I read somewhere (I have forgotten where) that Tuesday is the most productive day of the week. Now certainly, especially lacking my source, I have no idea how productivity was measured, but there's something that feels very true about this. (Except for those six months where I had six conference calls on Tuesday. Unless we count telling everyone about my progress as productivity.)
So, I am noticing a thing in my weeks. Monday I head into the week ready to start again, check things, get going, and probably work late. Usually around five thirty or so, my desire to work late has been overtaken by my fierce desire to take a nap, get a snack, go for a walk, or really do anything else. (Sometimes I overcome this, but we are talking in generalities.)
Tuesday, I go, go, go. I send many emails. I check on things. Wednesday people have started to respond to all my Monday Tuesday stuff and I recap and check in, and remember that Monday or Tuesday I promised something or other and have not even looked at that even though it's right here on the post it in front of me. In other words, Wednesday I start to freak out. Thursday I wake up already running through my list, not quite sure how it's Thursday already, how did that happen? And I start to wrangle my in box and take control of the to do list. And Friday, by Friday I have found some zen. I will accomplish what I can accomplish and the rest will happen when it happens.
When I switched to this role I met with my mentor on Fridays and she said I was always very calm and I told her that was partly because by Friday I had just moved past some (not all) of the stress and felt a little more aware of what had happened, needed to happen, and was just going to happen later.
So, as I break this week from my normal routine I am reminded, that in addition to the time away from the day job environment, and time to see other things and other people, there is enormous usefulness in simply changing up the pattern of one's week.