What Is Friday?
Friday used to mean something. It was symbolic. It was the culmination of the end of a work week. All those frustrations could be let go for a couple of days. Those co-workers who annoyed you with their eccentricities could go share their eight hours (and more) with other people. Those project deadlines could be forgotten about for a short while. Friday was a new birth. Depending on your stage in life, it was about the opportunity to go out with friends and have dinner and drinks, a sports event, a concert, or going to kids’ games or to the park. Friday was a release as well as a chance to recharge.
All that goes away when you’re in the middle of unemployment. One day is another day is the next if you allow yourself to get caught in the cycle. I was watching a movie on Netflix midday after completing some online job applications on a recent Friday. As the movie ended a little after 3:00 PM, the thought popped into my mind, “What is Friday?” Friday needs a counterbalance to have the kind of meaning ascribed in the first paragraph. Like hot needs cold, comfort needs pain, or refreshed needs fatigue, Friday needs some amount of weariness from the prior days to need time away to recharge.
It’s a mindset that challenges against complacency when time is more plentiful than purpose. It’s a charge to remember in the preceding days to plan deliberately.