Two Minutes Du Jour

Each year I eagerly anticipate a workplace tradition—Summer Fridays. The chance to wind down at noon on Fridays from Memorial Day through Labor Day is a cherished perk I’ve been fortunate to experience most of my career.

My first taste of Summer Fridays was early on at an ad agency in Minneapolis. Because summers are short but glorious in Minnesota, we could work an extra hour Monday through Thursday and take off at noon on Fridays.

As a young mom with two kiddos at the time, those half-day Fridays were golden. We could head to the neighborhood park or revel in unhurried play time at home.

Summer Fridays continued at my next job, and by then, I had three kids to enjoy bonus time. But it was a rude awakening when I moved on to an agency without that perk.

In the summer of 2011, when work and home stresses were peaking, I declared my own Summer Fridays. Using PTO, I’d leave at noon on Fridays to spend restorative afternoons on my backyard deck with several colorful felt-tip pens, a pad of paper, and a stack of books on mindfulness, philosophy, and finding happiness.

The Path Reveals Itself

Week after week, I just sat and soaked up the sun. As I read, breathed, wrote, and reflected, I contemplated being more of a “human being” than constantly doing, doing, doing. Having spent my life setting and achieving goal after goal, I decided my goal would be to have no goals for a while and just let my path reveal itself. Talk about liberating!

What emerged was the realization that it was time to start my own company—one that would embrace practices like Summer Fridays, which nurture coworkers’ whole selves, not just their work output.

Over the next 13 years, that decision unfolded into a thriving business and work culture built around balance, renewal and making room for life to happen. So, as you embrace Summer Fridays this season, whether they’re an official perk or you create your own, I hope the time recharges you, allows you to reflect, and perhaps discover what’s next on your path to glory.

The freedom of an afternoon may open your eyes to the life you’re meant to craft.

Two Links Du Jour:

Eight Steps to Happiness, Walking the Buddha’s Path and Mindfulness in Plain English, both by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana. – Wisdom Publications is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting writers and teachers worldwide, promoting critical scholarship, preserving literary culture, and helping people find wisdom and compassion in life.

Embracing the Joy of Summer Fridays – Nearity, an audio tech and video conferencing company, blogged about the origins and benefits of Summer Fridays, which New York ad agencies pioneered in the 1960s.