This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s summer editorial intern Connor Hanrahan. Find him on Instagram at @hannerhansmh. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
There are two types of people in life: Monday people and Friday people. Monday people are driven and thrive during the work week while Friday people dread the work week and can’t enjoy a Sunday properly because they are already fretting about the prospect of Monday. In this article we are going to discuss how to become a Monday person both through advice and identifying some reasons people may be Friday people. However, in my opinion, Friday people are Monday people but they just don’t quite know it yet.
Firstly, what is a Monday person?
A Monday person doesn’t dread their work, and even looks forward to making a difference as a key contributor at their job. This could be for any number of reasons, whether it be a passion for improving at their work, the act of working, a passion for the content of the work itself, or just the paycheck that comes with it.
Secondly, just because you’re a Monday person doesn’t mean you can’t look forward to the weekend and enjoy your Fridays and Saturdays. It actually means that you DO enjoy your weekends, you just aren’t using the dichotomy between work days and time off as a way to demotivate yourself during work.
Typically, only one problem plagues Friday people: lack of motivation. This could be because:
- Their work doesn’t suit them
- Their job pays poorly
- They can’t take their mind off the weekend
- They just aren’t very interested in adulting in general.
Each of these issues has a multitude of remedies that suit each individual differently, but let’s take a little glimpse at some generally applicable solutions for these issues.
Their Work Doesn’t Suit Them / Can’t Take Their Mind Off the Weekend
It is almost impossible to find a job that will encompass every one of your passions. I have yet to find one myself. My father, for example, has had a different experience. Since he was a child, he has been fascinated by mechanisms and engineering and knew in junior high school that he wanted to be a mechanical engineer, and guess what? He’s 56 with a degree in mechanical engineering and has loved every second he’s spent as a mechanical engineer and he frequently reminds my undeclared, collegiate sister and I of it. Not everybody can be so lucky, I certainly haven’t been.
But what I can say is that there have to be enjoyable aspects of your career that you can really focus and hone in on.
For example, I’m a pretty introverted, physically active adult who has high amounts of social anxiety around large groups of people. I can tell you with utmost certainty that I should NEVER get a job as a waiter because I would probably grow to resent my job as my social battery would be below zero before I even took my first break. I would probably fold, crumble, and curl up into a metaphorical ball every night once I got home despite how good the tips may be. Plus, there isn’t much physical activity involved.
I currently work as a custom carpenter despite my distaste toward arts and crafts, the long hours plus exhausting work, and the danger that abets working with sharp spinning metal things. However, there are a few components of the job that I focus on that help me work long hours while still enjoying my work. For example, I have an insatiable lust for details and perfection within my work. My favorite part of my job is working with the small details that make the entire difference between an acceptable and outstanding product. Focusing on these details makes the hours FLY by and next thing I know, it’s 3pm, I’ve accidentally worked through lunch, and I’m already approaching overtime hours.
I don’t recommend working through lunch, but non-union labor jobs are pretty lax about this.
I also only spend my working hours around people who are either working at the carpentry shop with me (my employees) and other laborers at job sites who are all also only focused on their crafts. Their like-mindedness and common goals mean we only really talk about work so it doesn’t quite drain my battery. And lastly, carpentry is physically taxing, so I almost think of work as a gym session. If I keep moving and keep working, it’s almost like I’m getting paid to workout. Microdosing delusions like this can be instrumental in enjoying work.
These are just a couple small details of a job that I genuinely don’t enjoy. I enjoy it so little, in fact, that I am currently working on my degree so I can leave and find more fulfilling work that won’t give me back problems by the ripe young age of 30. However, these small aspects are what I focus my energy on so that the day flies by, I stay focused, and I don’t sit there salivating over the weekend and hating that it’s only Tuesday.
Every job has minutia like this that can be found and appreciated and if you are a Friday person, I highly recommend you look deeper into your work and conscientiously hyperfixate on the parts of your work you DO like.
Their Job Pays Poorly
This can be a multifaceted issue. Let’s take a gander at some facets.
