12 Exceptional Things Successful People Do On Weekends

Look, weekends are weird, right? For most people, Saturday and Sunday are basically a blur of Netflix binges, spontaneous brunch trips that drain the wallet, and that awkward guilt feeling when Monday morning hits and you realise you accomplished… absolutely nothing. 🙂

But here’s the thing, successful people approach weekends completely differently. And I’m not talking about those “hustle culture” folks who brag about working 80-hour weeks (seriously, please get some sleep).

I’m talking about high-achievers who understand that how you spend your 48 weekend hours can literally make or break your entire week.

After years of studying personal finance patterns and interviewing people who’ve genuinely built wealth, I’ve noticed something fascinating: the weekend habits of millionaires and high-performers aren’t complicated or mysterious. They’re actually pretty straightforward.

The difference? They’re intentional about their time. Think about it, you get roughly 104 weekend days per year. That’s nearly 30% of your entire year! If you’re wasting those days scrolling through social media or making impulse purchases at the mall, you’re basically throwing away a third of your life.

So let’s break down the 12 exceptional things successful people actually do on weekends. And no, “grind harder” isn’t one of them.

What Do Successful People Do On Weekends?

Here’s something that might surprise you: successful people wake up early on weekends, too.

I know, I know, you’re probably thinking, “But weekends are for sleeping in!” And sure, getting quality sleep matters. But there’s a massive difference between getting adequate rest and wasting half your Saturday in bed because you stayed up until 3 AM watching TikTok videos.

Early mornings on weekends give you something priceless: uninterrupted time. The world is quiet. Your phone isn’t blowing up with work emails or notifications. You can actually think clearly and set yourself up for a productive, fulfilling weekend.

From a financial perspective, this habit alone has helped me make better money decisions. When I wake up at 7 AM on a Saturday instead of noon, I have time to review my investment portfolio, check my budget, and plan my spending, before the day gets chaotic and I’m tempted to blow $200 on stuff I don’t need.

How Do Successful People Plan Their Weekends?

Planning your weekend isn’t about creating some rigid, colour-coded schedule that sucks all the fun out of life. It’s about being strategic with your free time.

Here’s my approach: Every Friday evening, I spend 15 minutes jotting down 3-5 specific things I want to accomplish over the weekend. These aren’t vague goals like “be productive” or “relax more.” They’re concrete objectives:

• Review and adjust my monthly budget
• Spend 2 hours hiking (no phone allowed)
• Meal prep for the upcoming week
• Call my parents
• Research the investment opportunity I bookmarked

Notice how these goals cover different life areas? That’s intentional. Successful people don’t just focus on work or money;  they balance health, relationships, finances, and personal growth.

The beauty of planning is that it prevents decision fatigue. You’re not waking up Saturday morning thinking, “Uhh, what should I do today?” You already know.

This simple habit has probably saved me thousands of dollars over the years because I’m not wandering into stores out of boredom or ordering takeout. After all, I “forgot” to plan meals.

Why Is It Important To Plan Your Weekends?

Let me hit you with some real talk: unplanned weekends lead to wasted money.

I’ve tracked this pattern repeatedly in my own finances and with clients I’ve coached. When people don’t plan their weekends, they tend to:

• Overspend on entertainment and dining out
• Make impulse purchases to fill time
• Miss opportunities to meal prep (leading to expensive weekday takeout)
• Skip important financial tasks like budgeting or bill reviews
• Feel unfulfilled, which triggers retail therapy on Sunday evening

On the flip side, when you plan your weekend, you’re essentially budgeting your time, and that directly impacts your money. If you know Saturday afternoon is for grocery shopping and meal prep, you’re less likely to order DoorDash dinner four times next week at $25 a pop. That’s $100 saved right there.

Plus, planned weekends give you control. They help you focus on activities that genuinely improve your life instead of just killing time until Monday rolls around. Ever notice how some weekends feel amazing and others feel like they evaporated? The difference is usually planning.

