Nine to Five Rat Race

It's crazy how fast the work week goes by, and I always wonder if there's any point to the weekends at all. I always start looking forward to the weekend around Thursday and Friday, since those are the last two days of the week, and that's when I am the most tired. Then the weekend comes, I sleep late, don't hardly get anything done, and on Sunday I feel overwhelmed with a multitude of tasks. Then, on Sunday evening I'm gripy and hard to get along with because on Monday the whole thing starts all over again. Sound familiar?

Well, I've been trying to find ways of how to deal better with this daily grind, short of taking off work. Yes, it feels nice to do that, but I'd rather save my vacations / sick days for something special, like when I'm really sick or when I get a wild hair and want to hop over to Vegas. Besides, there's no reason to acquire a bad habit, right? No, I had to find other reasons of how to cope with this problem. I consulted with my friends first.

One of them works in a cosmetic industry. She works ridiculously long hours and is also getting her second Master's degree in the evenings. She said that if I just let the days sort of blend into each other, that feeling of desperation tends to disappear. I tried this technique and it seems to work some. It just about takes the edge off, so I can concentrate on my work.

Another thing that also seems to work for me is that I've started pretending that every day is Monday. That way I know that I've rested a little over the weekend, my mind is clear, and I don't need to think about calling in sick. This technique works only for so long, however, until I tire of daily Mondays.

The third technique is my favorite, but unfortunately it is the most costly one. I call it "fix-on-the-net-after-work" technique. Let's say you're overwhelmed with a major project at work, and it takes you a full week of planning, implementing, testing, and God knows what else. After stressful work week, I give myself a pat on the back for a job well done by shopping online. My favorite stuff to buy from is Etsy.com, where they sell all things handmade, and also Amazon.com, since I am a sucker for books. Yes, I know, this is probably a pretty childish approach to rewards, but I think it's okay, as long as you keep it within a reasonable price range, let's say under twenty bucks per month, or so.

So, that's my little cheating system to deal with the daily grindstone. Vacations are a life saver, of course, so I try to make sure I get at least 2-3 weeks a year to play. So, try some of the above tricks. What do you have to loose?