The Days of the Week and Their Planets: A Writer's Guide to Productivity
Finding Your Flow: How Astrology Can Transform Your Business & Writing Schedule
"Sunday Funday"
"Monday Blues"
"Friday I'm in Love"
You've likely heard one of these expressions for some of our favorite (and not-so-favorite) days. Maybe you even have a love-hate relationship with some of the days.
Spending thirteen years in the corporate world, I learned that you should work hard Monday through Friday, then take the weekend completely off. And it's also totally okay to party hard on Thursday if it's been a particularly stressful week.
When I first started my business and went full-time in 2017, I followed this advice too, without even pausing to consider why.
What if I wanted to work on a weekend?
What if I didn't want to work on Monday?
Sure, in my management consulting and crisis communication days, I'd often end up working on a weekend, resentfully tapping away on the company laptop while an early spring day in Chicago taunted me through the open patio doors. "Can't go outside and play. Busy working."
As a full-time entrepreneur, I also used to force myself to close my laptop for the weekend to give my brain a rest, without even pausing to think, do I actually need a rest, or am I only taking one because someone told me it was a good idea? What if I had a brilliant idea? Would I wait until Monday morning and hope the enthusiasm was still there? Or, worse, would I get to Monday and completely forget?
There's also the "Sunday Scaries" — the idea that Sundays are hard to enjoy because you spend the whole day dreading Monday, when you have to go to a job you hate.
Well, even when I fixed the job part to create work I loved, there was still this unnatural flow I was trying to force my creativity to fit into.
If you've ever felt that your tasks didn't quite align with the days of the week, there's a good chance you were forcing something to fit, too.
When I learned that a luminary rules each day of the week, it started making sense to me that I could use each day for different things.
Now, just like I teach in my writing community, the planets and luminaries don't control us, and we never blame things on them. They provide a certain energetic quality, a flavor, a soundtrack, and we can choose to tap into that for more flow — or not. I prefer to work with the rhythm of the day, while paying attention to my own.
Here are the days of the week in English and French paired with their planets. You'll recognize some planets in here.
Sunday/dimanche — the sun's day, the sun being the brightest light in the sky.
Monday/lundi — the moon's day, second brightest light.
Tuesday/mardi — Mars, the dimmest of all the planets.
Wednesday/mercredi — Mercury — (the rest aren't ordered by brightness, but by the astronomical objects they honor).
Thursday/jeudi — Jupiter
Friday/vendredi — Venus
Saturday/samdhi — Saturn
What's "your" day of the week?
Do you have a favorite day of the week?
See if you can find out what day you were born on. Simply do a web search for "What day of the week was [your birthdate and year]?”
I Googled mine and discovered I was born on a Monday. It is no wonder that when I worked in the corporate world, I was not a fan. But once I worked for myself and could create my own schedule, I became a big fan. Monday might be my favorite day of the week now.
Using the astrology of days of the week to structure our business & writing tasks
Make the most of each day by syncing your writing and editing with the planet that rules it. It can be a fun way to get things done more effectively. Knowing what the astrological vibe is for the day helps you plan when to tackle tasks for the best outcome.
I love working with planetary energy instead of fighting against it to create more ease and natural movement. It's also a fun way to create variety — something my Libra sun craves. Give me balance and harmony!
Monday (lundi in French) — the moon.
Sets the tone for the rest of the week — how do you want the rest of the week to go? Plan your week by looking at the next six days and their ruling planet.
Flow with the day — there's no prescription except what you want to do.
Maybe you'll have a "flow day." Travel to a nearby downtown (the cuter the better), begin your day at a cafe, then find a new spot for lunch with some shop hopping or sitting on a park bench in between. No agenda, no rules, no list of things you "must write."
Can you block your calendar on Mondays to do whatever you want? If you're a business owner, can you schedule meetings to start on Tuesday?
Nurture yourself and ease into your week with movement that feels good and enjoyable food, and write wherever and whenever you like today.
Start the day with a journaling session following some writing prompts based on the current moon phase (again, a Google search will tell you the current phase): New moon — what seeds do I want to plant? Waxing moon — what am I building? Full moon — what has me satisfied? Waning moon — what needs to go to make space?
Look up what zodiac sign the moon is in today and use this to align with what, where, and how you write or edit.
Tuesday (mardi in French) — Mars.
Mars is the planet of action and energy — plan to get some stuff done! Maybe you made your list on Monday, so you're raring to go this Tuesday morning. Use this fire to tackle lots of things on your list.
Move that Mars energy with a powerful movement session or workout.
Take a risk with your writing project — write a bold blog and say the thing that scares you in your book chapter.
Take inspired, forward-focused action with your writing project or new offer in your business.
Make key decisions on your writing project, and even look at the bigger picture — to your body of work and career.
Focus on writing the thing that has you feeling fired up and passionate.
Use the energy to find your drive, focus, and follow through to make your dreams a reality.
Wednesday (mercredi in French) — Mercury.
Mercury is the messenger planet of communication, curiosity, and creativity — hello, perfect day for writing!
