Curbing Monday Morning Blues FOREVER

Dear Monday, 

Fuck you! 

Sincerely,The World 

I think that short letter appropriately describes most of my colleagues' facial expressions before 11 am on Monday Morning.  Do you always get the “Monday Morning Blues”? After a nice relaxing weekend, it can be hard to wake up on Monday morning. Monday morning always seems to arrive too soon.  You’re thinking to yourself, “ugh…the weekend is over…”.  You lack passion and motivation, and you feel sluggish, anxious, sad, stressed out.  Well you’re not alone.  Did you know that most workers don’t smile until about 11:16 am on Mondays?  Research also reveals that suicides are more likely to occur on Mondays and the majority of sick leave is taken on Monday.  Life is too short to spend any day feeling negative!  Here are the top 5 ways to help you turn Monday into the best day of the week.

1. Get focused.  What you do each day matters.  Try three techniques to get you through the Friday-Saturday-Sunday-Monday stretch.  First, do not “check out” at noon on Friday. When you do this, you leave Friday’s work for yourself on Monday.  Second, plan out Monday’s work on Friday.  When you get into work on Monday, you will feel less overwhelmed and more organized.  Finally, what you do on the weekend matters. Deliberately pick a day to stay at home on the weekend.  Too much time out results in less sleep.

2) Rise and shine. Stop being lazy and get out of bed!  While it is easy to just sleep in, try to retain the same sleep schedule throughout the week for a consistent refreshed and energized feeling.  Avoid going into the weekend with a sleep deficit.  If you need to, choose one weekend day to sleep in.  Choosing both Saturday and Sunday can make it difficult to get back to a regular sleep schedule during the week.

3) Use Sunday night wisely.  Plan to get seven to nine hours of sleep.  This way when your alarm clock rings, you’re not likely to hit the snooze button.  Set out your Monday morning outfit (make Monday your “look amazing” day - when you look great, you feel great!) and get your lunch ready in the refrigerator.  When you wake up, plan to get out of the door with little stress.

4) Eat, drink, and exercise right.  Start the day off right!  Exercising after you wake up will get your energy flowing for a productive fun weekend.  I like Fitness Blender workouts.  If you can, exercise outdoors to reduce your melatonin levels.  After you exercise, give yourself a metabolism boost by eating a healthy breakfast.  As always, maximize your water intake.  Don’t drink alcohol excessively on the weekend.  It is commonly known that alcohol is a depressant and your mood and sleep will improve if you can reduce consumption.  Likewise, avoid energy drinks and caffeine after the morning hours so that you can get quality sleep.  Another tip is to detach from the desk. Take 5 minutes each hour to get up and walk around.  Avoid eating lunch at your desk.

5) Look forward to EVERY day. Most people always go through the work week looking forward to Friday. Live for each day. Plan fun events and spend quality time with friends and family during the week too. Be deliberate and schedule it if you have to. Still need a little extra to get through Monday? Make Monday rewarding by waking up early on Monday and heading out to your favorite spot for a quick breakfast with a friend. Or, plan something after work on Monday so you have something to look forward to.

It's time to change how you think.  See Monday as a new beginning, not an end. Think of Monday as the beginning of a great week ahead instead of the end to an awesome weekend. Set your intention. Tell yourself on Sunday night that you are going to have a great day tomorrow. Wake yourself up with positive affirmations. Be grateful for being alive and healthy on Monday and be grateful that you get to go to work.