That Long Weekend Feeling

There is just something about a long weekend that makes me feel so much more relaxed than a regular weekend.  I call it that long weekend feeling. The weather can be awful, or I can be not feeling great and it doesn’t matter if it’s a long weekend. Now if only we could have more long weekends.

It is currently Monday of a long weekend and I just woke up from a nap and feel AMAZING.  This has been the extra day I have had off since “actually” going back to work after being off for a year on maternity leave.  

I say actually go back to work because even though I officially returned to work after maternity leave at the end of May, it was only for 5 weeks before summer vacation so it didn’t really feel like going back to work.

Once September hit and I was back to work for good for the next 10 months, it really felt like going back to work.  I am a teacher and love having my summers off. Now as a new mom I am appreciating the extra day off a long weekend brings.  I love that long weekend feeling.

Even though it has only been 6 weeks since going back to work, that 6 weeks has been a major adjustment.  Being a working mom is no joke.  Going back to work meant juggling a full-time job, continuing to self-manage our rental properties, finding time for a side hustle, and wanting to spend as much time with my family as possible.

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Is it just me, or is does a 2-day weekend never seem like enough time to catch-up? There are always a million things to do competing for our time and attention.  Just as I was starting to feel run down, bam, an extra day off, a 3-day weekend.

Why is there a Long Weekend?

Long weekends are observed for a number of reasons. The extra day off, known as a statutory or public holiday, is to celebrate a cultural, nationalistic, or religious holiday.

New Year’s Day would be an example of a cultural holiday, Canada Day or Independence Day is an example of a nationalist holiday, and Good Friday is a religious holiday.

There are a number of federal national holidays but provinces, territories, and states can also have additional holidays mean more long weekends.

Even though I may not celebrate every holiday that leads to a long weekend, I can definitely appreciate the extra day off work.

Personally, I love long weekends.

See the list below for all the upcoming long weekends in Canada and the United States.

Benefits to a Long Weekend

The extra day off is an obvious benefit of a long weekend, but it’s not the only benefit.

If the extra day off falls on a Monday, we no longer have that dreaded Monday feeling.  

No More Sunday Scaries

According to the Sleep Judge, a whopping 81% of workers surveyed had increased anxiety on Sundays about going back to work on Monday.   A term they called the “Sunday Scaries.”  62% of the same people surveyed stating that the most dreaded day of the week was Monday. 

How great is it that a long weekend can help to change that? Or maybe it just turns the Sunday Scaries into the Monday Scaries?

More Manageable Work Week

Having a 3-day weekend means the following work week is only 4 days long.  All of a sudden that workweek feels way more manageable as we are so used to 5-day work weeks. That shorter work week seems to just fly by and the following weekend seems to come that much faster.  

It’s harder to get behind in a 4-day work week than a 5-day workweek.  And it’s much easier to catch up on things on a 3-day weekend rather than a 2-day.

Anticipation

Researchers have found that the anticipation for a vacation can lead to just as much happiness as the vacation itself.  The lead up can create joy and excitement as you think of all the things that you are looking forward to on that vacation. The possibilities seem endless and the vacation is full of potential.

On a lesser scale, this also happens with a long weekend. In this case, the vacation is that extra day off work.  Applying the anticipation research, the workweek before a long weekend can also seem slightly more enjoyable.  Even if is it a regular 5-day work week.

Work doesn’t feel as constraining or heavy, because you just have to get through the week and you’re rewarded with an extra day off.

Drawbacks of a Long Weekend

Although I love a long weekend, sometimes they are not all sunshine and rainbows.

Not everything is open

Depending on the reason for the extra day off, some stores and service providers are closed.  If I’m looking to use the extra day to catch up on errands or do certain things sometimes this just isn’t possible.  

For example, in our local area, the library is closed on long weekends. The library is a great place to get out of the house with my little one, but on long weekends I have to get more creative with options on things to do.

Everyone has the same day off

Because the majority of the long weekends are statutory holidays, everyone has the same day off.  If you were thinking that certain stores (that are open) would be less busy because it’s a Monday, think again. Long weekends can be the busiest times for malls and other shopping centers.  

I think that a great fix for this would be to have rotating days off.  I don’t know how it would actually work, but wouldn’t it be great if you had a weekday off that not everyone else had?  

On the rare time that this happens for me, I’m almost giddy when I can get all my errands done in a fraction of the time because the stores are fully stocked and there are fewer lineups.

Upcoming Long Weekends

Are you like me, looking forward to the next long weekend?  If so, don’t worry I’ve got you covered.  Here are lists of the upcoming Canadian and American long weekends.  

For my international friends, leave a comment below letting me know when your next long weekend is.

