Hi Nick, great article. For me personally I think the ongoing "programming" for routine during the day was biological. I think I fell into the "lion" chronotype (early riser), so that served me well professionally, and it carries into life now. (Most people are "bears".) During my career, I did feel sorry the "wolves" (aka "night owls") for whom the societal "programming" of the typical 8am-5pm workday was simply not a fit, but it was fine for lions and bears.
In terms of days of week, we don't hesitate to go out with other retired friends on weekdays and weeknights. We also don't hesitate to shop and do all of our errands on weekdays to take advantage of reduced crowds! So, to that degree, I think we've shed that "programming."
But we still have some friends who still work normal jobs and others who have children in school, so we also tend to see our social calendars weighted more heavily on weekends. And the normal workweeks and normal school weeks do seem to be the result of the societal "programming" you describe.
It sounds to me like you have broken the program - congrats.
A couple of weeks ago, I was out one evening mid-week with friends (most of whom are retired), and we referred to it as being 'out on a school night'. I recently tried to do my grocery shopping mid-week. It felt very wrong! I will get there.
Hi Nick, great article. For me personally I think the ongoing "programming" for routine during the day was biological. I think I fell into the "lion" chronotype (early riser), so that served me well professionally, and it carries into life now. (Most people are "bears".) During my career, I did feel sorry the "wolves" (aka "night owls") for whom the societal "programming" of the typical 8am-5pm workday was simply not a fit, but it was fine for lions and bears.
In terms of days of week, we don't hesitate to go out with other retired friends on weekdays and weeknights. We also don't hesitate to shop and do all of our errands on weekdays to take advantage of reduced crowds! So, to that degree, I think we've shed that "programming."
But we still have some friends who still work normal jobs and others who have children in school, so we also tend to see our social calendars weighted more heavily on weekends. And the normal workweeks and normal school weeks do seem to be the result of the societal "programming" you describe.
It sounds to me like you have broken the program - congrats.
A couple of weeks ago, I was out one evening mid-week with friends (most of whom are retired), and we referred to it as being 'out on a school night'. I recently tried to do my grocery shopping mid-week. It felt very wrong! I will get there.