The art of redesigning your day

It is strange how we endow random time-related benchmarks, such as days of the week, with such deep meaning. In fact, each one has a particular set of associations that has been built over time. These tend to cloud our perception of those days, rather unfairly it must be said. We then prejudge what may transpire, and that is a lost opportunity, even a tragedy of sorts. It is a kind of chronological typecasting, which leads to fatigue, and a dullness in disposition.

Think Mondays, where you are destined to inevitably feel the blues…manic Mondays…mournful Mondays…a day for moaning, and so on.

Then, there are casual Fridays, slumber Sundays and such, at the other end of the spectrum — Days where one is supposed to feel better, as if that can happen at the flick of a switch, or merely because it is culturally demanded.

You get the drift.

But why must that be?

Why this stereotyping? Can’t we look at things differently?

We certainly can.

While the pandemic, subsequent lockdowns, and the present norm of working from home, have been undoubted disruptors of the status quo, they can just provide a tipping point for this issue.

What with people largely working from their residences, and the sense of having to return to the rat race on the road, offset at least for a bit. That lack of physically having to leave home, coupled with working days and weekends now seamlessly merging into a state of sameness, probably sets up a chance to infuse week days with hitherto unprecedented connotations. The age-old perceptions are fading into the sunset, and this situation must be leveraged.

There is an opportunity to reconfigure Monday as ‘Motivation on day’

Tuesday could assume the proportions of ‘Put your talent to use day’, and so forth.

These may not be traditionally accepted definitions. There could be other versions added to the mix as well, based on one’s own imagination.

But that’s precisely the point!

Each day is what one chooses to make of it. There has been no precedent set, except in our own mind. There are no rules to follow, one makes them up as one goes along. Every day is a blank slate, to be written on in whatever manner one deems appropriate. Each day presents an opportunity to a pen a new page in one’s own story. Only one can, and should decide, what goes into it.

Here is an impromptu framework to get started on this. The days can be designed along three conceptual areas as follows:

1-Using alliteration: There is great rhythm to be found in alliterating things. This process adds an acoustic zing to the nomenclature and provides momentum straight off the blocks. Think of ‘Wonderful Wednesdays’ or ‘Satisfying Saturdays’. It’s easy to employ and keeps one thinking about the next adjective one will be using.

2-Coining rhymes: Rhyming takes us back to school times, and a more energised attitude. It adds a song and verse to conduct. Trying to pen an appropriate rhyme to give the day a new meaning can really make for an enjoyable start to proceedings. For instance, asking oneself ‘is it Friday?’ or ‘is it give dreams another try day?’ could infuse the day with fierce ambition.

3-Playing on words: Anything with play involved just has to be fun. Here, one can contort words into delightful new meanings, which can make one look at the same twenty-four hours with new eyes. Case in point, Thursday may become ‘give yourself a bigger thrust day’, Sunday may cue ‘time to have some more fun day’. And the games could carry on from there.

To conclude, it has been long since days have been saddled with perceptions that have been forced upon us. In these times, where it’s important to feel a sense of control on at least some things, deciding what flavour one’s day must have, is a decision we have to wrest back into our own sanitised hands. It may represent a small act in terms of moving things towards brighter times, but as in the case of all great endeavours, small steps go a long way.

The writer, Vinay Kanchan is an author, brand storyteller and innovation catalyst. His books include ‘Sportivity’, ‘Lessons from the Playground’ &’The Madness Starts at 9’.