How To Make Your WorkWeek Work For You Not Against You

“I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.” ~Jerome K. Jerome

If you have yet to cut your typical work week down to 4 hours, like Tim Ferris has in his book The Four-Hour Work Week, here’s how to make your work week work for you instead of against you.

If you often hear yourself or your friends say, “Monday Sucks!”, or “Friday rocks”, you need to read this. Making your work week work for you is more than just work life balance, it’s about reclaiming your daily rituals outside of work.

Here’s a quick run through of what a typical work week might look like for most people.

Mondays Suck: You hit the alarm button on Monday morning feeling like crap. You played hard during weekend and now you’re too tired to go back to work. But that’s okay because you can take your time gearing up for the week, by reading e-mails at work, or drinking lots of coffee.
Tuesdays Too: Tuesday is a lot like Monday, except that you might get more work done. You’re getting back into the swing of things, although you still resented waking up. Maybe there is a treat waiting for you at home, like a good television show or a bag of cookies.
Wednesday is Hump Day: Wednesday is much better, you can see the weekend on the horizon. After noon, you know that you are halfway through the week. You just need to hang tight, pretend to do a bit more work, and you’re home free.
Thirsty Thursday: Thursday is for celebration with your coworkers. After work, you might go out for drinks, hence why it’s called thirsty Thursday. You’ll be so glad that you’re nearing the end of the week, that you might overindulge and drink a few too many.
Thank God It’s Friday: The reality of Thursday’s drinking sets in. The good thing is that everyone else is a bit tired too. Fridays tend to be a lot more relaxed and social, so you might not get a lot of work done. You might take a long lunch, or just twiddle your thumbs until closing time.
Saturdays Are Fun: Saturday you sleep in! You wake up late and head out on the town. You might overindulge in some “special” foods, just as a reward for all the hard work you did during the week. Then you meet up with friends for a bit of fun on the town or a dinner party. When it’s Saturday, it feels like you have all the free time in the world.
Sunday Means Monday Is Coming: Sundays seem way too short, especially because Monday is looming. You might try to fit in a few chores, work on your personal goals, or see more of your friends and family. No matter what you decide to do, you have a dreadful feeling because you know it all starts over tomorrow.

“The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office.” ~Robert Frost

How to Reclaim Your Week

It was only after disconnecting from my working life and school life, that I was able to realize how much our “weeks” have been ruling over us. When weeks were created, it was to help us organize our time better. Now it seems that we use these week days and weekend days to create excuses to hide from our true purpose.

While traveling in China, I met a young girl in her last year of high school. Her schedule is very strict, and she goes to school 7 days per week. She wakes up at 5:30am, goes to school at 7:30am, comes home around 9:30pm, and studies until 11:30pm. Her dedication really impressed me! Her only break from school is Sunday afternoons, and that got me thinking about how much we complain about Mondays when others in her situation don’t even get a week-end off.

Photo by Marie M.

Create a Morning Ritual

“I have always felt that the moment when first you wake up in the morning is the most wonderful of the twenty-four hours.” ~Monica Baldwin

The single most effective way to reclaim your week is to devote time to yourself early in the morning. If you are are already waking up early, you might consider going to bed earlier so that you may wake up one hour earlier. If you find it hard to wake up earlier, consider that self-sabotage might be a hint in the right direction. One hour is all it takes. During this hour you should do something similar to the following:

Drink lots of water: at least one large glass, but more if you feel up to it. Your body is dehydrated from sleeping all night, so reward it by drinking lots of water first thing in the morning.
Do 15 minutes of rigorous exercise: exercise first thing in the morning is great for your mental and physical well-being. It wakes you up, and energizes you. Try running up and down a set of stairs, or skipping rope.
Eat something healthy: fresh fruit, or a blend of fruits and vegetables in your blender or juicer. Fruit is energizing, and eating something healthy in the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day. You are less likely to cheat on your healthy diet if you start your day off well.
Write in your journal, or pursue goals: do something for yourself. Most of the time we are helping other people chase their goals, and creating value for them. Taking the time to write out what it is you feel and experience every day will crystallize your experiences and set you in the right direction. Other times, we might feel confused when thinking of our goals, and first thing in the morning is the most clear thinking time you have.

“You must have a certain hour or so a day, where you don’t know what was in the newspapers that morning… a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be.” ~Joseph Campbell

Spend Time With Others

After you get home from work, it is not time to pop a TV dinner into the microwave, and sit down to watch lots of television. You should seek out intimate contact with others: family members, friends, or a loving relationship.

