After a long and demanding week packed with deadlines, meetings, obligations, and unexpected curveballs, it’s not a surprise that many of us reach Friday evening with our brains feeling like mush and are ready to unload.
The mental load we carry throughout the week doesn’t just include work, but it also includes hobbies, family, social lives, and everything in between. It also doesn’t just vanish on its own. That mental load lingers unless we make a conscious effort to release it.
This is where intentional mental unwinding comes in.
One surprisingly effective way to start clearing your head is by diving into something simple and familiar, like a quick game of spider solitaire after work.
Something with structure, but is calming in nature and doesn’t require you to interact. Anybody can really help you to shift your brain into a relaxed mode. It doesn’t demand too much energy or focus from you. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Let’s take a look at some of the best ways that you can unload your mind after a long week.
1. Go For A Phone‑Free Walk.
Go for a walk, but leave your phone at home.
There’s something incredibly grounding about walking without distraction.
Leaving your phone behind or switching it into airplane mode makes all the difference, and it gives you a moment to tune into the rhythm of your steps, the rustling of the leaves, and the feeling of the breeze around you.
You can let your mind wander freely without listening to Spotify, checking notifications, or applying to messages.
It’s a space that you’re creating for yourself to have clarity, inspiration and peace.
2. Journal Your Day
When you get home from work, especially after a heavy day. Journal the day that you’ve just had. Write down the deadlines or the goals or the frustrations that you had in whether you achieved things you wanted to achieve.
You don’t need to be fancy with it, and you don’t need to have a fancy format, but you just need to write down what’s on your mind, whether you’re venting about something frustrating or listening.
That you’re grateful for. Journaling allows you to externalise your thoughts and makes them much easier to process and then let go.
Give yourself 10 minutes a day after work without editing or censoring yourself. This is a release that could really bring some relief.
3. Get Your Hands Busy
Physical tasks that require you to use your hands without too much concentration are great for quieting the mind.
This is where cooking from scratch is going to benefit you because not only will you keep your hands busy, but you’ll make yourself feel good with healthy meals.
4. Declutter A Small Space
Physical clutter often mirrors the mental clutter in your mind.
Choosing a small space such as a drawer or your desk or your car and tidying it up can really help you to have a surprisingly good sense of achievement and mental order.
Don’t think of it as a chore, but think of it as a small and manageable reset that can totally clear your head as well as your physical environment.
5. Try Guided Meditation
Practice guided meditation. You don’t have to be an expert to benefit from this, and you don’t even have to go to a class.
Apps like Calm, Headspace, or YouTube videos can offer you short guided sessions designed to help you to decompress after a long week.
Even 5 minutes of focus breathing can quiet down your thoughts and slow your nervous system. It’s a good way to feel like you’re shutting the door on the working week and opening the door to the weekend.
6. Choose Something Light‑Hearted
Do something that makes you feel light. It’s tempting to binge watch a heavy drama or get sucked into the news after a long week, but consider choosing something more light hearted instead.
A feel good movie or a comforting book can allow you to switch off the harshness of the week and embrace the calm of the weekend.
Laughter is a good way to shake off stress and lift your spirits so find something funny.
7. Go Low‑Stakes Creative
You don’t have to be an artist to benefit from creative expression.
You can doodle, scribble, and paint to your heart’s content. You can even try your hand at poetry or songwriting. The goal is not to produce something great, it’s to give your mind permission to play.
This allows you to let go of the outcomes and expectations and just enjoy the act of doing something fun.
8. Catch Up With A Friend
Sometimes unloading your mind means talking it out, so a simple conversation with your friend about your week can be incredibly healing.
Human connection acts as an emotional reset and helps remind you that you’re not carrying everything by yourself.
9. Have Some “Nothing Time”
Make time for nothing. Give yourself permission to put your phone down and do nothing at all.
Sit on the couch, lay in bed, stare out of the window, don’t scroll, don’t plan, don’t problem solve.
It may feel unproductive, but true rest is productive and it’s essential for your mental health.
10. Create A Simple Ritual
Give yourself the chance to create a ritual. You need a way to transition from the working week to weekend mode with clear boundaries.
You can create your own ritual or routine for this. It can include stretching, journaling, a specific playlist to play, or even a warm shower once you get back from work.
It’s a symbolisation of letting go of a hard week.
Letting go of everything and unloading your mind after a long week doesn’t have to involve a huge lifestyle change or a weekend retreat.
You don’t have to jump on a plane and fly away somewhere either, unless you have the money and the wish to do so.
Modern life doesn’t offer built in pause buttons, so you have to create your own.
Find the methods that resonate with you and make them a part of your regular routine.
These will help you over time.