How to Have the Best Memorial Day Weekend
Carpe Memoriam Diem! This is the first weekend of the summer. (June 20 – astronomical nonsense for nerds.) Time to start dressing in all white and eating meat on the street. But if you haven’t planned your weekend, you can spend three days on the couch or computer chair without leaving any memories. Let’s minimize regret by making a plan.
Make a bad weather plan
Weather.com says it will be hot almost everywhere. There might be a storm. The West Coast is cool though. Check your forecast and come up with three specific ideas: what to do if it …
- Super gross hot
- This beautiful, bright, fresh 70s weather
- Rainy, cold or otherwise inclement weather
Now the weather cannot interfere with your plans, because you have a backup option. When you need to run inside, you’ll mean a matinee, or a good place to shop, or something better than Hulu to have fun at home. (If you’re really looking forward to six hours of TV watching, go for it! Just don’t settle for it if you really want to, say, play D&D.)
Maybe you need to monitor not the weather, but your own energy level. Write down an ambitious plan and a lazy backup plan. For me it is “take the ferry to Governors Island”, not “walk six blocks to the park.” The point is, if I can’t carry out a big ambitious plan, I don’t panic, I don’t feel guilty, and I don’t fall on the couch. I still walk and do what I have the energy for.
Write down your plan
Take this weekend plan and post it right here in the comments of this post. Promise to go out and do something specific. I’m going to read all of these on Tuesday, and you better do them – or anything else funny. Don’t flip through Instagram to see everyone having a good time. (But be sure to check Instagram to see if you have a barbecue or impromptu bocce game you can join.)
Get all the classic personal care habits.
Read this inspirational talk from Redditor DiceGames , aimed at anyone in the weekend in the habit. It covers all the basics: drink a glass of water, get some sunbathing, plan meals, schedule time off your phone with Freedom or Screen Time .
If you can, do one thing tonight or Saturday morning. You trade at this time for a little more peace on Monday night when you are exhausted. Do as much of the necessary preparation now as you can. Because Sunday Sads are worst when they are late until Monday.
Get up early
Not dawn; I’m not saying don’t sleep. The best moments of the weekend are the extra moments that you spend unconscious. But if you wake up at 7 on weekdays, maybe wake up at 8 am. The sleep really won’t catch you, so put those hours back.
In fact, the sooner you wake up, the sooner you leave the house. If you’re like me and you usually can’t get out the door before 1:00 pm, just get some fresh air until noon and you will feel like Benjamin, fucking Franklin .
Set a different alarm with a different sound than a weekday alarm. Read in bed. Talking about!
Read books
Here’s how to turn sitting stillness into a memorable experience: Read a book. It’s time for cheap bulk paperback merchandise on the beach, park, or beer garden. This is ready-made fun for the whole family that doesn’t tire you all. Or is it the best way to suck up a little more zucchini after a day of weary trip home.
Okay, tell us your plan for the weekend. We will be your accountability partner, and if you don’t, we will avoid you until Labor Day.