If you’re a money oriented worker, a low paying job is never going to provide you with self worth and happiness so you may as well leave that job now and start working on a more promising future career. It’s that simple. Sure, the lack of, or lesser valued, paychecks in the short run will hurt a bit, but it won’t hurt quite as badly as spending the rest of your life making an amount of money you aren’t and never will be satisfied with. A hard sacrifice to make, but a worthy one.
In some other cases, the issue can be found within your mindset as a worker and not necessarily the job itself. If you work a ‘corporate ladder’ or ‘small cog in a big wheel’ type of job, the issue could very well be that you aren’t at the rung or cog you’d like to be at. Maybe someone was promoted over you, maybe your supervisor doesn’t see or acknowledge your potential, etc… These are timely but easy problems to solve. If there are promotion opportunities available within your specific ladder, you must simply work harder and prove to your superiors that you can handle a greater amount of responsibility, because unfortunately no pay hike comes without extra responsibility. Even general raises are typically given because your work hours, ethic, or efficiency have improved and have been noticed by the powers above you.
If you ARE improving and HAVE been doing better work in a more efficient fashion, it is your responsibility to make sure your supervisor knows that, but if they won’t acknowledge it, at least make sure your coworkers notice too.
Sometimes though, the issue isn’t with you or your supervisor but rather your coworkers. If you’re constantly exceeding the bar they are setting and aren’t being accommodated properly, take a look at their work because they could be setting the bar too low. In this case you would have to do even more and work even harder because outworking your equals simply places you where you should be.
When it comes down to it, being paid poorly is a direct result of working a job that is below your abilities, or a reflection of the work that you put into it. If you aren’t working hard enough, work harder. If you aren’t being recognized for the work you’re doing, make sure your supervisor understands your value. Or if you’re being dragged down by your coworkers, make sure your supervisor knows that. And lastly, if your job simply can’t or won’t pay you more, find a new job that will recognize and properly compensate you for the value you provide.
And NEVER put yourself in a position where you find yourself wishing you had done a better job.
They Just Aren’t Very Interested in Adulting in General
Let’s go absolutely bonkers.
Adulting is one of the scariest changes in responsibility that will ever occur in your life. Period. You go from your guardians’ home, to college, to BAM, the real world with rent and bills and groceries and appointments and a full time job and yada yada yada… And frankly, it’s intimidating as all heck, but in the end it is nothing more than a test of your mental aptitude, fortitude, and “stick-to-it-iveness”.
I have so many friends that have panicked and crumbled under the pressure and are currently flopping around in life like a wacky inflatable arm flailing tube man on a breezy day, and to be perfectly honest I did too after college. But that was only before I found the mindset that works for me. Unfortunately, I can’t solve this problem for everyone or really anyone else but I CAN share some awesome mindsets and observations I made along the way.
Observation 1: Excitement Can Easily Become Anxiety
I know for certain that I’m not the only young adult out there whose excitement becomes anxiety within the blink of an eye. I’ll spend months eagerly anticipating a disc golf tournament and the moment I get to the course, I am just elated, but the moment I step on the tee, there’s a lump in my throat and all of a sudden I’m scared.
Some people refer to this as a symptom of their anxiety, but this is a very specific type of nerve that I believe can be actively overridden by choice by running through these questions:
- Was I excited or scared for this moment before it arrived?
- Am I going to be happy or regret that I did this?
- Is this going to improve my life?
Typically, the answers to these questions will all be the same and from there you can repeat in your mind that this is a good thing that you are doing.
For example, going to a job interview for a position that you really want can be super duper scary even though it could be the best thing to happen to you. Sure, they could turn you down, but how silly is it to be scared of or dread such a wonderful opportunity?!
Mindset 1: Life Is Just a Video Game
It’s time to really channel some inner delusion because this one worked SO well for me.
Life is obviously not a video game but there is no reason for us to not treat it like one. Rather than grinding thousands of hours into Borderlands 2 and CSGO, which I have sunk over 8,000 hours into btw, spend that time grinding at work so that you have more hours on your paycheck and therefore more money in your account or savings.
