Cases of the Mondays and Casual Fridays

I try to never take a day off. Don’t get me wrong. I take every day of the 5 weeks of vacation that I have, but I try to never take a day off. See the distinction. Now I love the movie Office Space, and I love the phrase “Case of the Mondays”, but hearing it in real life drives me crazy. When someone says that to me, here is what I immediately think. “You are an adult. You are suffering from a fictional diagnosis. And this happens every 7 days?” And I usually just carry on with my day. Every day, I think about both what I have to do and what I want to do, and I just don’t ever see the reason to take a day off. Think about the things that you really want to do with your life right now. Are you doing them? I think about what I’m excited about right now: training for the NYC Marathon, learning a new piano duet with my mom, and writing this blog weekly. I make it a priority to include these things I want to do every day with what I have to do every day, and it makes my quality of life so much better. I feel like the societal standards of only working Monday through Friday and then relaxing Saturday and Sunday are so outdated. I have no problem working 6 or 7 days a week, sometimes at night, sometimes early mornings. But I also thoroughly enjoy myself during the week doing the things above in addition to hanging with family and friends and going out on the town. Lots of times, my Tuesdays are better than my Saturdays and my Wednesdays better than my Sundays. But it is because I do not neglect the things I really enjoy doing, and I try to make all seven days of my week a priority.

Interesting sidebar regarding Mondays: when you become a parent, Mondays become the best day of the week because day care is back open for business. Just trust me.

I also never take a day off from dressing the part. Again, that doesn’t mean I’m suited and booted every day, but I do put a little thought into what I walk out of the house in every day. I actually like that the world has gotten a little more casual. However, lots of folks seem to have confused casual with sloppy. Casual Fridays to me is cool. Sloppy Fridays doesn’t sound or look quite as good, does it? I typically do suit and tie Monday through Thursday, with varying degrees of formality depending on what’s on my plate every day. Fridays can go either way. A suit with no tie. A nice blazer with white jeans. Colored chinos with a fitted buttondown. Basically, anything but khakis and a polo. Then on the weekends, I go much more casual, but again never sloppy or disheveled. I love the new version of sweats and joggers, and I think they look great. My personal favorite is a brand called Uniqlo, and my personal style is to roll them up to my knees, put on a pair of Vans, and then head out. In last week’s blog, I mentioned getting rid of stuff. If you still have those old baggy, raggedy sweats from 10 years ago, they should go ASAP. Like while you are reading this. But the new stuff is light, nice and fitted, and not that expensive. Get a pair, or four. I have no way to prove this, but I am going to hazard a guess that I have met cool, interesting people on all seven days of the week. So to not be showcasing your best self on Mondays, Fridays, or any other day just makes no sense to me.

My co-workers make fun of me because I plan my entire week on one plain 8 x 11 sheet of paper. It is broken down by day and lists not only what I have to do, but also things I want to do that day. It is my de facto work calendar and social calendar, and it fits right into my pocket. If you were to look at it, you may see nine work things I have to do, but also six personal things I want to do. Take my son to get ice cream. Watch Suits. Play soccer. Read a chapter of Coach K’s book. Text my friends. Eat Price’s Chicken Coop on my deck. Don’t get me wrong, there is stuff that has to be done every day, but I make time to be able to do the things I enjoy, which is probably why I never take a day off.
Today is Memorial Day, and I hope everyone has enjoyed their day. I imagine there have been some parties and cookouts that everyone got dressed up for, and rightfully so. But I challenge you to pick a random day next week when it is not a holiday. Get dressed up. Go out. Enjoy. Most people will ask Why, but I say Why Not?

Have a great week.-Benj