When I was in a 9-5 job in 1993, I distinctly remember arriving into work on Monday mornings and being subjected to complaints, grumbles, disdain, and other such negative gossip.
This was the only negative about my Monday mornings. In fact I never had Monday morning blues because I practiced a very simple alternative. Back then, in my early 20’s living and working in recession Ireland (yes, we had one then too) the general gist of good fun was to go out with colleagues and friends.
Traditionally this was done Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Three late nights of overindulgence was bound to take it’s toll, and it did. Coming from a college background, I had become accustomed to going out on “College nights” (aka Thursday nights). I maintained this routine and did not go out late on Sunday nights.
Of course this meant that Friday mornings were tough, but one cannot have Friday blues if they are off for the weekend, and have an early finish to look forward to. So I was therefore able to camouflage my blues into a Friday, rather than a Monday.
However, I feel the negative sentiment has remained with many people, whether they are employed, self-employed, or between jobs.
Why should we dread Monday Mornings? Because we have done so traditionally. For some of us, it’s simply always been that way (similar to finding it difficult to get up in the mornings).
Here are a couple of measures you can take to beat the Monday Morning Blues
1. Do not overindulge on a Sunday night, especially if you already have done so on Saturday night.
2. Review what tasks you typically do on a Monday morning. The preference is to start up the PC, go make a tea/coffee, and catch up with emails. Also answering phone queries. By the time you are ready to start your day, you already feel overwhelmed with the problems of the week. I suggest reversing this. Research has shown that the first 3 hours of your waking day are the most creative, so rather than wasting this creativity on looking at emails, use it productively to create; whether it’s a blog post, ToDo List, a MindMap, or updating your website or Social Media sites.
It’s also a great time to work on a project, or start a new project.
3. If you are self-employed, you can use Monday mornings to schedule your Blogging and SM activities. You can use the time to do your reading, research, tasks to work on the business, or simple tasks to ease you into the week. You are in control!
4. Schedule things you like doing for Monday mornings. So when you do have to use the alarm clock to drag you out of your warm bed, imagine the fun tasks you have set for yourself, knowing these tasks will be far more productive and fun than the usual drudgery.
5. Some like to dwell on the misery of Monday Mornings. However, the danger here is that is spills over into Monday afternoon, Tuesday, or possible setting a negative tone for the whole week. A change of mindset is sometimes needed to make the shift from dreading Monday mornings to actually looking forward to apply your inner power to drive your week forward.
It can be helpful to sit down and review what makes you cringe when you wake up every Monday morning. Is it pure habit? Is it negativity from spouse, colleagues, staff? Is it because you do the same thing every Monday morning, and you are simply bored?
Like everything, you are in control of how you feel about it. It’s time to put a spring in your step for 2011 and all the Monday mornings to follow. Try it out. Make a conscious effort next week to change your routine, or change your attitude about your Monday moaning, I mean morning!
Do you have a trick or treat to spring-start your week? Please share it with us below!
