I threw some quick examples in the mega link. For code you can compare the changes I made with https://winmerge.org
While it could be better how about this for weekdays. For photoshop I just took the transparent box and removed it, made a layer behind the text, selected the text and expanded it by 2, then filled that in with white on the layer I made behind the text.
https://mega.nz/file/XPJ2GZpI#AOxZG3EFnTj8Wk8LCvD8qJeRgkZJg9ZolBpTEKENtgM
It still has a somewhat neon glow but it's not boxy.