how to make every day feel like a Friday (and enjoy life more)

the psychology behind the Friday joy and how to repeat it

Jan 10, 2025

It was the last set at the gym, and it’d been a tough workout. One of those times when I didn’t want to go, but I just showed up.

As I lifted the weights for the last time, I thought back to the first rep.

In theory, the first rep should’ve been easiest. Fresh and rested muscles.

But the last one was 10 times easier.

I quickly wrote a note on my phone to explore in this week’s newsletter:

Why is the last rep of the workout easier than the first? And why do we have more energy on a Friday than on a Monday??

Can we leverage this phenomenon to make life a little more enjoyable?

The Warrior and His Doubts

A story from the Bhagavad Gita (slightly adapted by me)

On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna, a mighty warrior, stood paralyzed with exhaustion — not of the body, but of the spirit. Facing friends and family among his opponents, his heart grew heavy, and his arms weak.

“I cannot fight,” he said, lowering his bow. “My body trembles.”

Lord Krishna, his charioteer, replied, “Arjuna, your thoughts weaken you more than your labor. Focus not on fear or doubt, but on your purpose and the greater good. Strength comes from within, and when your mind is clear, your body will follow.”

Hearing this, Arjuna’s heart lifted. His body, once heavy with despair, felt light. With renewed energy, he raised his bow, ready to face the battlefield.

Why the end is the easy part (and how to leverage it for your life)

Let me ask you something.

When you’re on a run, you’re at your limit and feel like giving up, could you keep going if a lion was chasing you?

So if you physically have more gas in the tank, why do you feel the need to stop?

Unless you’re on the 140th mile of an Ironman triathlon, the exhaustion you feel in your body is not your limit. It’s your body listening to the negative thoughts your mind is feeding it. It takes valuable calories to run, so your brain is being conservative.

A reminder that your energy levels are controlled more by your mind than your body.

So if we can understand this phenomenon, and the true source of energy, we can create that energy for ourselves. We can approach life with more joy and vigour.

We can make everyday’s energy feel a little more like a Friday.

What is the Friday feeling?

It comes from something called ‘Anticipatory Energy’.

An energy (or feeling) that stems from the positive mindset when approaching the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s comprised of two parts:

Anticipation and excitement
The anticipation of the weekend or post-workout can make us feel excited. We associate it with rest, socialising and other desirable experiences — leading to a hefty dose of dopamine.
Psychological reward system
Closing in on the end can make us feel like we’ve achieved something — we got through another week, or got through the workout. More dopamine.

When approaching the end, we shift our focus toward the positivity ahead instead of on stress or fatigue. We care less about the tasks, the politics, the work; and more about how good it’ll be to rest, recover, party and socialise. We care less about how hard it is to lift the weights, how we feel tired and bored; and more about how close we are to finishing.

This perceived stress reduction leads to more energy, and is proof that our perception is powerful enough to change our reality.

4 steps to utilise the anticipatory energy for a better life

Now that we’ve understood what makes a Friday, and the last rep, feel so easy — we can use that to our advantage:

Create anticipatory energy by finding something to look forward to everyday.
I started testing it out by looking forward to my coffee, and it really worked. It works even better if you can make it something more exciting — like a basketball game, or meeting a friend. It can be anything.
Find something that you can look forward to in each and every day.
Keep positive.
If you think the week ahead will be a slog, it will be. If you believe it’ll be fine, it will be. The Friday feeling is mostly just because you’re in a good mood.
Remember that your energy is not determined so much by how hard you’ve worked, and more by your state of mind (assuming quality nutrition and rest).
Set achievable goals to tick off throughout the day/week.
Just like completing the week, or completing a workout, gives us that sense of reward, ticking off and achieving small goals can have a similar effect. I like writing this newsletter because it feels like I’ve accomplished something. Find your version of it.
Make time to do things you enjoy.
The weekends are so blissful because you finally get to do what you want — and Friday is the entrance to that. Don’t reserve fun for the weekend. Make time. Play sport before or after work. Carve out 20 minutes to read a book. Make sure you make time for something to enjoy your day more.

Remember, the last rep is only easier because of your state of mind. Friday is only easier because of your state of mind.

While you can’t fabricate an extra weekend, you can recreated the state of mind by trying to emulate all the things that give you that anticipatory energy.

And make sure you apply this beyond days of the week. Any challenge you face, remember the anticipatory energy. When you’re tired and feel like giving up, remember that you’ve got more in the tank. It’s all about your mindset.

Find ways to split your challenge into multiple parts so that you have that anticipatory energy throughout it.

Try it out. Hope it helps.

Sincerely,

eren

Follow me on Substack, Instagram and LinkedIn for short bursts of motivation and peace, and to follow along on my journey of creating the world’s best in-person mindset workshop.