The 5:00 p.m. Philosophy

During the week, my regime centers on 5:00 p.m. As I scurry into the office, twelve minutes late, all I can think is, “only nine hours, (minus a lunch), ‘til five.” Noon is a wonderful time, half way to five. Three is the slump, I feel like I’ll never get to five. And, four…four o’clock is glorious, only one hour ‘til five. By the time I hit that finish line, it’s all I can do to limp out of the office. I’m exhausted, I can’t cook, can’t clean, can’t exercise; because after all, I did work all the way until five!

But then, I realized there’s a flaw in this pattern of thinking. Focusing all my mental energy on five, sets my brain up for hibernation. At that time on a weekend, I still have half a tank. There’s no reason to end a weekday at five.

So, now I’m redirecting my focus. While I’ll still be looking forward to five, it’s no longer the finish line, but the starting point for the best time of the day, when I get to kick back with my cat, cook a healthy meal and take my evening walk with Rey.

This is day three, and so far so good, although with the finish line so much later in the day, getting to sleep is becoming a problem.