What’s So Terrific about Tuesdays?

I spent the better part of my life with a calendar so crammed that there was little margin to relish the life I was scheduling. I carried my burden like a badge of honor, belonging to the club that boasted of their busyness.

When my nest emptied, I thought my schedule would get lighter. But that didn’t happen. My days and evenings and weekends were as full as ever. Every week I would expect the next week to be lighter. To have a little more down time. But the hours of each day were consumed with events and obligations and e-mail. And my over-committed life was justified with the regular approval ratings that I received.

I was proud of myself when I began to schedule some rest and relaxation. An annual spa trip, disconnected vacations, and slowly taking my weekends back. But it wasn’t until Tuesdays became terrific that I made a difference in my sense of overcrowded calendars.

Tuesdays became terrific because I blocked them on my calendar with the label “Terrific Tuesday.” It was public on my corporate calendar, so no one would dare schedule an evening teleconference over it. My husband, who keeps his calendar only in his brain, kept me accountable when I tried to squeeze something in after work on Tuesdays.

Tuesdays became terrific because I said they were. What did I do to make them terrific? Kept them free. We might go out and eat but not feel rushed. We might cook at home together but enjoying the experience rather than hammering out efficient nutrition. We might play a card game. We might ride bicycles. We might go to bed at 7:30pm. It wasn’t an official date night because those come with expectations. It was a free night with low expectations. It was margin created in the middle of our weekly calendar. It was deliciously unscheduled. It was terrific.

My ‘Terrific Tuesdays’ made me realize a couple things. First, much of my busyness was made up of stuff to prove my worth. I was a doer because doing had always brought me kudos. From parents. From teachers. From bosses. When Solomon was in the middle of his philosophical rant about how meaningless life is, he said this:

                So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this! [Ecc 9:7, NLT]

So on Tuesday nights I gave myself permission not to accomplish anything, but to just enjoy the quiet life. Apparently God approves of us enjoying His gifts.

The second thing I realized is you have to create margin.  Block time for it. But don’t just assume it will happen when you have more time. Few good things just happen. Bad things just happen. Good things usually require some effort. So go do it. Block time for your “Terrific Tuesday” now. Yours might be ‘Marvelous Monday” or “Wonderful Wednesday,” but block it, keep it, and enjoy it.