How To Beat the Monday Blues
By: Helena Calderon
Tags: Motivational, Work Life Balance, Tips And Tricks, Monday Motivation, Mondays

11 strategies to help you start to enjoy your Mondays!

It’s typically called the Monday Blues. Monday mornings are one of my best moments of the week. It’s the beginning of a new week. It’s time to get up early once more and join the rat race. People, expectations, and obligations abound. Ugh! It’s enough to make you want to hide under your blankets until Friday.

Mondays are my favorite days because they allow me to start new goals. Monday is the perfect day to start over. If the previous week was not as gratifying and goals were not met, Monday is the perfect day to pick yourself up and begin again.

Even waking up on a Monday morning is a gift. You’ve been offered a second chance at life. You’ve got another twenty-four hours to get things done. You have a second chance to make things happen. So don’t be concerned about Mondays. Let us look forward to Monday as a fresh start.

Here are 11 ideas to help you beat (or avoid) the Monday blues:

1. Determine the issue

The first step is to figure out what’s wrong. If you get the Monday Blues regularly, you should not laugh it off or accept it as a part of life. It’s a clear indication that you’re unhappy at work and need to either repair it or find another job.

Make a list of the things that are causing you to struggle at work. Perhaps it’s a hostile coworker or a Monday morning conference with your manager, or maybe it’s a lack of challenge — or maybe it’s all of the above. In either instance, identifying what is hurting you might assist you in attempting to be proactive in seeking solutions. It’s a means of empowering you to take care of the issue and try to fix it. If you only have a slight case of the Monday Blues, you can do a few things to brighten yourself and others on a rather gloomy Monday effectively.

2. On Friday, get ready for Monday

Mondays can be particularly stressful because of the work that has stacked up over the prior week, and it can be difficult for many to jump right back in. I recommend leaving as few terrible jobs as possible on Friday afternoon to help battle Monday morning nervousness. By taking care of the things you don’t want to deal with after one workweek, you’re improving the beginning of the next.

If you have any menial tasks on Monday morning, complete them as soon as possible, so you don’t waste the balance of the day postponing or feeling like there’s a black cloud hanging over your head. Make that awkward phone call, fix that unresolved issue, or clean up the mess that’s been waiting for you. Once it’s over, you’ll feel a lot better.

It is imperative to make sure your calendar is up-to-date and synched and that you have a solid picture of and hold on to your forthcoming work week — especially Monday. What do you need to get ready for and organize? Get it done by Friday, if feasible, otherwise by Sunday.

3. Create a list of the things that make you happy

When we look at the week ahead, we frequently think about all the challenging things we have to accomplish and the arduous duties that lie ahead of us. Switch that around. Make a list of three things you’re looking forward to at work this week on Sunday evening. It may put you in a more upbeat frame of mind. If you can’t think of positive things you’re looking forward to, you need to make some adjustments.

4. Turn off all electronics for the weekend

If possible, avoid reading work e-mail or voicemail over the weekend, especially if you won’t be able to react until Monday. It’s tempting to know what’s waiting for you, but setting firm boundaries between work and leisure time might help you stay on track. Leave your office worries at the office door on Friday and concentrate on enjoying your time off. Going back to work on Monday can be particularly aggravating if you’ve allowed it to infiltrate your free time to the point where you don’t feel like you’ve had a weekend at all.

5. Get plenty of rest and get up early

I recommend going to bed a little earlier on Sunday night and getting enough sleep so that you wake up feeling refreshed. It’s unlikely that you’ll feel comfortable going anywhere when the alarm goes off on Monday morning if you’ve only had a couple of hours of sleep.

While it may seem counterproductive, getting up 15 to 30 minutes earlier on Monday morning can make returning to work much more manageable. Having a bit more “me time” rather than feeling pressed for time can make that shift a little easier. Taking the time to have a good breakfast, workout, or walk the dog might help you feel more centered for the rest of the day and remind you that you aren’t a machine that only sleeps and works.

6. Dress to impress

Dress up, perk up, and turn up ready to be cheerful and encourage others to be positive. Be the brightness and vitality that brightens people’s days. Make yourself magnetic by displaying and sharing your spirit, charisma, and vibe. One piece of advice: wear your favorite new clothes on Monday. It can help you gain confidence at work and may even earn you a few compliments from coworkers. Whenever you look great, you feel fabulous. On Monday mornings, feeling good about yourself is half the battle because instead of getting depressed by work, you want to approach it with determination.

7. Maintain an attitude of gratitude

Begin the week with an attitude of thankfulness. Take time to acknowledge and appreciate the aspects of your job that you enjoy. It begins even before you start working. Listen to your favorite music to get pumped up on your way to work. Consider the type of exercise playlist you’d make, and include that same lively, high-energy music into your morning routine or commute.

Do your utmost not to whine when you get to work, and keep your Monday morning crankiness to yourself. In a similar spirit, don’t listen to other people’s Monday complaints. It’s impossible to fix your mindset by creating or participating in a complaint culture.

You must decide to transform negative apprehension and trepidation into a good, productive, and happy welcome to Monday attitude. Start on Friday by organizing your desk and making sure your work to-do list is ready next week. Relax, assess, and reward yourself on Sunday, but the schedule for and prepare for Monday.

If you can be a source of happiness in the office, you’ll not only make your day more enjoyable, but you’ll also improve the work environment for people around you.

8. Make another person happy.

Make yourself the promise to do something good for someone else as soon as you get to work on Monday. Doing pleasant things for others may improve one’s spirits, and in this situation, it may even shift the entire vibe in your office. Paying it forward can have a positive impact on everyone.

Positive psychology studies show that one of the best ways to feel better is to make someone else happy. You may complement a colleague, do something nice for a client, provide assistance to a stranger on the street, or find another method to brighten someone else’s day.

9. Hold Monday’s plan as light as possible

Given that Mondays are generally hectic days in the office, keeping your Monday plan as straightforward as possible is a wise tactic. Try to schedule meetings on Tuesdays and Wednesdays when preparing ahead. It will make it easier for you to transition from the weekend to Monday. Rather than addressing the most complex and time-consuming activities first thing Monday, devote some time to other, more usual duties. It might get you going and give you the energy you need for the more arduous chores. But please be careful: if you have too much free time, you’ll end yourself “feeling blue.”

10. Have good time at work

On Monday, take it upon yourself to do activities you enjoy at work. Perhaps bring pastries for your coworkers or take a little break to meet up with a coworker. Sharing weekend experiences with coworkers may be entertaining as well as a fantastic method to improve your interoffice network.

Arrange a weekly Monday morning coffee or lunch with a friend. Create a Monday event you’ll look forward to as a way to break up the day with some well-known optimism. At the very least, it allows you to take a big breath, talk with a friend, and refocus for the remainder of the day.

11. Make a post-work schedule.

Your day should be about more than just getting through Monday. It should be regarding looking forward to something. By making Monday a memorable day when you get to hang out with friends, cook your favorite supper, or eat a bucket of popcorn while watching a TV show you taped, the day doesn’t have to be all about waking up to go to work.

And you, do you have any tips and tricks to beat to Monday blue?