Can self-care help me enjoy my weekends?

I just never seem to enjoy weekends! I look forward to them, but end up feeling disconnected, adrift, and isolated. Instead of maximizing the time when I'm not working, I binge watch TV, do a few chores, and reach Sunday night without having reached any of my goals.  I've been this way for years, but I only recently arrived at an important realization about why this is the case:

By ignoring regular self-care during the week, I have no energy to do the things I want to do when the weekend comes.

A couple of weeks ago, I spoke on the topic of self-care at the Yukon Writers Conference in Yukon, Oklahoma. I SO PASSIONATELY believe in tell others about self-care. I stood in front of that group and told them that when they engage in self-care, it will give them the longevity and stamina to reach their goals. I loooove seeing other people identify their dreams and then reach for them! I 1 billion percent believe that self-care is crucial to stay physically and mentally healthy so they can do that! I will spend a lifetime telling others how accomplish their goals! However, while I know a lot about self-care, I lack in the area of actually practicing it when it comes to my own goals and dreams. (Classic ENFJ.).

Now, I'm reaping what I've sown. It's 9:52 pm on Sunday night and I didn't do a single bit of the writing I'd planned. I didn't do any planning for NaNoWriMo, which starts in NINE DAYS. I did laundry. I did some chores. I made an apple crisp. But mostly, I binged on Amazon Prime, caught up in a fictional world where fictional people do amazing things and achieve their fictional goals. I was too drained at the end of the week to have the energy to spend my weekend how I truly wanted.

TIME TO TAKE MY OWN ADVICE.

Hypothesis: By mindfully engaging in self-care on a daily basis during the work week, I will develop the energy and stamina to spend my off time productively and creatively, bringing my dreams to life.

I find with certain goals, I hold myself accountable better when I can Instagram about them. #truemillennial AND SO...today, #selfcare70 is born! (My first post will be tomorrow, when there will be 70 days left in the year). I want to do #selfcare365, but that is quite a lofty goal. 70 straight days is challenge enough. I figure I can break the year down into more attainable goals and perhaps trick myself into doing it for one whole year.

Self-care is not an overnight fix. I'm playing the long game.

If I truly believe in the power of self-care (which I do), then I expect that engaging in self-care over time will build a foundation of more mental, physical, and emotional energy. As time goes on, I expect I will feel so much better on so many levels that with some planning and focus, I will naturally attain my goals.