I work shift work, and through this I have encountered the phenomenon that is the feel of a day. For years I had Tuesday and Wednesday off, then for a brief period it was Sunday and Monday, and then I was bumped to Monday and Tuesday. All those days were close enough that everything felt the same for me, more or less, but now it is much different.

Two weeks ago I got Thursday and Friday off, so now my weekend happens at the opposite end from where it did before, and I am still slowly getting used to that. Not sure how long this will take, but I am happy to find out because I finally have a shift that has part of a weekend off.

As a shift worker I always know what day of the week it is, but I also always know what day it is in relation to me and my days off. Saturday is Monday, Wednesday is Friday, and everything in between matches up accordingly.

Having Tuesdays and Wednesdays off for years gave my week a definitive feel, one that I apparently will get sorted out at some point in time. My first week with my new days off had my Thursday feeling like a Tuesday, let me explain that better by going on a tangent here…

I am a creature of habit. I like to sit in the same spot in the lunch room at work, I make a similar lunch each day, I have a set path I take to work, my routine is pretty steady when it comes to days I work, my routine when I get home is usually the same from day to day, basically I like to get used to some things. I suppose that is what happens with my days off, I plan my errands for those days, and I plan things around those errands as well.

For example, on my first day off I might go to the store and get almost all the groceries I will need for the week. I do laundry every couple weeks, and I plan in the way I always drag out folding everything and putting it away. Things of this nature apparently allowed my days off to take on a certain feel, an expectation if you will.

Flash forward to the present and my new days off, I still can’t get used to what day of the week it is. I mentally know that it will be Saturday when I wake up, but it doesn’t feel right when I think about it. Saturday was my Wednesday for a long time, and then it became my Thursday when I went to Monday Tuesdays last year.

You might be shaking your head at me and wondering if I will ever start making sense.

So, I ask you to think about how your week feels.

Are you one of those lucky people that has the actual weekend off?

Do you hate Mondays?

Do you love Fridays?

Does Wednesday have a feel, can you tell you’re halfway through your week?

Well, I kind of hate Saturdays because they are my Monday.

I kind of love Wednesdays because they are my Friday.

I dig Mondays because they are my Wednesday and I can feel that I am halfway through my week.

I remember hearing that things take about 21 days to become a new habit, or to break out of an old one. So I imagine I will get used to this soon enough, but for now it is still throwing me way off, but I really like the versatility of my new days off, so I will keep them.