Look forward to Mondays

Monday Schmonday? We can turn that around. It’s time to look forward to Mondays

Can we look forward to Mondays? Yes, it’s possible!

Historically, Monday’s suck. You’re sleep-deprived, hungover, and mourning the loss of the weekend – and judging by the contagious yawns of the office, so are your colleagues. Collectively, it doesn’t fill you with confidence that you’ll be falling into bed at the end of the day wishing to do it all over again. But the start of the week doesn’t have to be the uphill struggle it’s become. Here’s how to look forward to Mondays.

Keep the weekend rolling

Who said the weekend had to stop at Sunday? Once work is out of the way, Monday evening is yours. Plan an indulgent weekend activity like a nice dinner or a cinema trip to extend those weekend vibes. The thought will get you through those morning meetings, trust us.

Rewire your mind

Everyone hates Mondays, right? If it were a food it would be brussel sprouts; if it were a shoe it would be Crocs. But does it suck because you think it sucks? Thinking logically, your mindset shouldn’t be dictated by what day of the week it is. Try actively squashing those negative Monday thoughts and you might see a difference.

Enjoy Sunday

We’ve all experienced the Sunday blues – the moment your weekend lurches from blissfully doing nothing to the onset of dread that Monday is lurking just around the corner. Have you ever wondered if a) you might be wasting a good chunk of your Sunday worrying about a day that hasn’t even happened yet? And b) if it’s worth the worry anyway? Sure, we could all do with another day lying in bed until 12pm binge watching Netflix, but that shouldn’t ruin you doing just that right now.

Watch your sleep

Staying up late on Saturday and then sleeping in on Sunday is likely to put your circadian rhythms out of whack, especially if your body is used to a strict work routine in the week. Try and keep sleep and wake times within an hour of weekday timings for less of a rude awakening when Monday rolls around.

Meditate

It’s hard for your mind and body to keep up as you flit between maxing out the relaxing on the weekend and headless-chicken stress levels in the week. Try going for a meditation or yoga class to bring your mind back to centre, restore effective breathing and balance blood pressure.

Take a weekend off

Living for the weekend is certainly not a new phenomena, but the truth is, partying too hard over the weekend might be the reason you feel so rubbish come Monday. Why don’t you try taking every other weekend off the booze, and trying other activities instead? You might even come to enjoy that clear head on Sunday morning…

Make a playlist

We’re sure we’re not the only ones who are instantly buoyed by a collection of feel-good songs. Rather than wallowing in self-pity on Sunday evening, use that time to compile a kick-ass playlist to kick Monday’s ass.

Get outdoors on the weekend

Especially if you have an office job, use the weekend to get out into the great outdoors, get some vitamin D on your face and some clean air into your lungs. You’ll be thankful for it mid-week.

Set goals

The Sunday before every Monday, set yourself a goal for that day. It might be ‘on Monday, I will listen to an interesting podcast’ or ‘on Monday, I’ll run 5k’. Not only will your goal give direction to your day, but the satisfaction of completing it – no matter how small or big – will override any negative Monday feels.

Write a to-do list on Friday

Yep, right before you check out for Friday drinks and leave the office for the weekend, write yourself a to-do list for Monday. Note down, in order of importance, the tasks you’ll need to do, so not only will you feel assured over the weekend that your workload is managed, you will return to work on monday feeling organised, productive and calm – without an ounce of stress in sight.