12 Weekend Habits Of Highly Successful People

Alright, let’s get into the good stuff. These are the specific habits that separate people who coast through life from those who actively build wealth and success.

1. Getting Up Early

Yeah, we touched on this already, but it deserves its own section because it’s that important.

Disney’s former CEO Bob Iger wakes up at 4:30 AM. Every. Single. Day. Even weekends. Now, I’m not saying you need to set an alarm for the crack of dawn, but consistently waking up at a reasonable hour (say, 7-8 AM) gives you a massive advantage.

Here’s why this matters financially: Morning hours are your most valuable commodity. Your brain is sharpest after sleep.

This is when you should be making important decisions, reviewing your investment strategy, planning your budget, researching that side hustle idea, or learning a new skill that could boost your income.

I’ve made it a rule: All serious financial decisions happen before noon on weekends. By afternoon, my brain is fried, and I’m way more likely to make emotional purchases or skip important money tasks. Those early morning hours? Pure gold for wealth-building activities.

2. Having A Plan

We already covered why planning matters, but here’s the execution part: Write it down. Successful people don’t just think about what they’ll do this weekend; they create actual lists. I use a simple system:

Saturday:

• 7:00 AM: Review finances and check investment accounts
• 9:00 AM: Grocery shopping with a strict list (no impulse buys!)
• 11:00 AM: Meal prep
• 2:00 PM: Gym time
• 4:00 PM: Free time for hobbies

Sunday:

• 8:00 AM: Long walk/hike
• 11:00 AM: Family brunch
• 2:00 PM: Budget review for the upcoming week
• 4:00 PM: Plan work priorities for Monday

Notice how I’m specific about timing? That’s because vague plans like “work out sometime” rarely happen. When you schedule it, you actually do it.

This habit alone has helped me consistently max out my Roth IRA contributions every year. Why? Because “review and contribute to retirement accounts” is literally on my weekend plan twice a month. Otherwise, I’d forget and scramble to catch up in December.

3. Avoiding Multi-Tasking

Okay, confession time: I used to be a serial multitasker. I’d try to review my budget while watching TV, respond to emails while cooking, and plan my week while scrolling Instagram. You know what happened? Nothing got done properly.

Multi-tasking is a productivity myth. Your brain can’t actually focus on multiple complex tasks simultaneously; it just rapidly switches between them, which exhausts you and reduces quality.

Successful people do the opposite: They focus intensely on one thing at a time.

When I’m reviewing my finances on Saturday morning, my phone is in another room. No TV. No distractions. Just me, my spreadsheets, and 60 minutes of pure focus. That hour of concentrated work is worth more than three hours of distracted fiddling.

From a financial standpoint, this matters because money management requires actual attention. When you’re reviewing your credit card statement while half-watching Netflix, you miss fraudulent charges.

You overlook subscription services you don’t use anymore. You fail to spot spending patterns that are draining your wealth.

IMO, productivity experts who recommend tackling a maximum of two major goals per day are spot-on. Quality over quantity, always.

4. Prioritising Important Objectives

Here’s a brutal truth: Not everything on your to-do list matters equally.

Successful people are ruthless about prioritisation. They identify the 1-2 objectives that will have the biggest impact on their goals and focus there first.

For me, weekend priorities usually follow this hierarchy:

1. Health (exercise, meal prep, sleep quality)
2. Finances (budget review, investment check-ins, side income work)
3. Relationships (quality time with family and close friends)
4. Personal growth (reading, learning new skills, hobbies)
5. Everything else (random errands, household chores, etc.)

If I wake up on Saturday and only have energy for three things, I’m hitting one item from each of the top three categories. Health matters because I can’t build wealth if I’m sick. Finances matter because… well, that’s literally how you become successful.

Relationships matter because money without meaningful connections is pretty empty. The stuff at the bottom? It’ll get done eventually, or it won’t. And honestly, if it doesn’t get done, it probably wasn’t that important anyway.

