MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, PART 5: EVERYBODY’S WORKING FOR
THE WEEKEND

As things get crazier and more challenging, the burden is on all of us to bring structure to our confined lives—not only to get our work done but also to preserve our sanity.

So let’s get organized for another week under the rules of behavior in the New Normal, as previously discussed.

Have a calendar nearby and know the date and the day of the week. Check.

Schedule events in on your personal calendar, so it isn’t just a mishmash of “what did I do, when do I do it?” and “where am I in my daily life?” Check.

Make sure there’s time in the schedule for actual meals. Step away from the work space to make a sandwich, order in or whatever you do for at least a short time. It keeps me centered and most of the people I speak with have the same experience. Check.

Understand that there is new, industrial-grade anxiety on top of our normal, daily anxiety. Having a runny nose or itchy eyes is part of the time of the year and probably doesn’t mean you’re dangerously ill. We’re all on edge for real reasons, and it’s OK. Check.

Time to find some balance.

Make some time to talk to at least one person outside your normal circle each week. You’ll both be glad you connected—or re-connected. It’ll be much less awkward than you might expect, because everyone’s going through the same thing. Check.

Now let’s add a new concept. It’s called the Weekend, and it isn’t an artist on Republic. It’s part of your life. Yes, we all work every day. Our website is a 24/7 existence, like most of my business life—and yours. But we also know there’s a difference between Monday and Sunday. On the weekends we allow ourselves a little more time to sleep in, play a round of golf, see some friends, visit with family.

Even though we’re staying in, we should still have that differentiation and savor it. This means allowing ourselves to ramp down our tense breathing a little bit. But we can only make things easier on ourselves if we properly greet the weekend, and acknowledge that—even though our location isn’t changing—it’s a different space.

I had a hard time with it this past week. I thought Thursday was Friday when I went to sleep. When I woke up, I thought it was the weekend; when I found it wasn’t, I began to feel uncentered. I’ve spoken to several people who’ve experienced similar uncertainty in recent weeks.

So, this week, let’s try to point ourselves toward a weekend: to a little less pressure, a smidge less anxiety and even a bit of relaxation. I want my weekend to have a different feeling than my weekdays. I think it’ll help in the ongoing adjustment to the New Normal—and that greeting the weekend will make it easier to embrace the week.

So join me, please, in heeding the sage wisdom of Loverboy by working for the weekend. Check.