If you have the Monday blues, then this means it’s time to go back to work. And actually, you start getting a bit down Sunday night as well.
There are many people who feel a bit down on Monday, but not everyone. Some people work all weekend and look forward to Monday because it’s their day off. That just means some other day is their “Monday”. Some people have other days during the week as their “weekend”, so this doesn’t apply to everyone.
However, it does apply to most. The 9-5rs – they all suffer from blues on Monday.
Why do we get the Monday blues?
Many of us have Mondays, as I mentioned before. It’s the first day of the week, and we know that four more days must come before the weekend. We have a pattern with this too. Each week is the same. It really starts at about 8:00 p.m. on Sunday night when we realize the next day we’re off to work once more. Yes, the weekend fun is over for five more days.
Our weekday routines are different from the weekend as well. While the weekend is laid back, for the most part, the weekday seems to operate on a stricter schedule. Time matters more during the week. Returning to work on Monday morning starts that schedule again, and it can be grueling getting back into step.
What are some ways we can brighten Monday?
1. Prepare for Monday on Friday
Some of us have a bad habit of leaving the worst of our work for Monday mornings. We’re ready for the weekend and we want to spend Friday at work doing as little as possible. To some, Friday is almost like a work pre-party. Guess what? That’s unhealthy, and here’s why.
When you leave loads of work for Monday, then when Monday comes, you are overburdened. If something negative happens, that adds to the burden, and if your boss is also in a bad mood, then look at the mess you must sort out.
So, instead of flying paper airplanes on Friday, try to finish as many projects and workloads as you can so you can ease into Monday. That way you will be ready for any obstacles that come your way.
2. Go outside and take a walk
Monday mornings are especially tough and they need a brisk start to improve your mood. When you wake, go outside. Go before you even get dressed for work or for the day, so the air can embrace your skin.
If you feel refreshed, by the time you get to whatever stressful Monday situation, you will feel as though you have plenty of strength to deal with the problem.
If you start a habit of stepping outside, you will start doing it every morning which will make you healthier. From then on, you will see Monday as your start of a new healthy routine, and every time you decide to update this routine, say with a cup of tea or a healthy breakfast, you will cope with your Monday blues.
3. Change your work station
Sometimes Mondays feel better if you change your work station on the Fridays before. Maybe you can add a few pictures of your family, rearrange the objects on your desk, or maybe change colors in your environment.
If you work from home, you can change many things about your home office. When Monday comes, you can start your day with whole new surroundings.
4. Dress differently
If you’re used to wearing the same styles of clothing throughout the week and every week, try something different.
On Monday morning, decide to dress up a bit more. Maybe you can wear those whimsical earrings you’ve yet to try on. When you dress up for a change, you give your self-esteem a boost, and your self-esteem is usually a bit lagging on Mondays.
Mondays are difficult and seem like they go on forever, but if you change it up a bit, they may start to feel more like a different day of the week.
5. Clean on the weekends too
Most people get off work on Friday and kind of let cleaning go. They enjoy weekend activities, have fun, and sometimes just sit around and watch television. Instead of doing this all weekend, maybe you could also do a bit of cleaning as well.
If you clean some on the weekends, then Monday won’t feel like such a burden and filled with too much responsibility. Most of the time, we have Monday blues because of the enormous pile of things we have to do.
6. Schedule a social activity on Monday night
Just because it’s not the weekend, doesn’t mean you cannot have fun. Maybe Monday nights can be a time for dinner with friends or game nights.
It doesn’t really matter what activity you do, as long as you make Monday feel less like Monday, and more like a night of social activities. By the time Tuesday arrives, the week will feel more positive.
Changing the face of Monday
I never really cared for Mondays for most of my life. Every Sunday evening, when I attended school, I would dread the next day, which was Monday, the first day of the next school week. From then through each job I had, I still hated Mondays. So, I do, in indeed, want to change the way we see Mondays. I want to bring a bit of brightness into this day we dread.
So, I challenge you to try the above suggestions and even add a few ideas of your own. Before we all know it, Monday may start to feel more like a different day… whichever one you like the most. Just don’t start dreading a different day because every day should be cherished.
Feel free to share your thoughts.
