Monday Morning Blues - Ways to Help
Do you have the Monday Morning Blues? Ask yourself;
Do you see the start of your workweek as the trigger for overwhelming feelings of anxiety, sadness, or stress?
Do you lack passion and motivation on Monday morning?
Do you feel sluggish or tense on Monday morning?
If you do, you might be experiencing the Monday Blues.
Ways we can all try to beat or avoid the dreaded Monday Morning Blues.
1. Identify the problem. The first thing to do is to ask yourself what's wrong, clarifying what is bothering you can help you try to be active in finding solutions. It’s a way of empowering you to take charge and try to improve the situation.
2. Prepare for Monday on Friday. Mondays can be extra stressful from work that has potentially piled up from the previous week and, for many, can be challenging to jump right back in.
To help combat that Monday morning anxiety, be sure to leave yourself as few dreadful tasks as possible on Friday afternoon. “By taking care of the things you least want to handle at the end of one work week, you're making the start of the next that much better.
If you do have any unpleasant tasks awaiting your attention Monday morning, get them done as early as possible so that you don't spend the rest of the day with that black cloud hanging over your head.
Also ensure your calendar tasks are up to date and synched giving you a clear view and handle of the week to come. Uncertainty or confusion is rarely a good state to be in.
3. Make a list of the things you’re excited about. Sunday evening, make a list of three things you are looking forward to at work that week. This might put you in a more positive mood. If you can't think of three things you look forward to, that might be an indication that you need to make some changes.
4. Unplug for the weekend. If possible, avoid checking work related texts, e-mail, voicemail, Teams messages, etc over the weekend, especially if you're not going to respond until Monday. Your weekend should remain your time as much as possible. Also, to help your colleagues avoid Monday blues don’t send them e-mails after hours on Friday or before hours on Monday, especially if they require significant action because doing this will potentially throw their planned Monday mornings into unexpected turmoil causing anxiety or even a degree of anger and resentment.
5. Get enough sleep and wake up early. Go to bed a little early on Sunday night and be sure to get enough sleep so that you wake up feeling well-rested. Although it might seem counter-intuitive, waking up an extra 30 minutes early on Monday morning will give you just a little more ‘me time’ instead of feeling totally controlled by your work. Those few extra minutes of ‘me-time’ may just help you remember that you're not a robot who is programmed just to work.
6. Dress for success. Whether physically in the office or working remotely from home, dress up, perk up and show up ready to be positive and help others be positive. Simply, when you look good, you tend to feel better about yourself. This will help you face work with greater confidence.
7. Be positive. Try to start your week with an attitude of gratitude. Take time to recognize and appreciate the things that you enjoy about work. If you’re able to be a source of positivity in the workplace, not only will you make your day more enjoyable, but you’ll also make the work environment better for those around you.
8. Make someone else happy. Make a vow to do something nice for someone else as soon as you can on Monday. It’s well known from extensive research in ‘positive psychology’ that one of the best ways to cheer yourself up is to make someone else happy.
9. Keep your Monday schedule light. Knowing that Mondays are traditionally busy days in work, a good approach is to try and keep your Monday morning schedule as clear as possible and in your control. Instead of tackling the biggest and most complicated tasks early on Monday morning, take some time for easier, more routine stuff, this might just help get you up and running and give you the energy boost you need for the bigger more challenging tasks later in the day or the week ahead.
Be careful though, don’t overdo this because if you have too much free time, you could end up sitting around feeling blue.
10. Have fun at work. On Monday morning, take it upon yourself to do something that you and your co-workers might enjoy, like sharing the most positive stories about your weekends and the things you are looking forward to during and beyond the working week.
11. Have a Monday post-work plan. Your Monday shouldn't just be about ploughing through it to get it over with. By making Monday a more special day by thinking about and looking forward to doing something enjoyable like, going out with family and/or friends, making your favourite meal, simply eating a bowl of popcorn and catching up on your favourite TV series, taking a fun walk with your dog in the local park, going to the gym or playing games with your children. Plan so your whole Monday doesn't only revolve around work. Plan for the enjoyable things you ‘can do’ that having a paid job gives you.
Have a think about these, they may just help a bit.
Source acknowledgements
Alexander Kjerulf - an international author and speaker on happiness at work
Rita Friedman, acclaimed career coach
Ryan Kahn, a career coach, author and founder of ‘The Hired Group’
Sara Sutton Fell, CEO and founder of ‘FlexJobs’
Deborah Shane, a career author, featured writer, speaker, and media and marketing consultant.