How to have 3 times as much fun every weekday.
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Yes. You read the title correctly. It does have the words ‘fun’ and ‘weekday’ in the same sentence. Crazy concept huh? Yet in my middle-age life, after being in the workforce for 30+ years…I have truly started to rethink how I approach my work week.
Traditional Monday to Friday mentality
We all know that the Monday Blues is a feeling that most of us have connected to at some point in our professional lives. We see the weekend as fun, and Monday to Friday as a stretch we just have to endure until we get to another to another weekend. This roller-coaster type existence can become dysfunctional if we continue to think this way for years, if not for decades. I came to that crossroads recently. Hmmmm…
The weekend is only Friday night to Sunday night (48 hours). The weekdays run from Monday morning until Friday after work (113 hours). So, we spend 60% of our time in what we may describe as navigating the un-fun, serious aspect of our lives (that pays the bills) and 40% of our adult lives enjoying personal, weekend time.
Image: Dmitry Mashkin on Unsplash
Sticking with the roller-coaster analogy: we start at the bottom on Monday morning and slowly inch our way to the top of the ride (Friday Happy Hour)…where we get to enjoy the best part of the rollercoaster - the heart-stopping, death-defying, fun descent to the bottom again.
So how can we get more fun time out of life? Firstly I would get rid of the roller-coaster analogy aka stop perceiving the Monday to Friday work week as strenuous, tough and something we have to ‘get through’. It takes a mindset shift. There is a lot of substance to the concept that we should love our jobs (or choose a job that you enjoy doing). I would suggest that we also love the weekdays, Monday to Friday! This is a huge life hack. Shifting to a way of thinking where Monday morning is just an extension of your weekend.
The 3-in-1 weekday mentality
As I mentioned earlier, I have begun to reflect on my many years of working during the week and relaxing on the weekends. 60% of my life is professional, 40% of my life is personal. This perspective of life came into question as more of my friends and family began to retire. When I asked them how retirement felt, most would say that their Sundays and Mondays felt the same now. That thought blew my mind! I immediately saw retirement as more desirable than ever before. But wait…I have at least 5 more years before I can retire. So I came up with my transition plan: The 3-in-1 weekday.
The key to this personal strategy is to consciously divide your weekday into 3 parts: pre-work morning hours, work hours and after-work hours
1. Get up earlier
Many of us (especially in the cold winter months) awake to the shriek of some type of alarm. As social media, TV and streaming services tend to keep us up later at night…we often start our day hitting the snooze button and eventually dragging ourselves out of bed. Energy-wise, we start our day behind the eight ball. As we start our routine of hygiene, getting dressed and gathering our work gear…our motivation or fun level is already rock bottom — and we have not even reached the workplace yet. We still have to deal with traffic, parking, grabbing some type of breakfast and arriving to work. Metaphorically, we have begun our workday on ‘one-bar’. I think we can all agree that this is not a promising start to the day.
So purposefully get up earlier. Our wise grandparents could not understand how our generation liked to sleep-in, how we clung to our beds in the morning. Early rising was a hallmark of days gone by. Farmer swore by an early start. This old-school mentality is the beginning of your enjoying your workday.
Calculate your daily leave home time
Set your alarm for 2 hours before your departure time
Have your work clothes and gear ready to go from the night before
Do not jump right on to your phone (social media) as soon as you get up
Take time to calmly ‘break your fast’…eat and drink something light
Have a bit of quiet time to think, exercise, or read (social media included at this point)
Avoid rushing and road rage on the way to work
***This was Part One of your positive workday [ie. 6–8 am]
2. Re-think your time at work
We all have had jobs that we enjoyed…and jobs that we did not. Regardless, there is a necessity to showing up to work, interacting with co-workers, and getting tasks completed. I would suggest that the higher the energy level you come into work with (and a positive demeanour), the more productive your day will be. Human beings have more patience and capacity for others when they are on ‘4-bars’ of energy. This idea connects directly to the first part of your day: you got up early, never hit snooze, embraced the morning, had some ‘me time’, had your work stuff ready to go, left for work affording enough time not to rush — you are on ‘4-bars’. You will be pleasantly surprised how interconnected your energy level and perspective during the workday are linked.
All of these principles can also apply to our modern work-from-home reality.
***This is Part Two of your positive workday [ie. 9 am — 5 pm]
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3. After work hours = mini weekends
After having a fantastic morning before you went to work, and a truly productive day at work…it is now me/partner/family time. Leaving your workplace with a sense of pride and accomplishment will flow directly into your after work mentality. Instead of being pissed off, tired or stressed on your way home — you can run errands, stop to work out, shop or meet friends. I always felt great after I got many tasks completed in either my professional or personal life. Work hard, relax hard.
With the final part of your 3-in-1 weekday, you have the opportunity to prepare and enjoy a beautiful supper. You have time to spend with your spouse, partner or children. You have time to immerse yourself in a personal hobby or pastime. My main caution is to strictly limit the work you take home! This is a very important point. You are paid for the hours you work during your shift, workday, etc.. There has been plenty of mental health warning about the workaholic modus operendi. So have hard, explicit boundaries around your personal and professional life. I turn off my work phone as I am leaving the office (home office included). If there is an emergency, my boss can get me on my personal phone.
***This is Part Three of your positive workday [ie. 6–11 pm]
Spending quality personal time, enjoying some me/family time, and getting to bed early with a smile on your face after work goes a long way in setting you up for a fantastic morning. It is all connected. Not eating late-night snacks and consuming heavy alcoholic nightcaps will also get you ready for a deep sleep…which in turn prepares you for that positive pre-work experience the next morning. Ta-da! The 3-in-1 weekday is complete…and repeatable.