In America, we’ve done an excellent job learning to work in the evenings and outside of work hours. We’ve mastered the Sunday-night-check-into-and-prep for work but we’re losing the art of going to the movies on Mondays. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the Sunday evening check in, unless all the joy of other pieces of life are crumbling because of mismatched priorities and a shut down of joy on weekdays.

I recently read an article about this fact and I thought the comments in it were worth calling out.

If you’re someone who has learned to work in the evening or outside of work hours, are you also someone who has learned to go to the movies on Monday night? If you’ve mastered one, I hope you’ve mastered the other.

Joy and happiness aren’t a destination. They are things that are here, right now, if we choose to lean into them.

If you’ve learned to apply yourself wholeheartedly to work (and I hope you have!) but forgotten how to make time for what’s important outside of work (“because it’s a work night,” or “because there’s too much to do at home,” or something else), I’d challenge you to re-evaluate.

Life, hobbies, and personal joy aren’t something that only should happen on weekend and we’re certainly not asking people to “Make Time for Fun and Family” only Friday after 5 and before 8am on Monday.

We’re on a mission as a company to help our employees integrate both work and life. To live a fuller and more vibrant life as a result of their careers. Our value about making time for fun and family isn’t about making sure people are 100% shut down from work between certain hours, instead it’s about making time for what’s most meaningful and important each day as it happens – at work and outside of work. Sometimes that’s at 9am on a Tuesday or 1:30pm on a Thursday. It’s about flexing your time and your focus to live a vibrant and fulfilling life.

Make time for fun at work, even during the busiest part of that big initiative.

Grab lunch with someone and get to know them better!

Set up time to do that thing at home you’ve been putting off (or just get it started).

Take the kids to the trampoline park after you’re off.

Cook some s’mores on your stove. Because, why not?

Go see your family. Shut your phone off. Be present.

Or go see that Monday night movie you meant to see last weekend. It doesn’t have to wait until Friday or Saturday.

I think I’ll shut down and finish up my chicken coop tonight. Because, well, it doesn’t have to wait until Saturday and it’s what I’m looking forward to most.

Here’s to making the most of your week, every week!