To most of the world, the best day of the week is Friday (because the weekend is coming), Saturday (because there’s no work), or Sunday (because there’s no work).
Here and there you might see other days make it into the “best day” discussion, but those three definitely lead the pack.
I know they were my favorite days when I was working.
You know what never gets mentioned as a favorite day? Monday. Why? Because it’s the first day of a week worth of daily grinding that’s often very painful. That’s why Monday is almost universally cursed.
Yes, it may get a break here and there when a holiday falls on a Monday, but that’s it. It’s hated otherwise.
I never really noticed how much Monday was disliked until recently. And I never realized how Monday is the absolute best day in retirement until I actually retired. Let me tell you about both points of view.
Everyone’s Hating on Monday
I was a Monday hater for decades for the reasons stated above, but I didn’t realize the extent of the hatred until we recently got a Spotify account.
My daughter signed us up and since we live in the same house, all four of us can share the premium version for $15 a month ($5 for my daughter, $5 for my wife and me, and $5 for our son).
If you don’t have Spotify, you do not know what you are missing. It KILLS iTunes and that clunky, hard-to-manage program Apple considers a good interface. Spotify is everything I wanted iTunes to be and it isn’t — namely, easy to use and manage.
Anyway, as I was reliving my high school and college days on Spotify, searching for songs I loved then that are now considered “oldies”, I noticed that there was a lot of hatred for Mondays. (Search for “Monday” in Spotify and you’ll see what I mean — an endless number of songs and most of them are hating on Monday.)
I thought I’d share a few of my favorites with you.
I Don’t Like Mondays
Ok, just come out and say it — you don’t like Mondays.
That’s what this group did!
Oh, oh, oh tell me why
I don’t like Mondays
Tell me why
I don’t like Mondays
Tell me why
I don’t like Mondays
I want to shoot
The whole day down
Ok, we get it. You don’t like Mondays (you said it three times and that’s only one chorus).
It’s so bad that you want to shoot the whole day down.
Kind of violent, but it gets your point across.
Manic Mondays
Maybe the previous group hates Mondays because they are too hectic. That’s certainly the case for this next group.
In fact, it’s not that Mondays are simply hectic, they are MANIC!!!
It’s just another manic Monday
I wish it was Sunday
‘Cause that’s my fun day
My I don’t have to run day
It’s just another manic Monday
I know how they feel. Sunday is one of the best days. Monday is the worst. I felt exactly the same when I worked.
Monday Monday
This song actually starts off on a good note but then goes downhill quickly.
Monday, Monday
So good to me
Monday morning
It was all I hoped it would be
Hmmmm. Sounds promising. But just when all is roses and rainbows, this happens:
Monday, Monday
Can’t trust that day
Monday, Monday
Sometimes it just turns out that way
Every other day
Every other day
Every other day of the week is fine (fine), yeah
But whenever Monday comes
But whenever Monday comes
You can find me crying all of the time
That’s just cold. EVERY OTHER DAY of the week is fine? Really?
Tuesday is all of a sudden a hero simply because Monday stinks so much? Wow. That’s hitting below the belt.
Goodbye Mondays
Here’s one you probably haven’t heard. I know it because my son and I play the Fifa video game and it was on the soundtrack a couple years ago.
6AM I’m dressed this mind
won’t rest this 9 to 5
it gets the best
it sucks my heart
it sucks my soul
it washes my brain right down the plug hole
and i can’t let it bother me
won’t let it bother me
I can’t let it bother me
and i can’t let it swallow me
won’t let it swallow me
I can’t let this swallow me
so goodbye mondays
goodbye mondays
Oh goodbye mondays
Hahahahahahahahahaha! I remember that feeling so well. The alarm goes off early on Monday morning and you think, “Dang! I have five days of pain and misery until I get to the weekend.”
Best Day of Early Retirement
But as you’ve heard me say a few times in my updates, early retirement (or any retirement for that matter) turns the “best day of the week rankings” on its head.
Monday now becomes the undisputed favorite day of the week!
Why is that? Because Monday is quiet. And it heralds in five awesome days of quiet.
The gym is quiet, the restaurants are quiet, the grocery store is quite, the movies are quiet. EVERYTHING is quiet on every weekday. And when Monday arrives I know I have five days full of peace.
It’s quiet, of course, because everyone else is at work! And as a result, they aren’t where I am. It’s…so…quiet. 馃槈
Now that’s not to say the other days stink. They are good as well. Very enjoyable. But Saturday and Sunday are less enjoyable relative to other days as they are more crowded. In addition, they just don’t seem as “special” anymore.
So consider this my ode to Monday — the undisputed best day in retirement!
photo credit: Gamma Man Aren’t we all? via photopin (license)
Actually the Boontown Rats song is about a shooting at a school.
You can read the story here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Don't_Like_Mondays
Yikes! Did you see why the lady conducted the shooting on that day?
“I don’t like Mondays. This livens up the day.”
