Would you rate this a productive or lazy weekend?

[Cochi]

Fri night - home from work at 6pm, drove youngest to a residential football camp for the weekend. Went to gym for an hour with teen daughter. Came home 8.30pm and ate pasta pesto with daughter who then went out, played on phone while listening to Audiobook for 2 hours. Bed.

Sat - up at 6am, ordered a Tesco delivery and let dog out, played with phone for 90 mins, met friends for hour dog walk, cooked omelet for teen daughter, gym for an hour with her, made photo album of all 2024 family pics for couple of hours and ordered it, ordered new work clothes, played on phone while listening to audio book for 2-3 hours, went out with friends for dinner, home at 11pm and played on phone for an hour.

Sun - up at 6am for Tesco delivery arrival, played on phone and listened to audio book for 90 mins after unpacking shopping, dog walk with friends for an hour, batch cooked three lasagnas, baked a cake for family tea, washed groomed dog for an hour as he was a total mess, did 2x loads of laundry, gym for an hour, picked up son from camp, heated up one of the lasagnas for everyone’s dinner, played on phone for two hours while listening to audio book and am still doing that now .

my guilt is about the hours on my phone meaning I’m less productive than I should be, but then I also feel I got things I needed done all done.plus I work full time so need down time. Would others feel this was a productive weekend or too much phone time?

Lazy and on the phone far too much.

it sounds like you’re quite addicted to your phone and use it first thing and last thing which isn’t healthy.

however you did get exercise, dog walks and lots of cooking done so not entirely unproductive but I think the phone dependency is not great

Productive (although there’s nothing wrong with a lazy weekend!) Agree that it sounds like a lot of your downtime is on the phone. They are literally designed to be addictive so lots of us are in that boat. What works for me is trying to add things in rather than take them out, eg I want to spend my downtime reading so I prioritise that. When I just tell myself to keep off my phone, it doesn’t happen.

Why so much phone time?

I think that’s pretty productive. Lots of exercise, quality kid interaction, life admin and batch cooking. When you’re playing on phone you’re listening to your audio book. You need down time at the weekend - that’s really important. I guess it’s for you to gauge whether you feel rested/calm after playing on your phone and listening to your book. If so, I don’t think it’s bad.

Sounds like a very productive weekend to me.

It sounds chore-filled and joyless to me, with lots of phone. Why not do more enjoyable things and cut phone addiction?

You got plenty of exercise, got lots done socialised, got fresh air. How you spend your downtime is your choice, it's fine. Not like you're sitting on your phone ignoring little children or not getting anything done.

Most people working have to have chore filled weekends. And some people actually like going to the gym (not me). Plus OP went out with friends for dinner plus met up with friends twice for dog walks.

Neither really tbh. Just average

Posters will comment on phone time but if it’s what you do to relax, that’s fine imo. Others may watch TV instead or listen to music

That sounds lovely - both productive and restful. Why would being on your phone be problematic?

Apart from getting up too early the rest of your weekend sounds great !

Sounds reasonably productive and I'm not sure why PP said it was joyless. You've been out walking and seen friends - that's a good weekend in my opinion.

A bit too much phone time but I'm also addicted to mine so I'm not judging!

Some people are really really anti tech and as soon as you mention even glancing at your phone they will call you lazy.. (even though they themselves are online on mumsnet right now!)
Imo that was not a lazy weekend. Utterly ridiculous to think so. You were up at 6am both days!! You went to the bloody gym both days.. and went walking.. and cooked from scratch.
You wouldn't see me getting up at 6am on a weekend.

Obviously if you want to cut down your phone use because you've decided you don't like it then do so. But please God don't be shamed by absolute nutcases into abandoning something you genuinely enjoy or find relaxing because you've been told its 'lazy'
You are very clearly not a lazy person. You are up and about doing things all day for other people and for your own wellbeing. It's ok to sit down and have a break. And it's ok to spend those breaks doing whatever you find fun. If that's messing about on your phone whilst listening to an audio book then that's what it is!!

Too boring to read. Why do you care? Surely some weekends are busy, and some are lazy?

I am definitely addicted to the phone. My average screen time per day is around 5 hours all in. Some of that is work, or necessary things like online banking, but a lot is unnecessary.

i feel huge guilt about the phone but then I think if I was reading or knitting or something in those times I wouldn’t judge myself at all and is playing with the phone while listening to books so much different? Somehow the phone calms me down and allows me to sit and do relatively little which I do need as I work about a 50 hour week. But I still wish I didn’t do it yet somehow I always do in order to fully relax.

Why do you wish you didn't do it? What do you want to be doing instead on those times? I assume these are times you'd have to sit and rest anyway..

Way more productive than my weekend. Walked dog both days, bathed him one day.
Errrrm...popped to shop. Unpacked suitcase and washed clothes. Had a long soak in bath. Started job application. Watched tv. Spent loads of time on phone..on here, playing bingo, chatting.
That's my weekend.

Very productive weekend by my standards but I also think you spend too much time on your phone. They are two separate points. Can you swap the phone time for a book or maybe call someone?

Sounds like a reasonably productive weekend, you exercised, got some jobs done and spent time with people who are important to you!

I’m smiling to myself about the fact that all the people criticising the phone time are doing so on Mumsnet and most likely on their phones!!

In the Olden Days, we'd read the paper, do crafts & hobbies, play games, do a jigsaw puzzle or crossword, read a book or any number of other pastimes at the weekend. Spending several hours on your phone is no different to that really.

Did you enjoy your weekend?

This sounds like a very productive weekend, with a good mix of responsibilities, social activities, and personal downtime.
Why It’s Productive:

• Family Responsibilities: You handled parenting duties, including driving your child to camp, cooking meals, doing laundry, and picking them up.
• Social Time: You walked with friends twice and had a dinner out—important for well-being.
• Health & Fitness: You went to the gym three times, which is more than most people manage.
• Household Tasks: You ordered groceries, batch-cooked, cleaned and groomed the dog, and did laundry.
• Organisational Tasks: You created a 2024 family photo album and ordered work clothes—both proactive tasks.

The Phone Time Concern:
The time spent on your phone while listening to audiobooks isn’t necessarily wasted. If it’s passive relaxation, it’s legitimate downtime, especially since you work full-time. The key is whether that phone time interfered with something else you wanted to do. If not, it’s just your way of unwinding.

Verdict:
This was a well-balanced weekend. You were productive while also taking time to recharge. The guilt about phone use might be more about perception than reality—if you’re still getting things done and feeling rested, then it’s not an issue.

True and I actually do things like the NYT crossword and wordle and stuff so quite similar I suppose. But somehow it feels a lot less wholesome.

I think you’ve achieved a lot OP. Weekends are for relaxing and if that is being on your phone then go for it