WEBVTT - Thursday is the real hump day

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is about a mindset shift that can help

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<v Speaker 1>you rethink your weeks and the whole concept of work

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<v Speaker 1>life balance. Many years ago, when I first had people

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<v Speaker 1>track their time, I realized that I needed to design

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<v Speaker 1>a workable spreadsheet that I could use for my research.

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<v Speaker 1>I elected to put the days of the week across

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<v Speaker 1>the top, Monday to Sunday, and then half hour blocks

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<v Speaker 1>down the left hand side. To make sure the time

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<v Speaker 1>log captured the way people think about their days. I

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<v Speaker 1>had the half hour blocks start at five am and

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<v Speaker 1>go to four thirty am. If you haven't had your

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<v Speaker 1>coffee yet. I know it's a little early to be

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<v Speaker 1>talking about spreadsheets, so don't worry. You don't really need

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<v Speaker 1>the exact dimensions. All this means is that on my

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<v Speaker 1>time logs, the week starts Monday at five am. I

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<v Speaker 1>think Monday at five am is a defensible starting point

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<v Speaker 1>for the week. Anyway, This time log represents the hundred

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<v Speaker 1>sixty eight hour week, and I soon noticed something when

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<v Speaker 1>I had filled out several days representing what seemed like

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of time up to Thursday. At five pm,

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<v Speaker 1>the end of the day, half the spreadsheet was still blank.

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<v Speaker 1>In other words, if your week starts at five am Monday,

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<v Speaker 1>then five pm Thursday is the midpoint of the week. Now.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know about you, but I'd always thought of

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<v Speaker 1>five pm Thursday is sounding like the end of the week.

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<v Speaker 1>But it isn't. It's the exact halfway mark. If I

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<v Speaker 1>put a pin in my time log at around five

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<v Speaker 1>pm Thursday, it would balance there's just as much time

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<v Speaker 1>after as there is before. Now. To be sure, for

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<v Speaker 1>most people, there are a few more hours devoted to

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<v Speaker 1>sleep in the second half of the week, but it's

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<v Speaker 1>not as much of a difference as you might think.

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<v Speaker 1>I ran the calculation recently with a thirty bedtime and

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<v Speaker 1>a daily six am wake up, and the midpoint for

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<v Speaker 1>waking hours still fell in the afternoon on Thursday. It

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't anywhere close to Wednesday. The reason this matters is

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<v Speaker 1>we have a tendency to discount time that doesn't happen

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<v Speaker 1>Monday to end of day Thursday. A consultant who flies

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<v Speaker 1>to client sites Monday morning and flies home Thursday afternoon

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<v Speaker 1>might speak of traveling all the time. But this is

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<v Speaker 1>not all the time, it's only about half of the time.

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<v Speaker 1>Someone who logs long hours in the beginning of the

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<v Speaker 1>week might talk of never being home in the evening,

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<v Speaker 1>but if he's home in the evening Thursday, Friday, Saturday,

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<v Speaker 1>and Sunday, that's actually over half the week. He's there

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<v Speaker 1>more nights than he's not. Your work life balance is

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<v Speaker 1>probably pretty work heavy Monday through end of day Thursday,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's probably pretty life heavy in the second half

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<v Speaker 1>of the week. Indeed, it's possible these two balances start

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<v Speaker 1>to balance each other out. What I love about this

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<v Speaker 1>realization is that this mindset helps us honor the weekend.

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<v Speaker 1>If Wednesday is the hump day of the week, then

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<v Speaker 1>the weekend is an afterthought. It's two days tacked on

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<v Speaker 1>to the end of the real days. But when Thursday

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<v Speaker 1>is the midpoint of the week, we see that Friday, Saturday,

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<v Speaker 1>and Sunday are real days too. They represent a big

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<v Speaker 1>chunk of our time. I know the shift has helped

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<v Speaker 1>me take my weekends more seriously. It's encouraged me to

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<v Speaker 1>think through what I'd like to do and at least

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<v Speaker 1>attempt to deal with the logistics. Knowing where the real

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<v Speaker 1>midpoint of the week. Lies helps us appreciate time in

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<v Speaker 1>all its fullness. So how will you celebrate Thursday, the

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<v Speaker 1>real midpoint of the week. Let's all try to remember

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<v Speaker 1>to raise a toast to all the time that's yet

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<v Speaker 1>to come. In the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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<v Speaker 1>my Heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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