You know how a lot of people like to book their birthday off work? Well here’s my advice which I truly believe to be golden – DON’T book your birthday off work, instead book off the day AFTER your birthday.
There are a number of reasons for this, but the first and most obvious is that, let’s be honest here, the night before a day off is generally more enjoyable than the actual day off itself. Similar to the ‘Friday Feeling’ (which is perhaps the most joyous part of the weekend) it’s all about the anticipation, the knowing you don’t have to be anywhere the next day. It changes everything and your whole evening feels different.
Even being at work is better knowing you have the next day off and when you’re driving, walking, cycling or commuting home that evening you can’t help but feel elated at the thought of a whole evening ahead with no sandwiches to make, no rush trips to Asda because you don’t have any cereal bars and most importantly (so effing important) no alarm to set!
Your actual day off is nice of course and what a super treat not having your alarm beeping angrily at you at 5.45am (as mine does Mon – Fri). But as the day creeps on, whatever you’re doing, you can’t help but occasionally glance at the clock with a slight sense of impending doom. You start to wonder how many emails await you tomorrow or how many hours are left before the alarm gets angry again.
It’s not that your day off isn’t pleasurable, it’s just that the vibe – for lack of a better word – doesn’t ever seem to really compare with the free and easy feeling you felt the night before where everything laid ahead of you still. The whole night your own and the world your LOBSTER.
So that’s why I say book the day off after your birthday. What could be more of a treat than travelling home from work on your birthday, feeling excited, happy and relaxed about a no hassle evening where you can go to bed as late as you want and drink as much Pinot as you can handle. If you have your ‘birthday day’ off work then all you’re really doing is filling a massive egg timer with sand and waiting for that inevitable “shit I’ve got to go to work tomorrow” feeling to kick in.
Plus, if you work with nice people like I’ve generally been lucky enough to do, you’ll be made a fuss of in the office anyway. Birthdays were a big deal at the place I used to work and you’d walk in to a desk laden with balloons, confetti, cards, wine, more wine, presents and maybe a bit more wine. Usually lunch out with the girls or even a Dominoes in the staff kitchen.
Either way a birthday at work should be a relatively enjoyable day and no-one will give you much work to do anyway. Even management will feel slightly awkward and illogically guilty when they see the penis shaped balloon sellotaped to your PC – they don’t want to be the bad guys who require you to do actual work.
So basically there it is and you can thank me later. Get up early on your birthday with a bit more adrenaline and gaiety than usual – because obviously, it’s your birthday. Treat yourself to a special breakfast maybe, like a whole tube of Pringles or five jam donuts. Open your cards and hear your phone buzz with well-wishers and a Papa John’s discount code. Get to work, still feeling happier than usual. Maybe have something special for lunch like a whole block of Cathedral City Extra Mature Cheddar and then…. well then you just feel so happy because it’s your birthday and…
YOU KNOW YOU HAVE THE NEXT DAY OFF WORK!!!
emmakwall (explains it all) 
This…this is brilliant. I can’t believe I’ve never thought of this. Part of the appeal of being a teacher is I have a summer birthday. But before I was a teacher? Oh my gosh…this would have been incredible. I love it. And if I ever get the chance to time travel, I’ll tell Past Michael this (hopefully in a way that doesn’t create a paradox and destroy the universe).
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Aww cheers Michael! Your words mean a lot 🙂 glad you enjoyed it!! Having a summer birthday during the summer holidays must be great! But good idea on telling the Past Michael……I’ll keep my fingers crossed we don’t destroy the universe in the process!! 😀
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Oh, that IS a good idea. I love knowing I have the next day off work. And, man, I’d HATE getting up for work at 5.45am?! Yikes!! But I’ve never booked my birthday OR the next day off. I’m old so pretend I’m not getting older each year so kind of just ignore my birthday. Lol 😁
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It is the best feeling isn’t it! The best part of having a day off is definitely the night before 🙂
I don’t get up at 5.45am – I’m notoriously TERRIBLE at getting up in the morning (I never grew out of it, I hate it!) and I set if for 5.45am so I can have a snooze. I usually get up about 6.15 in the end. I start work at 8am now so it’s a bloody slog ha ha ha.
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Sounds like me. I have about a million alarms set as it’s so hard to wake up in the morning. They go off for AGES before I finally drag myself out of bed. 😁
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Ha ha, exactly the same! It’s weird isn’t it, I mean I’ve been getting out of bed Mon – Fri early for around 30 years and it NEVER gets any easier. I do it all the time and I still hate it. I’ll be doing it pretty much for the rest of my life and I STILL will dread it every evening ha ha. Nothing like waking up with a positive attitude I know……….!!! 😀
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I live in Cathedral City, in the Coachella Valley of Southern California, so am wondering where Cathedral City Extra Mature Cheddar comes from and how it got its name.
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That’s amazing! I have no idea about the cheese, I’ll do some research and let you know 🙂
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what an idea! It seems a sensible one.
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Thanks Urspo!!
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As my birthday is in July and my partners in October we always book a long weekend or mid week break for our birthdays even if we don’t always go away anywhere. Tajes the stress out of trying to make one say super amazing and breaks up the year nicely.
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That is a lovely idea! Very good thinking and like you say breaks up the year nicely, always something to look forward to! 🙂
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I learned this one once I started working in real office type jobs and going in with a hangover was awful. Everything you say here is TRUE!! hhahahahhaha
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Oh god I’ve been there and done that too!!! Ha ha, thanks Peggy 🙂
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You are so right! Sleep in the day after the celebration! Let your friends and co-workers celebrate with you as well…perfect plan!
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Thanks John!!!!! 🙂
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Is it your birthday? Is it time for happy birthday wishes??
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Not yet!! (December lol)
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Ahh! Well that should give us plenty of time to plan!
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Is it enough time though?! REALLY?!!!!! Ha ha!
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Great idea!
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Thanks Jeroen! I’m pleased!!!
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I’ve often told myself that weekend starts on Friday afternoon and ends on Sunday, around dinner time.
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That’s good thinking especially for Sunday. Sometimes I find Sundays hard, almost like a countdown starts! But you’re right, you shouldn’t even think about the weekend ending until at least after dinner 🙂 the weekend definitely starts on Friday afternoon woo hoo!! 😀
I make it sound like I hate being at work ha ha, I don’t really but it’s just so rare to have loads of free time and the weekends go so quick, it’s hard to fit in all your chores and have time to relax too!
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I used to go one better, and book the whole WEEK off! That way, I could get out to the coast one day, meal out another, see friends on the next, and so on. Now I’m retired, it’s sort-of an anti-climax, as I am technically ‘off’ every day.
As ever, Pete. XXX
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Pete – you’re a legend! Love it! 🙂 xxx
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