Beating The Monday Blues

by Samantha De Bono
SDB Counselling Service

The weekend seems to fly by doesn't it and before you know it, you've got that 'Sunday Night Feeling' so when you wake up on Monday morning, you've already convinced yourself it's going to feel like a drag. The week ahead seem monumental and Monday morning is only the start, Friday seems to be so far in the distance you can hardly believe you'll last that long.

We all suffer from the Monday Blues to some extent, even if we enjoy our jobs, it's usually due to the stark contrast of the weekend, so it's quite natural to feel gloomy at the prospect of spending 5 days knuckling down to serious commitments.

Let's have a look at how we can make Monday's easier in the future:

Don't Leave Last Week's Work Undone

Try to organise your work in the week so that you don't leave work undone, this will help you avoid feeling bogged down the moment you open your eyes on Monday morning. Avoid putting difficult or troublesome work off, if you procrastinate on these jobs, all you are doing is setting yourself up for the blues, in fact, doing this makes every morning feel like Monday morning. Finish or handle as much work as possible by Friday or on Friday itself. This will make Monday's less daunting because you won't be dreading the idea of completing last week's work. Outstanding jobs will stress you unnecessarily because it'll be playing on your mind, which will affect your mood and your Monday.

Start The Week Positively

Starting Monday with a positive attitude will carry through the rest of the week. Remember all those times you've dug yourself deeper and deeper into a dark, miserable place? Well that's because you were telling yourself over and over again how crap things are and how miserable you feel. Fortunately, the same thing happens when we tell ourselves positive things, so every time you have a negative thought, stop yourself and change it to a positive one. Our thoughts can influence our feelings, so if you want to enjoy the week ahead and believe that Monday isn't so bad, you can! Change your negative thought process into a positive one and see how differently you feel.

Dress The Part

Often when we feel bad about having to do something like get up and go to work on a Monday morning, we convince ourselves through our negative thinking that we just can't be bothered, so we look that way too. Just dragging the first thing from the wardrobe will only make us feel worse, so instead, make an effort. Dressing smartly and looking good will help you to feel good too. Feeling good feeds our energy which sets up a positive cycle of thoughts and feelings.

Start Early On Monday

After a weekend of pleasing ourselves and doing what ever we want, it is quite difficult to get back into a routine. On Sunday night we are already telling ourselves "aaagh! I won't be able to get up early tomorrow" but that is exactly what we need to do. Getting up early on a weekday morning can really make a difference. Many working people are in a rush every morning, which brings with it heightened stress levels. It doesn't have to be a 5am start, but getting up with enough time to do everything you need to do without flying around the house in a temper will encourage a positive attitude, being able to get ready for your day in a calm, relaxed manner will take away a lot, if not all your anxiety and negativity about Monday mornings.

Weekend Rest and Relaxation

After a week of work, your mind and body needs rest and relaxation. Even if you have planned a hectic weekend, try to ensure that you also plan down-time to recharge your energy levels. This is probably better to do on a Sunday so that you are rested and ready to go on Monday, but if Sunday is out of the question, then make sure at some point over the weekend you get to chill-out and relax. If you have packed out your entire weekend, it's no surprise that come Monday, you will feel exhausted and unprepared for more work.

Breaks in The Day

If you wake up every Monday morning and know that the day and the week ahead is crammed with nothing but work, it's no wonder that you would want to put your head under the duvet and tell the world to go away. Breaks in the day are important. Try not to drink your coffee or tea at your desk, instead take a break and finish your drink away from the desk. Lunch should be taken outside of the work environment. I know this can feel impossible at times, especially when work is overflowing, but research shows that we are far more productive when we have breaks in our work. These breaks will help you recharge your batteries and feel rejuvenated.

Have Things to Look Forward To

Getting up on Monday morning after a weekend of doing what ever we please can feel terribly miserable because at that point we feel the good times have ended and the drudgery has just begun. That's why it is important to have things to look forward to. Arranging things for an evening mid week is ideal as this shortens the week and gives us a focus point closer to hand, but if this isn't possible, aim to have something in the diary to look forward to the following weekend, this way you have a pleasurable distraction when you feel overwhelmed or dragged down by the thought of another 5 days of work.

I hope these tips are useful, go on, try them out and have a great week. xx