I’ll never forget the feeling I got when I finally got promoted to my goal rank in Counter Strike. It was beautiful, fulfilling and even vindicating. But it will never hold a candle to that internal satisfaction I got from opening my high yield savings account and putting $1,000 in there over the course of a few months. Ever. Once you make your first commitments and reach your first goals pertaining to your financial or just general future, you will be addicted.
Where I found this most useful outside of finances, is finishing my degree so I can change careers. Every single assignment I do and each discussion board I contribute to is just another level up, the same way every small step you take is getting you just that little bit closer to turning the future you’ve dreamt of into the present you deserve.
Mindset 2: Time Is Fleeting and You’ll Never Get It Back
There are three currencies with which you will pay for everything in your entire life, and those are time, money, and energy. Money comes and goes, and energy is restored after you sleep each night, but time you never get back. Use your time wisely, but don’t obsess.
I’m not telling you to stop using your Friday nights to watch Friends with the girlies or hookup with someone at the bars, but I am telling you to use your time wisely while you have the energy to do so.
If you have nothing going on, pick up a second part time job and use that money to fill your savings accounts. Or if you always wanted to finish your degree, like me, or get a second one, do it sooner than later because as you age, learning only gets more challenging and life only gets more complicated. If you always swore you’d spend more time with your grandma but have been concocting excuses for months about why you can’t, just go do it. Even if you’ve been waiting to tell your family about your sexual identity or preference, just go do it because that worry isn’t a weight you should have to bear for this long.
There is no better time to improve your life and the lives of those you care about than this very moment.
Observation 2: Business Wards Off Negative Thoughts
I dunno about you guys, but when I sit still for two long, I start worrying about irrational things that make no sense because I have never actually worried about them before. These may include:
- “Is my girlfriend cheating on me?” because I remember some weird moment we had months ago where I felt off and the vibe was just a little bit funny.
- Or “I wonder why my BFF hasn’t hit me up in so long?” even though we sometimes go months without talking to each other and nothing ever has or will change between us because we have a bond that tight.
- Or maybe even “Did I lock the front door?” even though I have never forgotten to lock the door a day in my life.
Not one of these is a valid or worthwhile concern and yet whenever I sit idle these thoughts arise.
I have found the best way to make sure I don’t start stressing about some dumb shit that I can’t control is to keep myself busy until I go to bed. This could mean that after work I go play sports, hang out with buddies, FaceTime the girl I love, grab a beer with my roommate, play some video games, work super late, spend time with family, etc… Just as long as I’m not sitting there thinking to myself about everything that could go wrong.
These mindsets and observations may seem personal and unrelated, but every single one of these can be applied to every single work day.
Respectively:
- OB 1: Every single workday is a wonderful opportunity to prove yourself as a valuable employee and earn a chance at the position you want, no matter how scary the position or workload may seem.
- MS 1: Grind you work like it’s a hobby or even a passion because the effort you put in will always at least better you as a worker and human even if it isn’t directly rewarded by your employer.
- MS 2: Every moment you spend at work can be spent brightening your reputation as an employee in the eyes of those at your job who have the power to make your work life better.
- OB 2: Keeping yourself busy at work is the best way you can possibly keep yourself from acknowledging that Friday is still multiple full-time work shifts away.
So when we ask ourselves how to become a Monday person, we must remember that Mondays and Fridays are representative of more than just days: they represent different aspects of the human experience. Mondays present an opportunity for us to better our lives via our careers and Fridays offer us a deep exhale and the self indulgence with which we accent a busy adult life. There is no difference between Monday and Friday people except that Monday people are able to appreciate work days without comparing them to weekends.
Both weekdays and weekends are equally important to us as people and they should never be viewed with comparison to one another because on the surface, they will never be the same, yet deep down, they are equally bountiful in their own ways. At heart, we are neither Friday nor Monday people, we are everyday people.
So, are you a Monday or Friday person? Do you agree with these tips? Let us know in the comments!
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