Are You Still a Weekend Warrior?

Like so many young professionals, you figure that you have mastered the sought-after balance of work and play. You work hard at your job during the week and save your hardy partying for your well-deserved weekends. You’re a “weekend warrior,” and so far the lifestyle has been working out pretty well for you. Take our word for it, however, that over time, the weekend warrior life is likely to catch up with you. The affects of your somewhat double life can begin to spill over into your important workweek, and there is nothing warrior-like about that.

The Thursday – Monday problem
One of the main issues regarding the weekend warrior lifestyle is that weekends tend to extend beyond the actual Friday-Sunday period. Many bars and lounges catering to young professionals have popular Thursday night happy hours and events. As a result, Friday workdays often become coasting days, with some sleepy (to say the least) YPs simply trying to get through the day. Additionally, after a whole weekend of going hard, Mondays also become a type of half-hearted workday, as many weekend warriors focus more effort on recovering than on their job. Consider how your workflow and level of productivity would be affected if you actually took two days off per week. Or consider how much more you could get accomplished if you worked two extra days per week. If you are not in top shape while on the job, it is almost as if you’re not there. By giving up the weekend warrior lifestyle you can essentially add time to your week, in turn increasing the quality of your work performance. 

Binging, Bulging, and Bad Behaviour
Studies show that those people who tend to “save up” their drinking for the weekend often drink more than those who prefer to have a drink or two a day. We all know that drinking large amounts of alcohol at one time, also known as binge drinking, can lead to many problems ranging from bad behaviour to bodily injury; alcohol poisoning to run-ins with the law; to weight gain and other more serious health issues. Binge drinking can also lead to a major loss of inhibitions, resulting in some of us doing things we would normally never do, like making a public spectacle of ourselves, getting into altercations, hooking up with someone we normally wouldn’t, pounding back multiple Big Macs, or doing drugs. As YPs, we are constantly on a mission to gain respect and find success in the working world. You may think that your weekend self is separate from your working self, but think again. Weekend binge drinking can lead us into all kinds of trouble that can have potentially major effects on our careers, relationships, and health. 

Sleeping away the day
Aside from your health, reputation, and quality of work (if that isn’t quite enough), the weekend warrior lifestyle can also affect your opportunity to discover new interests, activities, and people. After a period of being a weekend warrior, you will likely find that nothing really new happens after midnight on a Friday night. Though many late night activities can be fun (sure, we admit it), the amount and variety of activities available to you at such a time are very limited. By pulling all-nighters and sleeping away the day, you lose the opportunity to indulge in the limitless amount of cultural, active, productive, and social activities that go on during the day, as well as to meet and mingle with those people who engage in such activities. 

Here at Notable, we stand by the important concept of balance: finding your own way to incorporate both work and play into your busy lifestyle. We hope that if you think you might be a weekend warrior, that you will stop and ask yourself if you are feeling truly balanced, and if both your work and social time are contributing to your life in as positive way as possible.