The reason you should seek out intimate contact is that truthful, deep, meaningful conversation help you feel alive and on purpose. The more you talk about mundane things, such as who won American Idol, the weather, or who got evicted from a reality television show, the less real you feel.

Try spending time with others who support your goals and your personal growth. Do the same for them.

Photo by Aaron Michael Brown

Map out Your Goals, And Schedule Them In

“I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.” ~E. B. White

Setting goals helps you to see where you are going in the future. Week after week, it may feel like you are not advancing or going anywhere. But if you are actively setting goals, planning out each step along the way, and checking them off as you finish them, you will feel a lot more fulfilled.

Every action you take that gets you closer to your goals will allow you more freedom in the future. You might think that it is a lot of work to take steps toward changing your situation, but the benefits will far outweigh the costs.

It’s all in the attitude you choose to have, and the sooner you make the change the faster your work week will be working for you instead of against you!

Comments

Eric Hamm

"The single most effective way to reclaim your week is to devote time to yourself early in the morning."

This is a great tip! I used to ride my bike to work when I had a J-O-B and I always felt more refreshed and ready to go once I arrived. Just having that little bit of time to myself on my bike gave me a chance to get my thoughts together. I also felt great from the extra exercise. :-)

Nathalie Lussier

Biking to work sounds like a great way to combine time to yourself and exercise. What a great idea Eric! :)

Rosabel

I do hear lots of people complain about going to work. Thank Goodness that these days I enjoy going to work because I'll be seeing all wonderful and adorable children in school. I suggest that every morning, we practice Alternate Nostril Breathing to prepare our mental and body for the whole day of work! It helps very much to start anew every day!

Nathalie Lussier

I think you have a great job, working with children has got to be better than most. I had never heard of alternate nostril techniques, I will look into them!

Lance

Work is what you make it - and that's the whole attitude thing! I think the key is in finding something you love to do, so that it doesn't seem like drudgery at all - that the days fly by. That's a a great way to live! Another great article Nathalie!

Nathalie Lussier

Thank you Lance. I completely agree, work is what you make it and when you're doing what you love time flies by!

Art Gonzalez

Excellent recommendations. I would emphasize though the importance of proper hydration. A technique I was taught a couple of years ago is to drink six glasses of water (it's difficult when you are starting!) first thing in the morning. Then wait about 45 minutes or an hour (while you are getting ready) to eat or drink anything else. Then continue drinking clean pure water the rest of the day as normal. This technique stimulates all the internal organs and brings them rapidly to prime condition. You will feel the difference in a few days. Also another tip is to take ice cold showers. It will feel you with super energy and also make you sleep better at night.

Many blessings,

Art Gonzalez
Check my Squidoo Lens at: Quantum Knights

Nathalie Lussier

Art your recommendations for drinking six glasses is spot on! Congrats on implementing it in your day to day routine.

Pat

I like to get e-mails from my fuzzy, it makes the day go by.

Nathalie Lussier

That's an interesting way to keep in contact too! :)

Plus Size Plum

This is so true. One thing that helps me stay organized is to make a list of everything I need to do for the next day. Then, all I have to do is go down the list of things and check them off as they get done..it's really effective :)

Nathalie Lussier

That's a great way to stay focused. I'm glad you've found a system that works for you!

Catherine Behan

Love your site! I stumbled on it this morning and I am posting it to my profile on Facebook!

Do you twitter? I would love to follow you!

Catherine

Nathalie Lussier

Thanks and welcome Catherine. You can follow me on twitter here: http://www.twitter.com/hyperlinked

Avani-Mehta

Hey ..

Thanks for the link love. It's so much appreciated.

"The single most effective way to reclaim your week is to devote time to yourself early in the morning." - I agree with this so much. A right start in morning can set the mood for entire day.

kathryn

I have just recently started devoting 1 hour every am to myself and it has made a world of difference!

Nathalie Lussier

Way to go Kathryn! :)

Nathalie Lussier

Thank you Avani for the prompt to drink more water. It's one of those things we often know we should do, but tend to ignore until we're really thirsty. ;)

Pláza Kuponok

Spending time with others, that makes the Biggest sense of all ;)
Nice post!

Nathalie Lussier

Thank you Plaza. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Jimi Patrone

Great ideas. I'd like to mention that smoking crack and drinking whiskey until 2am is definitely not a good idea!

