Here I go again, Team, declaring more Mags Holidays. As most of you know, my made-up holiday on December 26th, Fend for Yourself Day, was motivated by my complete and utter exhaustion after the Thanksgiving-to-Christmas stampede. I needed a day where everyone in my family and my life knew to not ask anything of me for one entire day. Here in the month of February, my new do-less day is to honor the horrible feeling I get trying to reenter my life after pretty much every long weekend. I somehow feel like I’m expected to accomplish in four days what consistently takes me five days to complete. What the hell? Honestly, friends, am I the only one who is completely out of sorts in the beginning of a week that starts on a Tuesday? I’ve decided that, in honor of this rotten feeling, I will be implementing Take it Easy Tuesdays (TET). TET can be celebrated the day after any of the five (yes, five—or more depending on the year) federal Monday holidays in a calendar year, as a dedication to practicing self-kindness amidst our busy schedules. 

Why Stop There: Mags’ Weekday Resets

And then I decided, why stop there? I can also celebrate:

• Mellow Monday – when I’ve just returned home from traveling late on a Sunday night.
• Wind Down Wednesday or Earl Grey Thursday – when I’m even more perplexed because, for some unforeseen reason, I’ve been thrown a midweek day off to majorly mess with my motivation motor! And finally…
• Fuhgeddaboudit Friday – pretty much every Friday after Thanksgiving—am I right?

Because I’m someone who tends to be a little slow on the uptake, I continually slip into a web of denial thinking that I can do everything I usually do on Mondays and Tuesdays on that return-to-real-life Tuesday. Every time, Team, I think, There’s got to be a way that I can work, get to the grocery store, run errands, do laundry, go through emails and paperwork, and pay bills on Tuesday. It’s not going to happen, Mags! Tuesday doesn’t have time for that food shopping, errand and laundry crap. The week is already on its way, sister! You simply have to revamp how you approach your day, and maybe even your entire week. 

Revamping Your Approach for a Balanced Week

Declaring this day-after-days-off a “Mags Holiday” offers this lagging lady an opportunity to ease in a bit more. I can look at Take it Easy Tuesday as a day to be super gentle to myself and not schedule any extra obligations that day. Of course, there are always going to be things I have to do—but I don’t need to invite chaos into my life by generating extra intentions on these transition days, or try to fit into one day what always takes me two days. Naming the day TET reminds me to stick to the “have to” list and not go anywhere near the “wouldn’t it be nice if I…” list. I can also simplify my life by planning dinner out of the freezer, not getting back to people immediately, rejiggering laundry day, and not planning doctor’s appointments or the people to come and fix the internet that day.

Inviting TeamConfessioners to Take it Easy Tuesday

Are you with me here, Team? Mark your calendars. This Monday is President’s Day, which makes this coming Tuesday our first quinquennial (yes, that’s a real word), Take it Easy Tuesday. While we won’t be able to relax as much as we can on Fend for Yourself Day, we can invite ourselves to approach the day and week with more mercy. This mission reminds me of the post Travel the Re-entry—it’s just another reminder that I don’t have to have the same expectations for myself all the time. But for this micromanaging perfectionist martyr, I’m not going to remember that wisdom unless I declare it. So here I go: Hear ye! Hear ye! I declare this coming Tuesday, and the many many more Tuesdays succeeding Federal Monday holidays, Take it Easy Tuesday.

Hip, hip hooray! Take it easy out there, Team! 

Next week I’ll pop back to talk about love again, because I have one more thing I’d like to touch on. And it might even be a post that will be helpful for you to share with someone you care about who doesn’t take great care of themselves. Be sure to check back in next week. Enjoy the new holiday, everyone, and see you next time, TeamConfessioners. Do you have any special days that you routinely celebrate? I’d love to hear about them in the comment section below this post on my website.