2021 Canadian Long Weekends

  • January
    • Friday, January 1, 2021 (New Year’s Day)
  • February
    • Monday, February 15, 2021 (Family Day)
  • April
    • Friday, April 2, 2021 (Good Friday)
  • May
    • Monday, May 24, 2021 (Victoria Day – May Long Weekend)
  • July
    • Friday, July 1, 2021 (Canada Day)
  • August
    • Monday, August 2, 2021 (Civic Holiday – August Long Weekend)
  • September
    • Monday, September 6, 2021 (Labour Day – September Long Weekend)
  • October
    • Monday, October 11, 2021 (Thanksgiving)
  • November
    • Thursday, November 11, 2021 (Remembrance Day)
  • December
    • Saturday, December 25, 2021 (Christmas Day)
    • Sunday, December 26, 2021 (Boxing Day)

2021 American Long Weekends

  • January
    • Friday, January 1, 2021 (New Year’s Day)
    • Monday, January 18, 2021 (Martin Luther King Jr.)
  • February
    • Monday, February 15, 2021 (Washington’s Birthday)
  • May
    • Monday, May 31, 2021 (Memorial Day – May Long Weekend)
  • July
    • Monday, July 5, 2021 (Independence Day)
  • September
    • Monday, September 6, 2021 (Labour Day – September Long Weekend)
  • October
    • Monday, October 11, 2021 (Columbus Day)
  • November
    • Thursday, November 11, 2021 (Veterans Day)
    • Thursday, November 25, 2021 (Thanksgiving)
    • Friday, November 26, 2021 (Black Friday)
  • December
    • Saturday, December 25, 2021 (Christmas Day)
That long weekend feeling Pinterest pin

Creating Your Own Long Weekend

There are a lot of ways that you can manipulate your own work schedule to bring it more into balance, or to get that long weekend feeling more often. 

If you’re self-employed you have a lot more freedom with your schedule.  You can work longer days for some days and take other ones off. As a parent, you can work while your little ones are in school or sleeping and then you have all their waking hours to spend time with them.  

If I was self-employed (or financially independent) I would line up my schedule so that when my little ones are off from school (which it seems like there is always a reason for them to have no school), I could be off too.

If you’re not, maybe you can talk to your employer about working remotely.  Maybe not every day, but maybe once or twice a week.  Ms. Mod at Modest Millionaires details how she was able to negotiate to work from home with her employer.  

Sometimes work benefits are not related to your annual income. If you can keep the same income and negotiate to work from home, you are getting ahead in my books.

With the all the changes this year, I think that many workplaces are more open to letting you work from home. Some are even insisting on it.

Talk to your employer about a compressed workweek.  I have a sister who works extra time every day and then gets every other Friday off as her “compressed day.”  She can use that day to do whatever she wants.  Sometimes she uses that day to just stay in bed for longer and sometimes she can go on a little holiday without having to take a day off work. 

Final Thoughts

Although I love a long weekend, part of it is the anticipation leading up to it.  If every weekend was a 3-day weekend then it wouldn’t feel as special anymore, it would become normalized.  Maybe the “Sunday Scaries” would then just become the “Monday Scaries.”

For now, I’m enjoying the extra day off and the fact that next week is only a four-day workweek.  I’m sure that in a few weeks I will start to look forward to the next long weekend in my calendar.

What about you, do you get that long-weekend feeling? What long weekend do you look forward to the most all year?

4 thoughts on “That Long Weekend Feeling”

  1. Adjusting to the new working mom routine is quite demanding! Yay for having done 6 weeks already and for the extra day to recuperate. It is so true that the perspective of a long weekend ahead sure makes a week go by faster and brings happiness even before that extra day!

    Thanks for including me! 🙂 Working from home has made such an amazing difference in my Sunday scaries feelings, though I still love these long weekends. I try to keep that day fully for family fun and avoid blogging/chores if I can for one day of the long weekend to make the most of it. This weekend included a lovely outing at a Fall festival and plenty of time with our extended family. It was great! Glad you also enjoyed the day off!

    1. Taking one full day off is a great idea. That is something I have yet to master. I’ve been known to fully engross myself in work and have to learn boundaries. The extra day off is definitely helpful for this. Now just have to let the anticipation build up for the next long weekend:)

  2. I love long weekends. I do contract work so I get to make my own schedule, and my husband works in a church and gets his Mondays off. So I typically tend to take Mondays off with him. It has actually been really nice to have Mondays off when everyone else is working. Because it is easier to go to places that are very populated over the weekend!

    Also, what is Boxing Day??

    1. Random Mondays off are the best! It’s so great that you both have jobs that allow you to do that.

      Boxing Day is the Canadian equivalent to your Black Friday, but instead of the day after Thanksgiving, its the day after Christmas.

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