuff you’re good at and trying to get better._ Maybe that sounds like “work” to some people but research shows [we’re happier when we’re busy](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-we-happier-when-were-busy), [mind-wandering makes us unhappy](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-a-wandering-mind-make-you-more-creative) and [watching TV](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-watching-tv-make-us-happy) for too long is [depressing](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/why-does-tv-make-us-unhappy). Mastering a skill is [stressful in the moment but makes us happier in the long term](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/study-shows-mastering-a-skill-makes-us-stress). People who deliberately exercised their signature strengths on a daily basis — those qualities they were uniquely best at, the talents that set them apart from others – became significantly happier for _months_. Via [The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307591549/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0307591549): --- > “” --- This has been shown [repeatedly](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-any-of-this-make-yourself-happier-stuff) in research studies. So practice a skill this weekend. Do what you’re good at and get better. Become an expert. (Here’s [how](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-does-it-take-to-become-an-expert-at-anyt).) ## **What Else Works?** There are other things that research has shown to help us decompress: Via [The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of It](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1583334386/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1583334386): --- > “” --- And wouldn’t it be great to have some luck this weekend? Luck isn’t magic. It’s been studied and there’s a science behind it. The [secret to being luckier](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-can-you-make-yourself-luckier) is to be open to more opportunities, to interact with a large network of people, to break routines and keep a relaxed attitude toward life. ## **Final Note: The Week Isn’t That Bad** Studies show [the saddest day of the week is actually Sunday.](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-the-saddest-day-of-the-week) The research is pretty consistent — [Mondays are never that bad and Fridays aren’t that great](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/tgif-is-friday-really-that-great-is-monday-re). So why do we still not like Mondays? Because [you’re focused about how you _predict_ you’ll feel, not how you _actually_ feel in the moment.](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/why-we-dont-like-mondays) If you are dependent on your weekends to bring you happiness, you may want to look for another job. Studies show that people with good careers don’t experience as much of a boost on the weekends — [because they don’t need to](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-makes-the-weekend-more-or-less-fun): **Weekends make much less difference for people who work in open and trusting environments. They simply exchange one set of friends for another on weekends.** **Join 45K+ readers.** Get a free weekly update via email [here](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD). Related posts: [Here are the things that are proven to make you happier](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/here-are-the-things-that-are-proven-to-make-y) [10 things you should do every day to improve your life](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-10-things-should-you-do-every-day-to-imp) [10 things should you do every \*week\* to improve your life](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-10-things-should-you-do-every-week-to-im) _This piece originally appeared on_ [_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/)_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/42206/how-can-you-make-your-weekends-more-awesome/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/42206/how-can-you-make-your-weekends-more-awesome/"},"headline":"How Can You Make Your Weekends More Awesome?","datePublished":"2014-03-29T04:01:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:53:53.871Z","description":"What’s the research have to say about making Friday through Sunday that much better…? 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