On Not Living For The Weekend

I've never been someone who has spent my whole life living for the weekend. I always try to make the most of everyday, whether it's a busy Monday or an exciting Saturday. But recently, I found myself starting to say things like "thank God it's Friday" and "it's all down hill to the weekend from here". Wednesdays took on a new importance as the half day point for the week, and perhaps most awful was the fact that I started to get the Sunday night fear, a feeling I haven't battled with for a good 3 or 4 years. I don't really know how it happened. Maybe it was the fact that my weekend plans were so exciting that weekdays felt a little bit limp in comparison. Maybe it's because work got a bit more stressful than usual and I was spending more time than I would like with my head buried in an Excel spreadsheet. Or maybe I'd just found myself in a bit of a rut. Either way, it wasn't fun and I knew I had to shake myself out of it pronto. Because the thing is, life is way too short to spend 80% of our time dreaming about the weekend.

Which is why for the last couple of weeks I've been doing whatever it takes to shake those weekdays up. I've been saying yes to more midweek events and dinner invitations and making the most of these lovely summer evenings. I've been making my lunch hours more fun by booking nail appointments or heading out for some food with colleagues. And I've been trying to be more spontaneous - joining Sam at the gigs I'd usually miss or heading into town for a little breakfast date before work.

This spontaneity was how we found ourself on a train to York at 6pm on Tuesday evening. We had so much wedding and house admin that we really should have headed home and done, but the sun was shining and we had a voucher for a restaurant that we needed to use. So instead, we hopped on the train and spent the evening wandering around a different city in the sunshine, eating delicious food and generally just having the best time.

There was something about the fact that it was a Tuesday that made it feel so much more decadent to be eating steak and drinking champagne and watching the sunset. We got to bed later than we usually would on a weekday, but I woke up yesterday feeling refreshed and energised and ready to take on whatever the day threw at me. Having some proper time out with Sam amidst a very busy period of life was just what the doctor ordered, and we both vowed to make weekday dates a regular occurrence.

And the added benefit of course, is that I haven't spent the entire week counting down until the weekend (when the sun will have most likely disappeared anyway). Instead, I've managed to have a productive couple of days and feel like I've had lots of fun too. Because they don't have to be mutually exclusive, do they? Just because it's a work day doesn't mean that everything has to be all doom and gloom. We can make the most of everyday.

Are you someone who lives for the weekend or do you try and make the most of your weekdays too? What are your top tips for getting the most out of the working week?