Think about your schedule last week. How was it? Pretty crazy? If it was, did you ever look toward this week and think, “Things will be more manageable next week. I just need to get through this one.”
If you did, you’re in plentiful company. You see, most people when asked will say that though their current schedule is pretty jammed up and it seems like there is more to do than time do it, they assume the next week will ease up a bit.
And then that “next” week turns into “this” week and it’s the same story. “Well this week turned out to be really intense after all, but I see a light at the end of the tunnel next week.”
Right. That light is an oncoming bus filled with new deadlines, my friend.
For most people I know and everyone I work with, light days are the exception. Easy weeks happen infrequently. And yet people still look at extreme busy-ness as the exception when it’s actually the norm.
The problem is in unrealistic expectations. When you create the expectation that next week will be easier and it rarely if ever is, you set yourself up for disappointment.
So the fix is in changing your mindset. Assume that every week will be busy and full. Then when you have a week that is uncharacteristically light, it will be a happy surprise and you can celebrate by starting the weekend a little early.
Because, hey, it’s a light week!
Cheers to realistic thinking and the occasional 4:00 Friday happy hour.