Nathalie Lussier

Jimi you put a smile on my face. Thanks for the much needed humor! :)

JohnRocheleau

I especially think that creating a meaningful morning ritual is key. Apart from your excellent suggestions, one can develop a ritual of meditation, Tai Chi, artwork, music, or....

Doing something that brings you into a fully present and engaged state of mind, body, and spirit, will definitely set you up for your day.

John

Nathalie Lussier

I love your recommendations John! I think there's a difference between a gym work-out and the martial arts/yoga/Tai Chi type of exercise. I personally need to improve the frequency at which I meditate, so thanks for the reminder. :)

ferenczy

Very nice article. if nothing else it is nice to see in eords what i've been trying to make my self do for a looooooooong time :)

Thank you! I will now go away and make myself a better person.

Oh yeah - I am a person of the male sort. So here I will admit that men DO have something to learn from women :) No matter what the wizards say....

Nathalie Lussier

I fully understand what you mean about knowing these things and trying to make yourself do it.

I'm glad you enjoyed it, I'm not trying to make this site derogatory to men. I think we both have so much to teach and learn from each other. :)

Carla

Ha ha! If only my weeks and weekends were like that (what you wrote). Since I don’t “party”, I don’t have to worry about the lasting effects of it, but my weekends are pretty busy with housework, working on my business, trying to get in some social time and time outdoors in nature. A weekend away from my day-job is not always a true weekend if all I do is other work, though and it IS nice to sleep until at least dawn. I can relate to “Hump Days” and “Thirsty Thursdays” (though I rarely drink on those days).

I have a very hard time waking up early; even going to sleep early doesn’t help but I will keep trying. It’s nothing to do with “self sabotage”, it’s just the way my body works. Actually it MAY be self sabotage but not in a substance abuse kind of way. I will start with 30 minutes and see what happens.

My problem is I run straight home and jump on the computer to work. Then its exercise, shower, dinner, more work and bed. Recently I stated staying out one day a week for about an hour to get in some social time at the farmers markets or local stores. That has helped so much. Besides my partner, I don’t have close friends so that “deep” meaning contact is difficult.

I need to get better with setting goals.

Thank you so much for this post, it has given me a lot to think about!

Nathalie Lussier

Carla, thanks for sharing your current weekly routines. I understand what you mean about coming home and jumping on the computer, and the exercising, and basically speeding through all these things.

Personally, I found that some of the "work" that I do at night is not as useful, or not as focused as if I were doing it in the morning. Sometimes I will surf too much, or get sidetracked by new ideas instead of focusing on my business goals. If I try to get work done in the morning, it tends to be more of the "important" things. Just a thought that might help you out!

Thanks again for writing. :)

Simple Mindz

Haha...The work week sooo sounds like me... I swear, I must go through the same thought process.. lol

Nathalie Lussier

I hear ya! :)

Ross

Hi, interesting post!

I like the idea of a morning ritual, certainly it's a bit hard to do with shift work, but I'm going to give drinking more water and exercising in the morning a decent try! Spending time with others is also really important, sometimes it can be tempting to go check email / blog posts etc but it's good to remember how important our family and loved ones are. Cheers.

Nathalie Lussier

Thank you for stopping by Ross. I agree, I sometimes get caught up in things I feel I need to do (internet is my guilty pleasure) and ignore the precious people in my life.

Drinking more water is a pretty simple thing that can change your day! Thanks again, have a great one! :)

Maya

Great post. I am trying to work from home now and these points really hit home. I am doing all of these, but consistency has been my struggle. I hope to get better and better :)

Nathalie Lussier

Maya I think these ideas work especially well if you work from home. I wish you luck on your ventures, I know you will get consistency down. :)

Steve C @MyWifeQuitHerJob.com

I used to be in a bad mood every morning when I got to work. But after I started drinking water instead of coffee as part of my morning ritual, I've found that I feel much better (and less grumpy) in the mornings. It's amazing what water can do for you. Great tips!

Nathalie Lussier

I never even thought of the grumpiness factor Steve. I've definitely seen it in myself though, I am less grumpy when I drink more water first thing in the morning!

Daniel Richard

I am so gonna go get me water to drink every morning once I wake up to refill my tank and get on with the day! :D

Nathalie Lussier

Thanks Daniel, I'm sure it will help you for sure. :)

AJ Kumar

Great article!! I gotta rack up on the water! :)

AJ Kumar

Camille Gaines

This is so true. I like to also read something inspirational first thing in the morning.

mutuelle

It's great post here ,so informative and instructive ,I really enjoyed a lot ,I hope I come back again and enjoy your new ones...God luck all!