I hate weekends because there is no stock market.
—Rene Rivkin, Australian stockbroker, entrepreneur.
A few months ago on a Monday morning, I updated my Facebook status with the following: “I absolutely love Mondays. Not so thrilled about Fridays.” I anticipated some lighthearted criticism from my friends, but I didn’t think that my sanity would be questioned. One of my neighbors commented, “You are crazy, man.” I didn’t take offense, though. As shocking and direct as his comment was, he had a point.
While most people understand why I love Mondays, they don’t understand why I dislike Fridays. They think that everyone loves Fridays. Even if you work for yourself or run a business, Friday is the day that ends the arduous workweek, signaling leisure time for going to parties, sleeping in, working out, running errands, spending time with family, and doing many other things that are fun. How could you not like Fridays, right?
The joy of Friday is ingrained in our culture. For example, countless songs are about Friday and its happy significance. Perhaps the most popular is “Friday on My Mind” by the Easybeats, an Australian rock-and-roll band from the 1960s. The lyrics of the song include this sentiment, “Nothing else that bugs me more than workin’ for the rich man.” For both the writer of this lyric and millions of disgruntled workers, Friday represents freedom, albeit a temporary one, from the man. Likewise, we have expressions like T.G.I.F. (Thank God/Goodness It’s Friday), after which a popular chain of restaurants is named. Happy hours are especially lively on Fridays. Anything less than praise for Fridays and all they represent is darn near sacrilegious. For some, Friday is more sacred than the Sabbath.
Well, the Friday worshippers will just have to burn me at the stake, because I am the anti-Friday. Fridays are my hell. I am especially tetchy on that day, and my morale is low. Sometimes I even go several hours without eating. I am exhausted trying to motivate team members who have their mind on dashing out of the office. I am simply a depressed mess.
I find that other entrepreneurs are like me on Fridays for numerous reasons; three are common. First, Friday is in large part a useless day. Employee productivity goes way down. According to a survey by Accountemps, a staffing and temp agency, Fridays are the least productive day of the workweek by far. No surprise here. Second, it’s payday—for everybody else. There’s no stress like having trouble meeting payroll. While everyone is feeling like a fat cat, you feel like a skinny dog. Third, you have to wait an entire two days to get anything done. Most entrepreneurs are always working. That’s the life we choose and love, but it’s especially frustrating when you have those same unrealistic and demanding expectations for everyone else.
Friday might as well be “Cryday.” And there is no happy hour, just “unhappy hour.” Such are the lives of entrepreneurs, full of strange dichotomies: We like Mondays while everyone else likes Fridays; we like to work while everyone else plays; we write checks while everyone else gets paid. Don’t get me wrong. I am not complaining. In fact, I think my Facebook friend was right. I am crazy. But I like being crazy—crazy rich, that is, even if it means hating Fridays.
