A "short" work week

A work week with 4 days is considered a "short" work week. For me, it is the week when you put five days work in four! Consequently, you feel more rushed, just a wee bit more exhausted and look forward to the weekend even more.

Why does it happen?

Two reasons I think.
One- in a knowledge driven, non-widget producing environment, we are measured by intellectual output which is not a direct function of the number of hours you put but the quality of your output irrespective of time involved. The outputs desired do not change whether it is a normal five day workweek or it is a shortened four days or even three.
Second- given the flexible work arrangements, the workload is being divided into chunks not necessarily in terms of how much time they are going to take, but in terms of skill sets and ability to accomplish a given set of goals.

There is also the slight ramp-up factor in the normal week. We all know Monday mornings can be a little slow and Friday afternoons tend to be 'wind-down' time. In a shorter work week, you are expected to hit the ground running on Tuesday and you are likely to stay longer on Friday.

In short, the "short" work week is a mirage. Here are three suggestions to cope with it-
a) In case Monday is a holiday, set aside a couple of hours the previous Friday to lay out deliverables for the week and ideally, if you can take a start at a couple of them on Friday itself, you are setting yourself up for success the following week.
b) If you are driving out somewhere for the long weekend, be back in your city of work by lunch time on Monday. It will give you time to 'mentally' readjust and feel fresher for Tuesday morning. Anytime later than noon, and you will feel rushed and nostalgic about the long weekend.
c) Try and spend your long weekend pursuing a hobby that you havent had time to go to for a long time. It will be the perfect energizer for the week ahead.

Anyone interested in a very different take on the topic can read Ricardo Semler's Seven Day Weekend, where he talks about the fact that if you really love what you do, then, everyday feels like a weekend. Not sure how many people are lucky to be in that spot but its a worthwhile goal of course!