Never shoot on a Monday.

Easily the worst day of the week to film.

Why? Because:

1) You don’t get the best out of people on a Monday. It’s the dip after their favourite part of the week – the weekend. Actually, it’s less of a dip, more of a mach five crash – the University of Vermont measured happiness by weekdays according to sentiment expressed on Twitter. Weekday happiness peaks on a Saturday, is followed closely by Sunday and then wallop. Don’t take those shifty ‘experts’ with their scientific data as proof though – trust in your own eyes and look at anyone on a Monday morning and have a guess at how full of the joys of spring they are.

2) Bad stuff can happen over the weekend. Shooting on a Monday means you have little or no time to make emergency changes. For instance your talent has broken his arm playing football or your DOP has spent the weekends in bed with flu. That cute kid you cast had an indelible ink fight with his sister, and your sound recordist’s new tattoo has gone sceptic and they can’t lift their arm. What are you going to do? These things happen – such is life – but shooting on Monday means there’s no working days prior to make last minute changes.

3) Your cast and crew are knackered. And it’s all down to sleeping patterns: People who work regularly Monday to Friday, work according to their duties throughout the days and get into a pattern of set hours for sleep throughout the week. This makes them think that if they are working hard all these days then they can enjoy their weekend peacefully. But being human and everything, the mistake people make is that they take advantage of weekends, go large, and completely throw their Monday to Friday sleep pattern out the window. Come Monday, it’s circadian re-set time again and people are tireder than a John Lewis Christmas campaign.

4) Creatives (client and agency) have great ideas over the weekend. Shit ones too, but some great ones. It’s only natural, they’re generally more relaxed and tuned-in to the world at large at the weekend, much more than they ever would be within the artifice of an office or studio environment. Shooting on Monday means it’s probably too late to implement this great creative insight they’ve rushed over to tell you about. You’re going to have to have a ‘sorry but…’ conversation with either client or colleague. Creative can be massively enhanced by an eleventh-hour gem of an idea, frequently it can elevate a good shoot into a great shoot. Why shut the door on that opportunity? Schedule your shoot for later in the week and leave that creative door open. Your creative colleague or client probably won’t thank you for it but at least you won’t piss them off.

So there you go. Don’t shoot on a Monday.

Just don’t.

And not that it’s particularly relevant, but apparently Monday is also the day of the week when you’re most likely to get your phone nicked.

Jay Woods, Thief In Chief for Thieves Kitchen.