How to spend the perfect weekend alone

Alone but never lonely. From the journal of someone who's newly single.

I’ve been grappling with unfamiliar feelings lately as I relearn the art of being alone. My most recent relationship lasted 4 years—long enough to entangle our routines, space, and future. We lived together. We planned an international move. We built shared goals and dreams, as adult couples often do. And then, it ended.

This was the first break up I’ve experienced where solitude doesn’t quite feel like home. In the past, returning to my own routines and life felt easy—like picking up right where I left off. This time, it feels like I’m trying on a whole new life. Things feel familiar but don’t fit the same way anymore.

It’s not that I don’t love being alone—I really really do. But this time around, everything feels a little lonelier. A little quieter. A little emptier.

Yet there’s also something beautiful growing in that emptiness. A kind of spaciousness that feels welcoming and validating. I feel like I can breathe more deeply. Like I have more room to stretch and grow.

The truth is, we hadn’t spent much meaningful time together towards the end. Sharing a space with someone can trick you into thinking you’re sharing time and life. We both made the mistake of letting that be enough. In reality, much of our weekends were spent individually, just in the same space.

On the surface, my weekends haven’t changed all that much but they feel entirely different. As I learn to reframe this new chapter, seeing it as ‘expansive’ rather than ‘lonely’, I’ve started curating weekends that make me feel like myself again. Using the time in a way that feels like a love letter to myself.

Here’s what a perfect weekend alone looks like for me lately.

The perfect weekend itinerary

Saturday

Saturdays are usually my productive days because like most of the world, I’ve assigned Sundays to be my holy days. I’m not religious by means but I worship and protect my Sundays like none other.

6:00 AM - early morning walks

In an effort to rebuild new rituals that feel uniquely mine, my mornings are looking a little different than before. I’ve also moved to an entirely different city so the change in environment helps as well.

Since it’s summer, my internal clock naturally wakes me up earlier (with the sun). My city relies so heavily on sunny days so it’s hard to find a corner of the city that isn’t brimming with people on weekends.

To avoid the weekend rush, I’ve been taking Mika to a park first thing in the morning so that she has all the space to run around.

7:00 AM - My morning ritual

My morning routine currently consist of a few things:

• meditation (10 minutes with red light therapy, even if distracted)

• journaling (stream of consciousness)

• reading (10 pages of a non-fiction, a chapter if I can manage it)

• movement (mat pilates, gym, run, or yoga)

Transparently, this routine took a pause throughout the move and I’ve only just started it again. But making sure that I make time for these intentional moments in the morning always makes me feel like I’m setting up my day with more mental resilience and peace.

8 to 11 AM - Breakfast, coffee, planning my day, creative work

I usually plan my weekends on Thursday or Friday but I always spend a little time on Saturday morning time-blocking my weekends. Yes weekends are for relaxing and taking things a little easier, but I love to have some structure, even if the time blocks aren’t as strict as the week days.

I’ve been trying to make sure that I don’t have work falling on weekends but every so often it just leaks over. If I have anything I need to wrap up, I tackle it on Saturdays. Otherwise, I like to spend some time working on a passion project or creative work that fuels me (like my Substack!)

@pinterest

12:00 PM - Lunch

Lately I’ve been loving my weekend face time calls with Janice. She moved to Miami a few years back and being able to catch up and just virtually hang out on the weekends has been a nice little social addition to my weekends. Technically I’m “alone” in my apartment so this doesn’t write off the “alone” portion of the weekend right?

1 to 5 PM - Tackle any home tasks (and then free block)

Laundry, purging, cleaning—these get tackled on Saturdays while I still have the energy. It rarely takes long since it’s just maintenance now, and I always leave the rest of the morning as a free block.

As someone who lives by “giving every hour a job”, having this slot has become my way of creating some space on the weekends to just do whatever I want. It’s my time to just exist without a plan—whether that’s reading, writing, some self-care, or binge-watching something cozy.

That in itself has felt like such a healing process. Not having to think about what someone else might want or need has been a welcoming change. A quiet reclaiming of space that’s finally mine again.