Then the guy who wrote the song responded:
“I was doing a radio interview in Atlanta with [Johnnie] Fingers and there was a telex machine beside me. I read it as it came out. Not liking Mondays as a reason for doing somebody in is a bit strange. I was thinking about it on the way back to the hotel and I just said ‘Silicon chip inside her head had switched to overload’. I wrote that down. And the journalists interviewing her said, ‘Tell me why?’ It was such a senseless act. It was the perfect senseless act and this was the perfect senseless reason for doing it. So perhaps I wrote the perfect senseless song to illustrate it. It wasn’t an attempt to exploit tragedy.”
Ugh.
I would also add that when you’re self-employed, Monday is the best day of the week too. Kids are in school, you can have time to work in an uninterrupted setting, and because you’re not necessarily up against weekday deadlines, then Saturdays and Sundays don’t feel like as much as a reprieve as they do for other people with typical 9-to-5s.
You also alluded to this in your post, but as parents (especially of younger children), weekends are a lot of work! Driving them to activities, playing “Cruise Director” (I probably do that too much!), and cleaning up after meals! 馃檪
I agree–I like Mondays!
This is great! I had no idea how many songs express society’s collective hatred for Monday’s. It’s funny, in terms of my day job, I hate Sundays more than Mondays because of the anticipatory dread. But I also now look forward to Mondays because it’s one of the best days for financial blog posts! When I’m retired, I think Monday will quickly jump up the ranks to one of my favorite days of the week. Perspective. 馃檪
I knew all of these except the last one. I actually don’t dread mondays even as an employee, but I get why so many people do. To quote office space, “it looks like someone has a case of the Mondays”. Your right about quiet though. I work for a fairly flexible employer so occasionally I step out mid day for some appointment or other. It never ceases to amaze me how open the roads and stores are at that time.
Can’t tell if I’m happy for your or hate you right now 馃檪 Either way I cannot wait to reclaim my Mondays!
Great post. Really looking forward to living off peak
The only reason I dislike Mondays is because the whole family leaves. But, I do get more accomplished on Mondays, that’s for sure. I look forward to the day Alan doesn’t have to head out to the 9-5!
LOVE spotify!!! We still do the free version, which means we have ads and less control about what we listen to and when, but it’s still great! Maybe I should consider the paid subscription…
Check into the student version. $15 a month and shared by the entire family.
It helps for us that we divide the costs three ways — you’d probably have to pay the whole thing yourself.
Since my layoff last year, I’ve been able to go out and do things during the week. The movies, mall, and restaurants etc. Its nicer to be out at off-peak times. Much more mellow and relaxing and easier to enjoy things. With restaurants, you are able to go a little earlier so you can beat the crowds. I used to hate Mondays too, but not now.
BTW, I’m going out to see a movie early this afternoon. LOVE Mondays!!!! 馃槈
“A lot of people don’t know this, but if Mama Cass and Karen Carpenter shared a sandwich, they’d both be alive today.” – Allan Havey
I have no plans of retiring form the workforce any time soon, but this post made me think. I am definitely among those who count Mondays as the worst day of the week, and I can’t really give you any good reason other than “it’s Monday.”
It’s probably time to start reclaiming Mondays, whatever that will entail. Perhaps I’ll make it a running thing over at Abovare, to try and turn my impression of Mondays around. I should probably start with trying to identify why I don’t like Mondays, and then work from there…
Anyways, thanks for the inspiration, ESI 馃檪
Meh mondays are just another day… 266 mondays to go if everything stays on track… After doing over 1700+ soon it will be pulling into the station and they will b saying saying “wait until the ride comes to a complete halt.” But it is too early to start counting.
Sounds like you and NOFX are on the same page!
“I’m gonna tell you what I really think I like about Mondays
Cause they feel like Saturdays
When you don’t gotta go to work
Every day is a holiday
….
I really never liked Fridays (I don’t)
I can’t do what I wanna do (Like to)
Sold out at the movies (Go out)
Can’t eat at the restaurants (Weekends)
Everybody want a good time
But the bar’s full of cigarette smoke
I think I’ll stay home
I think I’ll wait for Monday” –“Thank God It’s Monday”
I used to work a Tuesday-Saturday schedule, and loved having Mondays off. I’d also work at least one night during the week, so having the morning/afternoon to myself *almost* felt like a day off. That’s not quite the same as early retirement, but it did give me a taste of the good life!
By the way, if you have amazon prime, prime music is included and just as good as Spotify, Quick math tells me it’s a better deal too!
Do you know if it can be shared among family members? We have four of us on Spotify.
I retired last July and realized recently that I really love Mondays now too. I actually kind of dread weekends and holidays because everyplace is so crowded. Spring break is my least favorite week of the year. All the kids out of school the same week, you cant go anywhere. Go back to your jobs people! Haha!
P.S. I’m 39 and get all the same strange looks and comments that you do when I tell people I’m retired
Ha! At 39 I bet you REALLY get the strange looks and comments! 馃槈
Monday is pretty darned good, now. Of course, so are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday! Saturday and Sunday are now the hectic days as all the non-retired people try to cram everything into two busy days!
And then it’s Monday again.
Aaaahhh…