# Nicholas Bate always writes about Mondays, just quick notes to let you know it's just another day and that we can face it with the same gusto and resilience we face any other.
Those of us who work Monday to Friday get hung up on the start of the week, wish Saturday and Sunday could go on forever, yet there are so many people who do not operate like this. Especially in retail, there are those for whom Monday literally is just another day as they've worked the weekend and, perhaps, get Tuesdays and Thursdays off. The world of work has changed significantly to reflect today's 24/7 society and those of us who still follow the old Monday to Friday pattern should probably be thankful. We have routine, consistency, and two days off in a row which is fast disappearing.
Today's note about Mondays sees Nicholas say:
Some are tougher than others. This will be one of them.
He's not wrong.
This week sees the start of my employer's response to coronavirus. While there has been talk about working from home (in the context of being prepared and ensuring everything works) today begins a move to split certain business functions between different locations so that critical teams aren't all in the same place. If someone in one location gets the virus and spreads it to others then there are still staff elsewhere who will be unaffected.
So, this Monday morning I'm heading to West London, to our primary Disaster Recovery site, to do a job I've not done for something like four years. I have previous experience so have been drafted in to assist.
It's going to be a long, hard day trying to both dredge old things from memory and learn new things on the fly. It was supposed to be all week but I've already got Thursday and Friday off so I've just got to stick it out for three days. Three days of a longer commute, three days of struggling to think on my feet, three days on not getting home until 9:30pm.
But then I've got 5 days away: 5 days to relax, have fun and recover while celebrating my wife's birthday.
Yes, this particular Monday will be tougher than others but needs must. It's a short weeks Nd could be worse so I'll take the little wins wherever they arise.
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# This Monday is getting better after all!
I've since found out that I'm only going to be working in West London for today. A cut off is coming in to effect at midnight tonight meaning that anyone working at the Disaster Recovery site will not be able to re-enter one of the main buildings for the next 12 weeks.
I'm needed at my primary location so can't be isolated off-site.
Nicholas Bate always has such positive things to say about Monday; it is, after all, just another day marked by a single revolution of our planet. Yet, Monday is a construct, an artificial delineation, something upon which we have forced meaning and, in doing so, have come to resent. I've said all this before. Some of us working a traditional five day week resent/fear Monday's because we are not doing something we love, something we are passionate about, and that drags us down. It shouldn't. There were things I wanted to say yesterday, observations I wanted to make, but couldn't bring myself to blog. It's a shame, dare I say a travesty - blogging is something I love and am passionate about but when Monday )and all its connotations) stops me from doing so I feel as though I've lost something inside. I should blog despite and in spite of Monday, make Monday great again! Maybe, that will temper my feelings towards it and help set me up for the week in the right frame of mind. If only blogging was my job. Would I still feel the same?