5. Making Time For Hobbies

This might seem counterintuitive in an article about success, but hear me out: Hobbies are essential for long-term wealth building.

Why? Because burnout kills careers. The people who work 80-hour weeks without breaks tend to flame out by their 40s. Meanwhile, folks who maintain hobbies and interests outside work tend to have longer, more productive careers, which means more earning years and more wealth accumulation.

Warren Buffett plays the ukulele. Bill Gates reads 50 books a year. Richard Branson goes kitesurfing. These aren’t distractions from success; they’re fuel for it.

I personally spend 2-3 hours every weekend on hobbies: playing guitar, hiking, or working on personal writing projects that have nothing to do with finance. This time costs me zero dollars (actually saves money since I’m not out shopping) and recharges my mental batteries for the week ahead.

Plus, some hobbies can become income streams. That guitar hobby? I’ve taught lessons for $50/hour. The writing? It’s led to freelance gigs. Never underestimate the financial potential of your passions.

6. Staying Calm And Relaxed

Meditation and mindfulness aren’t just hippie nonsense; they’re legitimate wealth-building tools.

Oprah Winfrey meditates for 20 minutes twice daily. Ray Dalio, billionaire investor, credits meditation for his success. These people aren’t doing it for fun; they’re doing it because it works.

Here’s the financial angle: Stress leads to bad money decisions. When you’re anxious, you’re more likely to:

• Make emotional investment choices (panic selling during market dips)
• Engage in retail therapy and impulse spending
• Miss important financial deadlines or opportunities
• Struggle with decision-making around big purchases

I started a simple weekend meditation practice two years ago, just 15 minutes on Saturday and Sunday mornings. The impact on my finances has been measurable. I’m calmer during market volatility. I think more clearly about major purchases. I don’t stress-spend nearly as much.

You don’t need any fancy apps or expensive courses. Just sit quietly, focus on your breathing, and let your mind decompress. Your bank account will thank you.

7. Staying Active

Physical fitness and financial success are more connected than people realise.

Anna Wintour plays tennis daily. Richard Branson stays active with extreme sports. Mark Zuckerberg runs regularly. There’s a pattern here: successful people move their bodies.

From my perspective as a finance guy, here’s why this matters: Healthcare costs are one of the biggest wealth destroyers in America. The average person spends over $12,000 annually on healthcare (including insurance). People with chronic health conditions can spend multiples of that.

When you stay active and maintain your health, you’re essentially investing in your future net worth. Every Saturday morning run is a deposit in your health account, one that pays dividends by reducing medical expenses, increasing energy (which boosts earning potential), and extending your productive years.

I dedicate at least 3-4 hours every weekend to physical activity: gym sessions, hiking, biking, or playing basketball. This costs me maybe $30/month in gym fees. Compare that to the thousands I’d spend on medications and doctor visits if I let myself get out of shape. Easy ROI calculation.

8. Taking Time To Reflect

Self-reflection is probably the most underrated wealth-building habit out there.

Successful people regularly assess their progress, identify mistakes, and adjust their strategies. They ask hard questions:

• Did I stick to my budget this week?
• What spending decisions do I regret?
• Am I making progress toward my financial goals?
• What opportunities did I miss?
• Where can I improve my money management?

I spend 30 minutes every Sunday evening doing a financial reflection. I review:

• Spending patterns from the past week (Did I overspend? Where?)
• Income progress (Did my side hustle generate expected revenue?)
• Investment performance (How are my stocks/funds doing?)
• Goal tracking (Am I on pace to hit my savings targets?)

This habit has caught countless financial leaks over the years. Last month, I noticed I was spending $80/month on streaming services I barely used. Cancelled three subscriptions, saved $960 annually. That money went straight to my investment account.

Without regular reflection, I would’ve kept bleeding money on services I didn’t value. FYI, most people have at least 3-5 subscriptions they’ve forgotten about. Check your bank statements this weekend, you might be surprised.

