A happiness expert advises treating weekends like a vacation for the happiest people.

Weekends are often spent catching up on tasks that were not completed during the week, leaving little time for leisure activities.

According to Cassie Holmes, a happiness researcher and author of "Happier Hour," that's not a way to live.

According to Holmes, you should actually treat your weekends like a vacation.

""While weekends are typically a routine of activity, treating them like a vacation can help break the cycle and allow for relaxation and rejuvenation," Holmes stated on the "Everyday Better with Leah Smart" podcast."

In 2017, Holmes conducted an experiment on over 400 working Americans. On a Friday, she instructed some members of the group to treat the day as a vacation and told the others to treat it like any other weekend. After measuring their happiness, she discovered that those who had a vacation mindset reported greater satisfaction and positivity when they returned to work.

In 2019, she wrote for Harvard Business Review that the vacationers were "doing less housework and work for their jobs, staying in bed a little longer with their partner, and eating a bit more." However, the true distinguishing factor was that they were "more mindful of and attentive to the present moment throughout their weekend's activities."

A 2022 Glassdoor report found that 54% of American workers can't completely unplug from their jobs when they take time off, while a May 2024 Harris Poll survey revealed that 78% of workers don't take full advantage of their PTO.

To ease into Holmes' happiness mindset on weekends, you can start by spending just one day like a vacation, she suggests.

Some individuals view weekends as their primary opportunity to accomplish chores, as stated on a podcast. One suggestion is to allocate Saturday specifically for these tasks, while Sunday can be utilized for other obligations.

Spend 24 hours doing things that make you feel relaxed and disconnected from your routine. Take a day trip to a nature reserve, try a new restaurant, or spend the day at a spa. If you have a lot on your plate, reward yourself with a cocktail after doing the dishes or listen to your favorite podcast as you fold clothes for a mental break.

Many successful individuals employ a similar technique to increase their Monday productivity. Mark Cuban enjoys spending his weekends with his loved ones, as his work weeks are typically busy. Richard Branson prefers to party on Saturday nights and engage in leisure activities like rock jumping and paddle boarding on Sundays, as he shared with the Telegraph in 2011.

Holmes advises that while taking vacations on weekends can be beneficial, constantly treating weekends like vacations can diminish their emotional and mental benefits. To truly feel rejuvenated and rested, it's important to only adopt a vacation mindset on weekends when it's necessary.

"Since the happiness that comes from taking a vacation results from mentally escaping daily routines, this intervention cannot become a routine itself," she wrote in HBR.

"By using this simple reframing judiciously, you can experience some vacation happiness without taking any extra time off."

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