The rest of the evening

The rest of my evening is usually spent eating something yummy and nourishing, more reading or binge-watching, another walk with Mika, and then heading to bed around 9-10 pm. By the time it’s dark outside, my internal clock is saying “time for bed” so that I can rise with the sun again the next day.

Sunday

Sundays are always my most unstructured day. If I want to spend an entire afternoon reading, I’ll do that. If I need to stare into space and wallow in sadness, I’ll do that too. It’s the one day I let my needs take full priority.

I wrote in my journal the other day: “why don’t I make every day a Sunday?” At first, I thought it was about wanting less work. Once I sat with it, I realized it wasn’t about rest necessarily and was more so about that instinctive desire to put myself first.

Above work.

Above expectations.

Above guilt, discipline, and shame.

Sundays are my day and I think we could all use a little more of that energy throughout the week.

6 to 8 AM - Walk + morning rituals

8 to 10 AM - To-do list + errands

Sundays are typically the day I like to wash my sheets, grocery shop, and start meal prepping for the week. That may sound like a chore to some, but I love cooking for myself so it’s both a relaxing activity as well as setting my week up right.

I’ll typically try to do the grocery shopping early if I can, again to avoid crowds. My sheets are stripped and in the wash before I leave and by the time I get back, it’s about time to throw them in the dryer.

11 AM to 4:30 PM - Freedom

I am still definitely getting used to having so much free time but learning to sit with myself and getting comfortable with freedom is all apart of the journey. Here are some none-work related things I like to do on sundays

• Re-do my nails. I love a good BIAB + gel polish ritual. IYKYK.

• Revisit my wish list

• Purge my closet

• Reorganize my books

• Read self-help and journal

• Re-doing parts of the home (lately it’s been figuring out where to store things)

• Updating my (life) Notion

• Browsing apartments in cities I want to live in

5 til sleep - Meal prep, eat, skincare, read

My weekends now are equal parts structure and softness, full of tiny rituals that remind me who I am when no one’s watching. There’s still grief in the quite moments, but there’s also a new found peace.

There’s space and freedom to listen to myself without needing to compromise. There will come a day where I’ll need to relearn how to compromise again but until then, I’m learning that solitude, when chosen and cherished, can be such a nourishing thing.

Just as I’ve started to reshape my solo weekends, I’ve been leaning on conversations with friends too. I want to start sharing more insights from the amazing women in my life so this next section contains some field notes—how Janice sees weekends alone.

Field Notes (from

Janice Fong

)

“Spending time alone is one of my favorite ways to find peace and healing. I genuinely grew to enjoy my own company by simply sitting with myself. It gives me space to reflect, think clearly, and act without outside influence. Not everyone is comfortable being alone, but that often reflects how they feel about themselves. Ask yourself: Would you be your friend? If the answer is yes, solitude becomes empowering. While I sometimes fall into the habit of doom-scrolling, tools like app blockers (such as Opal), charging my phone in another room, or temporarily deleting distracting apps have helped me stay present. My solo time often includes being at home, visiting cafes or markets, working out, enjoying the amenities in my building, and resting when I need to, guilt-free.

Ideas for Enjoying Time Alone

Non-digital:

• Plan your week (groceries, to-dos, priorities)

• Budget or re-budget your finances

• Audit your closet to donate or sell items

• Clean your home, wash your sheets

• Read a book, journal, or sit in silence

• Dance, make a new playlist, do skincare, take a long shower

• Be present and still

• Play with your pet

• Take a new creative class: pottery, photography, crochet

• Cook a new recipe

Digital:

• Write or read a Substack article

• Watch a new film

• Organize your wishlist (e.g. Moonsift)

• Call a loved one

Spending time alone isn’t about productivity. It’s about intention. Whether you're resting or creating, that space is yours.”

You can find Janice’s Substack ‘There you are’ here.

Whether you’re also going through a season of change or you’re just looking to refresh your weekend schedule, I hope this post found you at the right time. I’m really looking forward to more learning, growing, and understanding over the next little while and I’m even more excited to take you on that journey with me.

If you want to see what I’m wearing + doing throughout the week, connect with me on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok!

Angel xo