There are many reasons for having the Monday morning blues. Even if you are an entrepreneur or self-employed and love your work it is possible to not feel enthusiastic about Monday morning. I know lots of young thirty-somethings who either play and work hard but also can feel these. They do not necessarily relate only to disliking your job/company, a stressful work environment, difficult interpersonal relationships at work. Sometimes we simply are working too much, the hours are too long, or you have not made the most of the weekends for re-charging your battery.
Here are some thoughts to help when the blues set in:
If the blues already start on Sunday evening, ask yourself the following questions:
- What exactly is going on that makes you feel like this now? Perhaps you did not finish something on Friday that you should have. Or perhaps there is somebody in the office you are dreading to see because you have an unresolved issue. Perhaps you are not feeling well because you do not take good enough care of yourself (eating poorly, not getting enough exercise, enough sleep, enough downtime, or enough play time).
- Realize what a shame it would be to ruin Sunday evening. Think about what you can do to feel a bit more positive. It helps to plan ahead:
1. If your attention is required to resolve an upcoming Monday morning problem at work, then take some time to think about what you need to do. Do you have to prepare something, organize your thoughts about a necessary conversation, plan shopping for food, or fit a walk into your schedule?
2. Once you organize your thoughts, if you still dislike the thought of going to work, then perhaps it is the job itself that is causing your blues. A change might be in order – perhaps a change of perspective about work.
Some thoughts on how to change your perspective:
1. Most things cannot be changed overnight. Yet since you will be going to work the next day, take a moment to consider what your job does do for your life; for example, paying the rent, putting food onto the table, clothes onto your back.
2. Bring the focus on to the positive to put your thoughts into perspective. Consider what is good about your job. What other aspects – beside your paycheck – are positive? For example, do you like the team you work with or the tasks you do? Have you learned a lot? Do you enjoy the environment, company, location, colleagues where you work? Do you enjoy the challenges it brings as compared to a less challenging job?
Make Monday morning as pleasant as possible:
Personally I find this step most helpful in the times when I am feeling a bit tired, or have been traveling for work too much.
- If possible, organize something on Sunday to shorten your morning preparation time. For example, decide what you will wear to work, pack your snack or lunch, and choose an activity that you would otherwise do in the morning that you can take care of on Sunday. This will help decrease some of the hectic morning rush.
- Practice acceptance. You will be going to work in the morning and no amount of moaning about it will change that fact. If anything, moaning will simply ruin your Sunday evening. Is this the choice you want to make?
Let nature offer some of its energy - This is another personal favorite.
On your way to work, draw some inspiration from nature, which contains so much energy and has so much to offer. Make sure to “stop and smell the roses” – if only by looking out of the window. It is possible to find nature everywhere.
Take Monday off if possible or schedule a home office day.
If you are self-employed or have a flexible schedule at your workplace, consider taking Monday off to do everything but work. Plan a day that has no plan. Do whatever you feel like doing whenever you feel like doing it.
Finding a new, improved frame of mind helps you get rid of the Monday morning blues. The choice is yours.
