Column: Why the work week is the new weekend

When SZA wrote, “Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday and Friday,” in her song "The Weekend," she was wrong. 

Those are weekdays. The days with the most under-appreciated potential. 

So much pressure is placed on cramming all the fun into the weekend, we’ve forgotten about the work week. I love the weekend, but relying on it as the only thing to get you through the work week makes life kind of miserable. 

That’s why the work week is the new weekend. 

Work week erasure 

This past Monday, as I was walking to class and reminiscing about my Fall Break, I found myself wishing it were already Friday again, which is a pretty natural thought process. 

School week hard + weekend good = I want weekend. 

But the rest and relaxation from the break must have chemically altered something in my brain. Because this Monday, unlike every other Monday, I took a step back and asked myself why I resorted to this thought process. Why did I want to erase the entire week just to get to the weekend?

Believe it or not, the days are the same. Monday is no different than Saturday, besides the fact we call it by a different name.

Don’t discount the work week. 

Do something crazy on Monday. Buy new laundry detergent at Target on Tuesday. Give yourself a bob on Thursday. The world is your oyster.

This past Wednesday, I was bored so I went to the Ackland Art Museum. There were so many paintings. It was awesome. 

Use commercial breaks wisely

Most people have those awkward, twenty to forty-five minutes breaks in their schedule where they don’t really know what to do with themselves. I call these "commercial breaks," and they’re crucial. 

You don’t need to be high energy to give commercial breaks weekend energy. Take a walk. Sit under your favorite tree. Do anything to make yourself a little happier. 

I’m guessing you just thought, “Well I’m usually working,” and that might be true. 

It probably isn’t true, though. 

How much work do you really get done in those fifteen minutes you click through your emails? Be honest.  

Try to integrate exciting things into your commercial breaks. If you get your morning coffee from one shop after the usual 8 a.m., try a different spot, even if it’s a couple minutes out of the way. Make plans with your friends to get lunch if your schedules overlap, even if it’s just a meal swipe you take to the Quad. Think about something you’d do over the weekend and do it during the work week. Woah. 

Being chronically ahead is a scam 

If any of you readers are first years like me, you might be stuck in the “no fun on weekdays” mentality from high school. 

You work during the free time now so you can enjoy your free time later, even though you’re going to work during that time you cleared up, effectively filling up all of your free time with work. 

Take the time you earned and use it. You don’t need to be chronically ahead, because work will pop up either way. Enjoy the moments you have, no matter what day it is.

There is validity to having to get something done. If you have an assignment due on Tuesday and it’s Monday night, you should do it. But if it's due on Wednesday, don’t convince yourself you need to finish half of it on Monday. Do it the night before if it means you can enjoy yourself a little bit more on Monday. Either way, the work will get done.

Don’t pull all-nighters to work 

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people boasting about the fact that they got no sleep working on an assignment. It’s not admirable, and their med-school admissions counselor won’t take it into account. It just means that the person either had no idea there was an assignment or has no time-management skills. 

Venting about your workload is one thing. Don’t be the person who brags about having a bad work-life balance. It makes the people with normal work-life balances question if they’re doing something wrong.

We aren’t in high school anymore, we’re in the real world. Don’t bank on only having fun on the weekends. Because then you’ll waste five-sevenths of your life wishing time would go by faster. 

And that’s just my Two Spence.

@dthopinion

opinion@dailytarheel.com