Get clear on your writing projects and tasks for the day with a fast pen-to-paper journaling session or give Prayer Pages a try.
Revisit your plans for the week and the month ahead. Do they still fit?
Get social — whether you attend a networking event or get chatty on social media, share a post, listen, and then leave some thoughtful comments.
Since Mercury is associated with practicality and cleverness, write the challenging piece that requires a hefty dose of mental energy — the tricky email, the sensitive blog, or the chapter that requires just a little more brain power. Potentially add coffee.
Try setting deadlines for Wednesdays — smack dab in the middle of the week, it's productive and gives you some buffer before and after.
Devote time to tackling your email inbox. Try to touch each email only once. Only open it when you're ready to reply and deal with it.
Take meetings and flex those communication muscles since Mercury is all about socializing.
Write in a busy place — a local cafe, library, or co-working space.
Schedule your podcast recording sessions or interviews for today.
Sent pitches for speaking engagements and workshop facilitation.
Thursday (jeudi in French) — Jupiter.
Jupiter is the planet of luck, good things, and growth, making it the perfect time to learn new things and expand your consciousness. So crack open that book you've been meaning to dip into, try writing something new just for fun, or finish that online course.
Enjoy a fun and fast brainstorming session to outline a new offer, your book, blog, or even to spark a new business.
Do a guided visualization, seeing your finished project out in the world, thriving and changing lives (we've got a great one with more to come inside the Intuitive Writing Collective!
Get curious about those around you, talk to your barista. Ask questions to help yourself learn. And then shut up and listen.
If you teach in-person or online workshops or masterclasses, try hosting one on a Thursday.
Trust that every word you write or edit today is made of GOLD.
With the abundance and expansion energy, use this to be productive toward working on the tasks that align with your big goals.
As we wind down the working week, Thursday's energy allows us to be productive and take care of little details that might be lingering from the beginning of the week.
The good vibes serve as a reminder to express gratitude — what have you learned this week? What did you accomplish? Who supported you that you'd love to thank? Write a positive review for a local business or a book you read. Send the glowing testimonial without being asked.
Focus on expansive writing projects — the book, blog, website copy, or signature program launch. Save the boring writing for another day.
Start and end the day with a list of things you're grateful for.
Friday (vendredi in French) — Venus.
Another day (in addition to Mondays) to block your calendar and do what you love. Or maybe you'll schedule the things you love for Fridays.
Also, a great day to connect with others and relax — so not the focused vibe of Wednesday and Mercury, but for fun and a light coffee chat.
Get intimate in your writing project — express yourself, love, and write about potentially vulnerable topics. You can always edit later if you decide not to publish.
Make art, spend time in nature, play at the page with some writing you might not normally explore.
Tap into some fresh inspiration for your writing project. Sit with your writing project and ask it, "What do you need?"
Expand on and continue to work on your creative writing project, trusting it's expanding with every tweak you make.
Tidy up and wrap up loose ends, slate ideas for another time on your parking lot list (this is a list of things that don't fit into your current priorities, but you might want to tackle later).
Spend a few extra minutes pampering yourself and beautifying your face and your writing space for some feel-good flow today.
Try to slide anything strenuous to another day, like Tuesday or Wednesday.
Saturday (samedi in French) — Saturn.
Saturn is a disciplined, organized, structured, and responsible planet — plan your writing for the week ahead and clear out your desk and digital clutter.
Get organized in the kitchen and around the house to help you roll into the rest of the week feeling balanced and grounded.
Catch up on things you didn't finish, that won't feel good to flow with on Monday, or schedule them to happen when the energy is ripe.
Plan your writing for the coming week, maybe you'll try time blocking, getting some documents prepared and set up, updating your 12-week plan (community members, you have a template for this), calendar, and paper planner.
Saturn is great at being a taskmaster. Just think about how much more fun Sunday and Monday will be when you focus and get it done on Saturday!
Listen to a podcast about writing while you run errands, do some batch cooking, or cleaning.
Sunday (dimanche in French) — the Sun.
Sunday Funday! Need I say more?
Use the day to nurture your vitality and enjoy yourself.
Get outside, relax, play, be in nature, enjoy time at home with people you love, and enjoy the day doing things that warm your heart.
Go within and do some soul work — journaling, meditating, healing.
Celebrate, connect, and keep your schedule light.
If you want to write today, go for it — just make sure it's heart-warming and feels good.
Read a book, listen to music, relax, rest, and connect with friends.
Using the days of the week gives us a light structure to be able to flow with the things we're already doing.
Sure, you could just buckle up and get things done every day, but see if having a little more of a guardrail around your time and energy helps you stay focused and get more done.
Remember, these are simply suggestions. Always notice how your body is responding. We're not going to force ourselves to do "Tuesday things" if our lives call for something else. You might not yet be at a place where your schedule allows this much freedom. I certainly had a lot of restrictions around my time in the past, and I've worked hard to give myself more flexibility in how and when I work, write, and connect.
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