Since the time I entered management in my mid 20’s, I have always enjoyed Fridays. Not exactly why you may think. Sure, it proceeds the weekend and thus is a harbinger of good things to come. But rather, I welcomed the planned freedom that I used to deliberately cultivate for Fridays.
I saved it as a day in my schedule. I held on to an empty calendar as long as I could. The rest of week, I devoted to day after day, hour after hour meetings, and I didn’t mind running from one to the next without stopping. It worked for me.
But Fridays, they were my own. I never scheduled any regular meetings. If someone tried to, I would feign being busy and get them to move up the meeting or push back to another day. I would do everything I could to deliberately hold my calendar hostage by booking out a few solid hours of unidentified, but “busy” time. Even today, I continue to practice that discipline.
Too many of us expect ourselves to go-go-go constantly. But for real critical thinking, problem solving, future planning, we need some time to process, in peace. That process is best if we can do it alone. Even for outgoing personalities, we all need that quiet time.
From Mon-Thurs., I am committed to giving my all to everyone else, and every other mission. But I’ve learned over the years, that my own sense of self, and my ability to be “giving” out in the world starts to taper off at midnight on a Thursday night.
By Friday, I want to be a hermit and sit inside my shell. Deliberate what went right and wrong this week. I want to wallow in my misery or live in my joy. I want me time. And I want it voraciously, unapologetically.
And most of the time, after a week of sharing / talking / debating, there needs to be a time for strategizing / contemplating / planning. In today’s world, time is required also for meditating.
Yesterday, I spoke to a friend, (who also happens to be a wellness expert), advocate for the power of silent retreats. I’ve seen her after such a retreat, and she was practically glowing! She conveyed that not using our vocal cords keeps our energy fully intact. Just by not talking, we can gain a host of health benefits (see articles below for more details).
Though I cannot imagine attending a 5- or 10-day silent retreat, I am certainly open to taking my me time Fridays to the next level. Imagine if all offices adopted #SilentFridays with no conversations! If not all day, maybe for just a few hours.
How incredible could it be if we could stay in our cocoons and take in everything that we have processed all week and be forced to get our thoughts organized? We could think before presenting the brilliant ideas we think we have to share. We could solve problems before taking them to our peers and management just by this forced time off from conversations (including email). Might be wonderful!
Just the thought of an entire quiet day makes me sigh in relief… Who’s in for #SilentFridays? Leave comments below!
Resources:
The Hidden Benefits of Silence
Will tell. That’s where. Raring or Raroton Center? Electronics equipment. Machine/Electronic parts like you’d find in Home Depot. Is that you, dear? Sending you this message from the year 1994
YES! I remember you Mr. R. How are you? Thanks for hiring me… had a 14 year long career with Wiltel! 😉