Your weekend is Your weekend

The first coffee of the morning is at Rutt’s Hawaiian Cafe. The cup is midnight blue, a spoon resting inside. They don’t have Splenda, but I notice the Equal comes in blue packets.

I broke my weekend rule. I went to slip my work phone into my backpack, and it was on. I looked at the screen, saw the emails, and was tempted to answer them. Instead, I turned it off and put it away—that was victory number one.

The battle had only begun. As I walked through the rain to a much-anticipated breakfast with a friend, the emails lived in my head. Time to open my toolbox: I decided I would deal with those messages Monday morning at seven.

Back to the blue cup with the coffee. The battle is more than just putting the phone away; the real work is not letting it linger in my mind for the rest of the day. Mindfulness is a tool I need throughout the day to keep myself in the present moment—when my body is in one place but my mind is in another.

Question for you: What boundary or ritual helps you keep your weekends yours?