The impact of the weekly cycle on conscious experience in daily life

Modern society is structured around a seven-day week that shapes the lives of its members, yet we know little about its impact on conscious experiences in day-to-day life. To understand if weekly rhythms influence our thoughts and feelings, we collected approximately 15,000 descriptions of peoples’ experiences in daily life using smartphones in two countries (Canada and the United Kingdom). We found task-related experiences had greater detail during working hours on weekdays but not on weekends, while more distracting thoughts emerged earlier in the day and the week than evenings and weekends. Our study, therefore, establishes that weekly rhythms scaffold conscious experience in multiple ways, shaping the focus needed for intelligent behaviour and cuing our minds to wander to worries and concerns. The contrasting influences of the weekly cycle on both beneficial and detrimental features of experience are important considerations for mental health theory and social policy regarding the working week.