9. Offering Help

Successful people are generous with their time and resources. And surprisingly, generosity can improve your finances.

I’m not saying “give money away to get rich” because that’s nonsense. But there’s legitimate research showing that people who volunteer and help others tend to have:

• Better mental health (reducing stress-related spending)
• Stronger social networks (which create business opportunities)
• Greater life satisfaction (reducing the need for material consumption)
• Improved perspective on their own financial situation

I volunteer 4 hours monthly, teaching financial literacy to high school students. This costs me nothing but time, helps kids avoid the money mistakes I made, and keeps me grounded. When you’re teaching someone how to budget on $200/month, you’re way less likely to blow $200 on stupid stuff yourself.

Plus, the networking benefits are real. I’ve gotten freelance clients, job referrals, and business partnerships through volunteer work. Generosity creates opportunities, even financial ones.

10. Avoiding FOMO

Fear Of Missing Out is a wealth destroyer, especially on weekends. Retailers know weekends are prime shopping time, so they blast you with “limited-time offers” and “flash sales.”

Social media shows you all the fun your friends are having, triggering FOMO spending. Before you know it, you’ve dropped $300 on stuff you didn’t need just to keep up.

Successful people resist FOMO by staying focused on their own goals. They ask:

• Do I actually need this, or am I just afraid of missing out?
• Does this purchase align with my budget?
• Will I regret this on Monday?

I’ve implemented a simple rule: All non-essential weekend purchases require a 24-hour waiting period. If I see something tempting on Saturday, I wait until Sunday to buy it. Usually, the urge passes, and I save the money.

This one habit has probably saved me $5,000+ annually. Those “amazing deals” rarely are. You’re not missing out, you’re protecting your wealth.

11. Being Disciplined About Budgeting

Here’s where my finance degree really comes into play: Budgeting is non-negotiable for wealth building.

Wealthy people don’t wing their finances. They track every dollar. Many follow the 50/30/20 rule:

• 50% on needs (housing, food, utilities, transportation)
• 30% on wants (entertainment, dining out, hobbies)
• 20% on savings/investments (retirement, emergency fund, investment accounts)

Weekends are perfect for budget work because you actually have time. I spend an hour every Saturday morning reviewing my spending, categorising transactions, and planning the upcoming week’s budget.

This isn’t sexy or exciting, but it’s essential. In the past year, my disciplined weekend budgeting helped me:

• Increase my savings rate from 15% to 25%
• Identify and eliminate $3,000 in annual waste spending
• Build a 6-month emergency fund
• Max out my retirement accounts
• Start a taxable investment account for wealth building

If you’re serious about success, you need a budgeting system. Weekend mornings are prime time to make this happen.

12. Spending Time With Family And Friends

I’m ending with this because it’s genuinely the most important, and it has bigger financial implications than you think.

Strong relationships reduce stress (preventing stress spending). Both provide emotional support during financial challenges. They create networking opportunities. They give life meaning beyond just accumulating wealth.

Every weekend, I block off at least 4-6 hours for quality time with family and friends:

• Saturday breakfast with my partner (home-cooked, not expensive brunch)
• Sunday afternoon with extended family
• Random hangouts with close friends (usually free or cheap activities)

These moments cost little to nothing but provide immense value. Compare that to people who spend weekends alone, feel lonely, and then spend hundreds trying to fill that void with shopping or expensive entertainment. :/

Successful people understand that wealth without relationships is empty. They prioritise connection because it makes the whole journey worthwhile.

Final Thoughts

The 12 habits we covered aren’t complex; they’re just choices that separate the disciplined from the distracted. Start small. Pick 2–3 habits and commit to them this weekend. Don’t rush the process; momentum builds from small wins repeated often.

Before long, those “little” weekend habits will shape the life you’ve been chasing. Remember, weekends make up nearly a third of your life. Use them right, and they’ll become your quiet advantage, the foundation of your wealth, health, and success.

Now go plan your weekend like it matters.