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Here are 10 tips for making the most of your days off:

1. Do make a plan. We’re all busy. When we hit the weekend, we think we want to do “nothing.” But it’s impossible to truly do nothing. Instead, you’ll do unconsciously chosen somethings, and you’ll hit Sunday wondering where the time went. As children staring at wrapped Christmas presents know, anticipation accounts for much of the pleasure we derive from any experience. So make a plan for how you want to spend the weekend and—even if all goes wrong in the moment—you’ll still derive pleasure from anticipating your fun.

2. Don’t fill every minute. Just because you’ve got a plan doesn’t mean the weekends need to look like your weekdays, scheduled in 15-minute increments. Three to five “anchor” events—things you look forward to—can make for an excellent weekend. Go for a run, volunteer at a local food bank, and have dinner with friends and you’ll have done plenty.

3. Do stretch yourself occasionally. Weekends are great for exploring. Make a bucket list of activities you’d like to try within a two-hour radius of your house. Maybe it’s biking along the boardwalk. Maybe it’s camping in a nearby park. Whatever it is, remember that life can’t just happen on vacations, so invite in some serendipity.

4. Don’t forget to exercise. One famous study of Texas women’s days found that—after sex, eating, and relaxing—they were happiest when exercising, socializing, and engaging in spiritual activities. Why not aim for anchor events in all three categories?

5. Do schedule downtime. In our distracted world, we have a tendency to putter around the house, turn on the TV, check email and otherwise fill time with things that don’t really relax us. If you want to take a nap on Sunday afternoon, figure out when that’s going to happen, if there are any logistical issues you need to solve, and then commit to doing it.

6. Don’t give in to the Sunday-night blues. Even if you like your job, it’s easy to feel weary by Sunday afternoon as you think about the next morning’s commute. One way around that? Schedule something fun for Sunday night. Knowing you’ve got a potluck dinner or a massage session coming up extends the weekend by keeping your mind focused on the fun to come.

7. Do make the most of other people’s schedules. Read a novel instead of checking your email while waiting to pick up your 8-year-old at swim practice. If your spouse has a time-consuming hobby—like one that requires you to supply sports drinks at the 10-mile mark on her long run—make sure to combine it with something fun for you (catching a movie at a nearby theater?).

8. Don’t do too many chores. Chores expand to fill the available space. If you do them on weekdays, you’ll spend less time doing chores simply because you have less time. Better to spend your weekends checking out a new neighborhood cafe than chained to the washing machine.

9. Do spend some time planning your week. On Sunday night, or some other quiet time, glance at your calendar, and set goals for what you’d like to accomplish in your professional and personal life over the next 168 hours. Schedule these high-value activities in. Once Monday morning hits, you’re in a firefight. So figure out how you’ll advance your troops, rather than just hunkering down.

10. Don’t work every minute. Sure, successful people work a bit on weekends, but they know that weekends are mostly about giving the brain a break. Even if you’re not religious, challenge yourself to keep a Sabbath of sorts: one 24-hour period where you don’t do any of your usual work. You may find yourself so relaxed you’ll look forward to Monday.

We’re G.T.D. at Fast Company — by hosting a live Q&A with productivity whiz David Allen, author of the hit book “Getting Things Done”.

Got a question for the time-efficient master? Use the comment box below to submit your questions ahead of today’s 3pm E.T. chat.

Don’t check your email! Remember when you used to have a period at the beginning of every day to think about your schedule, catch up with friends, maybe knock out a few tasks? It was called home room, and it went away after high school. But many successful people schedule themselves a kind of grown-up home room every day. You should too. The first hour of the workday goes a bit differently for Craig Newmark of Craigslist, David Karp of Tumblr, motivational speaker Tony Robbins, career writer (and Fast Company blogger) Brian Tracy, and others, and they’ll tell you it makes a big difference. Here are the first items on their daily to-do list. What Successful People Do With The First Hour Of Their Work Day

Don’t check your email!

Remember when you used to have a period at the beginning of every day to think about your schedule, catch up with friends, maybe knock out a few tasks? It was called home room, and it went away after high school. But many successful people schedule themselves a kind of grown-up home room every day. You should too.

The first hour of the workday goes a bit differently for Craig Newmark of Craigslist, David Karp of Tumblr, motivational speaker Tony Robbins, career writer (and Fast Company blogger) Brian Tracy, and others, and they’ll tell you it makes a big difference. Here are the first items on their daily to-do list.

What Successful People Do With The First Hour Of Their Work Day

While there’s nothing wrong with simply sharpening your eye and taste by clicking the “Pin It” bookmarklet—we all need a break sometimes—Pinterest can also be used in productive, focused ways. It’s all about having an end goal in mind when you create those pinboards. So if you want to harness Pinterest’s strengths and habit-forming powers, try these exercises.  Get More From Pinterest Than Just Expensive Ideas

While there’s nothing wrong with simply sharpening your eye and taste by clicking the “Pin It” bookmarklet—we all need a break sometimes—Pinterest can also be used in productive, focused ways. It’s all about having an end goal in mind when you create those pinboards. So if you want to harness Pinterest’s strengths and habit-forming powers, try these exercises. 

Get More From Pinterest Than Just Expensive Ideas

“A high level of noise may cause a great deal of distraction, causing individuals to process information to a lesser extent and therefore to exhibit lower creativity. A moderate (vs. low) level of noise, however, is expected to distract people without significantly affecting the extent of processing. Further, we reason that such a moderate distraction, which induces processing difficulty, enhances creativity by prompting abstract thinking.”

Why Ditching The Office Could Help You Be More Creative

We speak with CNN’s chief business correspondent, Ali Velshi, about how he manages his downtime (whenever he can get it), what keeps spenders and savers together, and which one he is.

For more tips on building your personal brand and working smarter, see Amber Mac’s Work Flow series.

The Power Of Circles (and we’re not talking about Google+ here).

In the 19th century, artists including Degas, Monet, and Renoir got together periodically to discuss their commissions, their patrons, and their industry. This circle met consistently, and the artists credited these small gatherings with not only making their careers but the rise of the impressionist movement.

(Source: Fast Company)

Bosses, Stop Caring If Your Employees Are At Their Desks Kelly and Moen—who published their work this week in The Journal of Health and Social Behavior—found that employees who switched to ROWE took better care of themselves. Not only did they get an extra 52 minutes of sleep before workdays on average, they were also less likely to feel obligated to work when sick and more likely to see a doctor when they needed to. And the turnover rate among employees that switched to ROWE was only 6%, compared to 11% with the control group. In addition, their increased sense of schedule control and reduced work-family conflict led to increased self-reported energy levels and decreased psychological distress.

Bosses, Stop Caring If Your Employees Are At Their Desks

Kelly and Moen—who published their work this week in The Journal of Health and Social Behavior—found that employees who switched to ROWE took better care of themselves. Not only did they get an extra 52 minutes of sleep before workdays on average, they were also less likely to feel obligated to work when sick and more likely to see a doctor when they needed to. And the turnover rate among employees that switched to ROWE was only 6%, compared to 11% with the control group. In addition, their increased sense of schedule control and reduced work-family conflict led to increased self-reported energy levels and decreased psychological distress.

If you’re looking for a quick way to improve productivity for yourself as well as those around you, look no further than your inbox. Most of us take e-mail for granted now, which is why there is an opportunity there to improve and optimize how you communicate. In this week’s episode I’ll tell you about the techniques used by a variety of different entrepreneurs to optimize their e-mail correspondences.