Ah, Friday. Friday is the day that everyone looks forward to, especially if you work. Then it’s the day that ushers in the weekend, time to relax. For many it’s a sign of comfort, a sign of a breath they have been waiting to be released–finally! But wait, let us look at Friday as the way to the other week, not as a way to get rid of the week. Friday is a mental-health asset to society.
The Unspoken Power of Fridays
While Fridays are depicted as the day that workers start dreaming of the weekend, what if the latter is perceived as the day to rest with the upcoming week in mind? It is the best time to look back at the past week and begin planting for a better week in the coming days. This isn’t about writing to-do lists or getting yourself into the productivity mindset and forcing yourself to be productive. It’s more about making a mental shift—associating Friday with calming the mind and easing the week’s stiffness in preparation for the later weekdays.
Pause, Don’t Push
Rather than making it the day to complete all the last tasks or finish all the projects, suggest stopping for a while. Ask yourself:
What are my stressors this week?
What brought pleasure or comfort into my life?
Such a reflective space enables you to give credit to both the dark and bright sides of the week and, enable a sense of closure. It seems like a less invasive approach towards masterminding one’s psychological domain, bookmarking the end of one week and bookmarking the beginning of the other. No rush. No pressure.
This kind of abuse can follow no proper time schedule or observe time periods of just weekends for mental health.
As much as Fridays are considered the day which ushers in the weekend, why should we only stress mental health during the weekend and not throughout the week? Let us not spend Saturday and Sunday resting from stress, but let the Friday prompt to interject little breaks of serenity into the week. It’s all about moderation–not about the recovering from burnout. Because having a lighter and intentional state of mind about the weekend comes with knowing you have the Monday-Friday mentally though part taken care of (or re-calibrated).
It truly is so much more empowering to ask, “Why not find tiny pockets of time on Friday to relax?” Be it enjoying your coffee slower in the morning, going out to take a fast walk, or taking a deep breath before beginning the next activity–all these help reset your body’s nervous system.
Emotional resilience in next week
Breaking up the week into zones and having specific time checkpoints can be another way of working on the students’ Emotional Intelligence skills, with Fridays being the checkpoint in this case. For the week has not been very friendly to our health, it is time to do it now, especially on Fridays. Which behaviors can you bring into your life to build the routine that positively affects you? That doesn’t have to mean fancy. It can be calling a friend for 5-10 minutes or writing in the journal for 5-10 minutes, or just allowing your body to take a break.
When Friday is not just an opportunity to fantasize about putting our brains to work by being aware that Friday is a Friday, we are, in fact, predisposing them to the next working week. Instead of waking up on Monday with stress dripping down our cheeks, we can wake up with our feet firmly set on the ground.
A Small Change in Directions Concerning Mental Health
Fridays don’t necessarily mean that for most of the week, you have been restricted to work and then, suddenly, you’re free. In that case, they can serve as a helpful hint that treatment for mental disorders is not a one day, two days, or in this case, a Saturday, Sunday affair. Mental wellness is a slow ongoing rhythm where Friday has a significant role in shifting from work mode to life mode.
