Stay Disciplined on Tuesdays

Once during class, my high school social studies teacher gave a monologue about the midweek boredom that many people experience. He theorized that Tuesday is the worst day of the week. No one would choose Friday or the other two weekend days to be the worst. Obviously. That leaves Monday through Thursday, and from there it’s a simple process of elimination. Wednesday is the hump day and marks the perseverance to the middle of the week, and by Thursday you are almost to the weekend. Monday is decent because you still have some of the energy and excitement from the weekend that hasn't quite rubbed off yet. Guess what that leaves? You know it: Tuesday.

For whatever reason, that random spiel from my teacher stuck in my brain for years. After several years of college, I concluded the same realization: Tuesday is the worst day of the week. I found myself with the lowest amount of energy and the least amount of things going on, which left Tuesday to be nothing but an average day. Not much changed with a full-time job, either, because I still found Tuesdays to be a tad out of touch with the other 6 days of the week. It was like the black sheep of the family: it belongs, but you’re not sure what to do with it.

You may or may not agree with me. I don't think it really matters. The point is that we all have a day or days during our week that are mundane. While life can be incredibly adventurous and exciting, we have all gotten sucked into the culture of boredom and purposelessness for a few hours. But getting in touch with your Tuesdays is one of the most important keys to living a disciplined, purposeful life. This is because the most important and joyful moments in your life are not built from the motivational start or the finished product: they are in the middle.

What most people see is the start of a goal and the finished product. They see you write “run a marathon” or “start a business” on your whiteboard and then they see you cross the finish line or buy your final product. What they don’t see is your hours of dedication on regular old Tuesdays. Because hard work on a Tuesday is the essence of discipline. It’s what separates achievers from believers, and allows people to truly change their craft. It’s the journey to the destination, and the part that matters the most, because the bulk of that journey is staying disciplined on your path to your goal. It’s the part you look back on and are most grateful for.

I’m not sure if you have a big whiteboard goal right now, or if you’re trying to figure out how to fill your time each Tuesday. Either way, the important part is staying disciplined, because if you can do it on the worst day of the week, you can do it on your best day, too. Stay disciplined on Tuesdays, and the other 6 days shine a little brighter.