Gotta Get Down On Friday
Good Lord do I love Friday.
Work have long since mandated that we appear in the office one day a week, despite all evidence that we can efficiently work from home. Got to justify those rent costs, I guess.
Most of my team go in on a Thursday, but I had the brainwave to go in on Friday's because a)I don't have to worry about any of the after work fatigue causing me any issues the following day (which has happened on days where I've had to go in on a different day, and I've been out of it the day after), b) almost no-one else is in, meaning I have the space to basically do what I will (definitely had the despecialised editions of Star Wars on in the background once or twice, and c) it's a perfect excuse to end the week with a nice packed lunch and some affordable and relatively healthy treats.
Today, it was a katsu chicken poke bowl from M&S, along with their vegan protein mix (roasted chickpeas and edamame beans, with a lemon and herb flavouring) and a bag of coconut seaweed crunchies (on offer for 50p, absolutely divine). Add in some softmints and a 'Starbucks' coffee from the canteen and I'm set.
But the main reason I chose Friday as my office day is it adds a degree of finality to the week. I get off my laptop at home and nothing really changes, I just move from one room to another. I get off my laptop in the office, and I'm Done. On the bus, with my book and my headphones. Going home where I can rest and have fun.
Part of me would rather it didn't have this effect, so that there would be zero benefits to the whole office routine, but we can't get our way all the time.
It's only really been this job that Friday has mattered to be honest. My shop job was shifts around Monday to Sunday, the call centre had the occasional Saturday shift, and the amount of work I had in my project manager role left me completely open to working weekends, including ones where I was very definitely meant to be 'off'. That's an often underappreciated benefit of my current role: contracted nine to five, Monday to Friday, nothing on the weekend.
A part of me wants to be social, go out, do something, maybe find someone to chill with, maybe have a couple of drinks on the way home. Another wants to go for an epic walk around the city to pick up some extra calories burned, or maybe get some quick bowling in because that's a thing again.
Another part of me wants to suck it up and crank out another thousand words to keep up with the word count target. That April 30th deadline isn't too far away.
But on the other hand, I have spent almost the entire day reviewing a project that I initially had no involvement in and is now reaching several levels above my head, and I am done looking at a laptop screen.
Work can wait till Monday. Activities that I'm not even committed to in the first place can be resigned to fantasy. Word counts can be made up for another day. I won't get my evening again though.
So after I post this, I'm going to shut down my work laptop and my personal MacBook Pro, get on that bus home, and leave both of them shut in my workbag. And I'm gonna start my weekend with my wife, my dog, and hopefully Ted Lasso. And maybe even Hell's Kitchen. Trash won't watch itself, right?
Words - 615
Running total - 33,987 (68%, 1,020 words behind target)
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post and want to read more of the same, you can subscribe via email or RSS.