What is a Thursday?

A Thursday is an ideal day for self-reflection. Let's be honest, the weekend comes and we enjoy sleeping in, going out late, or going on an adventure, how many people actually put some time on reflection?

Mondays are to start the week, setting goals to follow up, evaluating things that remained pending from last week (celebrating the achievements and fixing some mistakes). For when you noticed while writing the last email of the day, your ability to focus has decided that reflecting on what could have been done better is a problem for your future self.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays are dedicated to achieving the goals of the week, fighting with the bureaucracy of the processes and trying to cooperate with the people around you to achieve everything and some more.

Many people would think that Friday is the day for the final stretch to achieve all our goals (mainly for those who did not make the effort on Tuesdays and Wednesdays), but let's face it, after lunch, how many people really work 100% on Fridays? Most people are thinking about their weekend plans. Even in sales they tell you not to call on Friday afternoons to sell since people are going to hate you, and you do not want to leave that impression.

So, what is a Thursday? How can I get the most out of it?

A Thursday is the ideal day to reevaluate the goals that we have set and providing the true effort to achieve them. It is a day to know ourselves, to see our limitations, to realize who we can count on and be the person that others can rely. It is a day to breathe without being overwhelmed by high amounts of stress and managing that stress into productive energy.

If you are reading this post when it was published, you are on time to have that moment of reflection (it will not take more than ten minutes). Now, take this time to ask yourself these questions:

What is the progress of my tasks for the week? (It's okay that they are not completed, at the end of the day you still have two more)
If I can’t reach them in these next two days, do I have a support network at my disposal to achieve them?
If they can be done with extra time to spare, who can I help to achieve the team's goals?
If I am estimating that they can’t be reached (whether my goals or those of the team), what can we do so that the goals of next week are not so affected?

It is not the end of the world not being able to reach the goals of the week, it is something that many experience several times a year, but when it becomes constant it generates an accumulation of stress and frustration, which ends up becoming anger, depression and demotivation. It is good to have some self-evaluation time to know what are our current limitations (notice that I say current, does not mean that we won’t be able to reach those goals in the future). Many times we fail because we overestimate our qualities, the time we have and the connections we thought could help us. Having a moment of reflection and humility is not a weakness, having pride that does not allow us to notice these limitations is.

Now, those questions are for your professional goals. For your personal, you should check:

Did I develop my bonds with my team? (Brief moments of conversation where you not only asked about the weather, but you asked questions that were not automatic)
Did I face arguments / conflicts assertively? If you have not managed them properly, it would be ideal to think what were not resolved and how to properly solve them, so that you do not pursue those thoughts over the weekend and affect your productivity next week
The things I did these last days, have they brought me closer to the person I want to be? If not, what can I do these next days? (The week still has four days left!!!)
Am I taking advantage of the opportunities they offer me? Am I aware of the possible options I have? Many times there are events around me that I don’t know off because I am too focused on what is in front of my computer.

Make the most of your Thursdays, it is not a day that limits you, it is one that can empower you to achieve the things you want to do, that can help you appreciate the things that are within your reach, opportunities that you can share and that you can give.

Thursdays are more than what they seem and that is why we will share more every Thursday of reflection.