In mid-February, after Presidents' Day, office workers may not say it out loud, but their expressions say it all.

"Now it really begins." What begins, you ask? The survival mode with no holidays, haha.

In January, there's still a sense of the New Year and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

In February, there's Presidents' Day.

The problem comes after that.

No matter how much you look at the calendar, March is completely empty, and April is quiet too.

This period is almost referred to as a 'holiday desert' among office workers.

Monday keeps coming, and I don't know why Fridays take so long to arrive.

I can't even remember the goals I set at the beginning of the year, and suggesting taking a vacation feels awkward with everyone else around.

In the end, there's only one option. Just keep showing up for work. It's a period where being too consistent becomes a problem.

In January, everyone is full of motivation. Until early February, people still have a spark in their eyes.

But after Presidents' Day, everyone has the same expression.

When sitting in the meeting room, the conversation is about work, but their eyes are on the calendar.

They are mentally calculating. When is the next holiday? Memorial Day. It's the last week of May.

So during this time, each person comes up with their own survival strategy.

Some take a day off on Friday to force a long weekend, or they mark Xs on the calendar to get through.

From the company's perspective, it's the best season. No holidays, and employees aren't going anywhere. It's perfect for cramming in projects.

As they endure, Memorial Day finally arrives.

From this point, the atmosphere changes dramatically. The weather gets warmer, and people's expressions brighten up.

The problem was that there were no holidays in June, but recently one has been added. It's Juneteenth.

Honestly, when it was first introduced, it felt a bit forced. But when you think about having a day off, the story changes.

Now there's a day in the middle of June to catch your breath. It serves as a buffer between Memorial Day and Independence Day.

With this, June and July pass by better than expected. After a break for Juneteenth, if you can hold on a bit longer, July 4th arrives. By then, it's fully summer mode.

Talk of vacation plans starts circulating, and rumors spread every Friday about who has taken PTO.

Ultimately, the endurance test for American office workers is in March and April.

If you can get through this period, from May on, the holidays create a rhythm.

So after Presidents' Day, everyone sighs and says,

"This is the hardest time..." And then we go back to work.