Post by Dan Asbaty:

Oh weekends, how I miss you!  Weekends, when broken down, are very aptly named as they mark the end of one week and the beginning of another.  As public accountants, weekends simply provide an added day to the workweek, which many of us NEED in order to keep up with the onslaught of work handed out during busy season.  However, using Saturdays (and occasionally Sundays) as another workday not only limits our social lives, but also our perspectives. 

The lack of true “weekends” makes the workweek feel endless as each week leads seamlessly into the next.  In fact, it has me asking questions like, “What day is it?”  Truthfully, odds are, that if you asked me that question in the middle of last week, I would not have had an answer off the top of my head.  This past week I lost the ability to organize the tedium of the never-ending, daily grind that has become my everyday life. 

For instance, it has become ever more difficult to set straight the little facts, such as which day of the week it is, in my head.  In talking to a few “more experienced” personnel, these matters are common amongst all accountants, yet nevertheless… troubling.

In my life, this level of mental fatigue can only be rivaled by Finals Week in college, where one spends all day and night studying lessons and materials from the entire semester, while never quite getting the amount of rest needed.  It’s sort of like that, only nine weeks longer… the dog days of busy season, if you would. 

The only thing that I have found to be more peculiar than my loose grasp on what day of the week it is, is the fact that I am actually getting used to it.  It may be scary, but 12-hour workdays are starting to feel normal to me.  I am not quite sure how I have gotten used to the harsh busy-season schedule, but I am glad I’ve adjusted. 

Dan