When a day is in demand, it gets carved up by whoever asks first and loudest, and the part you wanted disappears without anybody deciding it should. Nobody is going to protect that slice for you, because nobody else can see it. Saying yes to everything on a Saturday is not generosity so much as the absence of a plan. Keeping a piece is how the day stays partly yours.

Before this weekend fills in, pick a block of a few hours and give it to yourself. Put it in your phone like an appointment. When someone asks for that time, you are not free, which is true.