5 Things PR Pros Do to Prepare for the Weekend

We feel you, Fido. It's 5 O'Clock somewhere. Ever had one of those weeks when you just couldn't wait for Friday at 5 p.m.? Of course, you have. So have we, which is what inspired this latest edition of "5 Things." Everyone in this profession has different ways to prepare for the weekend followed by coping with what happens during the week. We understand, and we are soooo there with you. This post is dedicated to you: The flacky warrior whose clients ostensibly call every weekend because they weren't mentioned in that Sunday edition story you had no clue was running. This is also for the PR professional that wishes he or she could throw their smartphone in a creek somewhere (but then we'd lose all those apps we really like, dammit). This is post is for all of you. Mazel, mazel. Good things. 1. "Try" to unplug ... from work. Because, of course, you aren't going to turn off your social life. I mean, who else is going to stop tweeting, posting, and selfie-ing? No one, which means you aren't either. However, if your PR director calls, you might cough really loud so you don't "hear" the phone and still salvage your conscience. Maybe that aforementioned client gives you a ring on yet another Saturday. Sure, you love your clients but damn the luck, you are at the mall and "ain't nobody got time fo' dat." We understand, but seriously, try to unplug. Period. You will save your sanity and those emails about proofing documents and Google Alerts will be there waiting for you on Monday. 2. Brush up on your Web surfing skills. Oh please! Like I'm the only one? You know you have worked hard all week and when lunch comes and goes, you have most likely joined the workforce and checked out -- four hours early. So, when no is looking, you start checking live music in town, shopping on sale, and what fake family you lost touch with 10 years ago did last summer for vacation. What's nice is as you rush into the home stretch is that everyone in the office -- sans that one brownnoser who would experience neck paralysis if the boss came to a sudden stop in the hallway -- is doing the same thing. You're in the clear. 3. Fake checkoff your check list. Yes, you can admit it. Liberate yourself. You cheat on that check list, don't you? It's Friday afternoon and you have 19 things still to do to ensure you don't have to work over the weekend. You have things to do, people to see, and you'll be damned if that one TPS report keeps you locked to your desk one minute more. So, you pop up out of your cube like a prairie dog, peer from side-to-side like you are James Bond on a mission, and mark things off your list at-will. You know no one is looking, or no one even cares, but it's a sense of accomplishment. You marked them all off ... even if you cheated a little. 4. "Amuse" yourself. I'm a linguaphile (fancy way for saying 'word nerd'), so I dig etymology. Have you ever considered the meaning of the word "amusement"? 'A' is the article in Latin meaning "non" and 'muse' means "to think." That is precisely what you try to do before you punch out and turn off your PC on Friday -- don't think. Anything that requires thinking on the weekend, you want to avoid like a Kardashian avoids poor, white people. Flacks find things to do that turn off the mind because they do enough of that cerebral stuff at work. That's probably why Happy Hours are so full on Fridays. It's not celebration. It is mind control. Yeah, that's it. 5. Send recap emails. Why does this happen? That same gentleman caller client on the weekend. You are important too, right? So, send a recap that equates everything performed over the week and things you are ready to do on Monday (barring a cataclysmic hangover). This way, you have done your due diligence to ensure a PR-free weekend and feel good about yourself for a job well done. Look at that list. Feel a sense of accomplishment. Be proud of yourself. Pat yourself on the back, if you are so inclined and limber enough. And then, when no one is looking, fake a trip to the bathroom and sneak out the backdoor to go home 15 minutes early. It's the little things. That's it. And for grins, here's a final farewell for the weekend.

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5 Things PR Pros Do to Prepare for the Weekend

Shawn Paul Wood

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Shawn Paul Wood