5 things to do on a mid-week holiday

It’s Robert Gabriel Mugabe National Youth Day! Although we enjoy any time off of work, mid-week holidays are hard to enjoy. They feel like just another Sunday. I’m not gonna tell you to completely change your whole life in one day so relax. You don’t have to wake up early but you need to milk the day for all it’s got. Yes, you could probably pull out a book and spend the day reading but what if you did something completely different? Use this day as a reset and keep in mind that our next holiday is in April. So carpe diem.

Here are some ideas on how to spend your mid-week holiday.

Dopamine Fast

A dopamine fast, also known as a dopamine detox, is a controversial practice that involves temporarily abstaining from activities or substances believed to trigger strong releases of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward. Proponents claim that this “reset” can help manage addictive behaviours, improve focus, and enhance overall well-being.

A dopamine fast is an opportunity for you to test your discipline and sheer will. It’s time to come face to face with your addictions and prevail. The obvious device to switch off is your cellphone. Our phones have become an extension of us like an organ. Switch off your phone, go outside and touch grass. You’ll be surprised at how much free time you’ll have if your phone isn’t in the picture. You won’t die, try the dopamine fast just one day.

Revisit those stubborn tasks

You know the things that have been outstanding for a while, no matter how many things you clear off the to-do list, those ones always remain. Those things that have been on the to-do list for too long, do them. Just get it over with. They are the cause of your mental turmoil and it’s time to close those mental tabs. Consider this mid-week holiday as extra time for you to complete your tasks. Whatever you do today, you don’t have to do it over the weekend. Clear those unread emails, reply those WhatsApp messages, whatever is popping up in your mind as you read this, do exactly that!

Take a maintenance day

It’s mid-month, do you need a touch up on your hair, nails? Take this opportunity to visit your beautician and get your maintenance done. If you’re amongst the working class you know that weekends get hectic, but holidays are usually less booked. If you have the resources, you can do your own beauty treatments at home. It’s the perfect weather for a hair wash day.

Do an extensive brain dump

A brain dump is a technique similar to journaling, but with a key difference: it focuses on speed and unloading everything in your head without judgement or censorship. It’s essentially a free-flowing exercise where you capture all your thoughts, ideas, worries, tasks, to-dos, and anything else that’s occupying your mind onto paper or a digital platform.

Crack out your pen and paper and just write out everything that’s on your mind. It doesn’t have to be in order, it doesn’t need to be perfect. Just dump all your thoughts onto the paper and leave it all on the page. You’ll be surprised at how much junk has been clogging up the RAM and how much you needed to clear the cache in your mind. When you’re done, you can read through it and see what needs attention and what needs to go straight into the recycle bin.

Bonus tip, don’t forget that it’s a Wednesday because you’ll pay for that error in judgement tomorrow at work. I wouldn’t recommend getting sloshed because you won’t have enough recovery time. Ultimately, it’s your day! The most important thing is to relax, have fun, and make the most of your day off!