Posted on Saturday, 17th March 2018

It sometimes feels like we’ve accepted our fate when it comes to the Monday blues. We bond with each other over the loss of the weekend and commiserate in camaraderie over our impending Monday sentence. But what if it didn’t have to be like this? I have put together some tips and points to consider which I believe can eradicate the Monday blues:

Start with Sunday

Do one productive thing on Sunday- preferably something that was on your ‘to do’ list for Monday. This will do two things. 1- You will feel better for doing something proactive on Sunday. 2- it will make Monday feel a little better knowing you’ve already ticked something off your list before you’ve even got up on Monday morning!

Try and have an early night on Sunday

I used to hate going to bed on Sunday night. I wanted to stretch the weekend out for as long as possible, and going to bed early somehow felt like I was robbing myself of what was left of my precious weekend. This approach was like robbing Peter to pay Paul. I’d have given myself a longer Sunday evening, but definitely felt worse for it on Monday morning. We all know that everything seems worse when we’re tired. We are much better equipped to face the day if we’re well rested. So now I try my best to get plenty of sleep on Sunday, knowing that my future self will be very grateful come Monday.

Have something to look forward to on Monday morning

How can you make Monday morning an enjoyable experience rather than something to just get through? Maybe commit to making yourself a delicious breakfast. Or is there a podcast or a new album you’re excited about that you could listen to on your commute? Perhaps you could you meet a friend for breakfast so that’s how you’re starting your week rather than the dreaded 10am meeting.

Don’t pile on the pressure on Monday

I’m sure you’ve all heard the phrase ‘the diet starts on Monday!’ This is such a common approach. If we put off things wedon’t want to do until Monday then of course Monday will then be something to dread! I’ve always used Monday as a day to treat myself. If you know you are someone who can find Monday difficult, then try and avoid making it even worse. Why not start the diet on Thursday? Why not enrol at the gym on Wednesday? If we load poor Monday with our least favourite things, it doesn’t stand a chance.

Make Monday night an event

Why do you think Friday morning feels so much better than Monday morning? The anticipation! You’ve got things planned, be it activities, social occasions, or rest and relaxation. There is no reason this anticipation cannot be felt ahead of Monday. Plan a date night, cook an extravagant dinner, keep the film you’ve been looking forward to watching for Monday evening instead of watching it over the weekend.

I really believe how we frame things in our heads makes such a difference to how we feel about them. If we associate Monday with an endless week stretching out with nothing to look forward to until Friday, this will not make us feel good. If we associate Monday with a lovely evening to look forward to, this is going to make a positive difference.

Also, it has been suggested by some research that the Monday blues are the result of feeling disappointed that it’s not the weekend anymore, and not that it’s the beginning of the week again. Therefore, if we associate Monday evenings with the type of activities we would engage in at the weekend, this could easily solve this problem.

Acceptance

Sometimes you will just feel a bit lower on a Sunday evening. You’re sad the weekend is over, you’ve got a week of work stretching out ahead of you and you may be a bit tired. Sometimes accepting instead of fighting can be more effective. So you feel a bit anxious or low. You’ve experienced hundreds of Mondays before and have survived every one of them. This feeling will pass and you will experience many more happy feelings to come. Sit with this feeling, be kind to yourself and know it too will pass. Sometimes once you’ve done this, you may find the feeling has lessened already.

Is there something deeper going on?

The Monday blues are something we can all empathise with. But are yours telling you something more important? If the idea of starting your week really fills you with dread and makes you feel unhappy, does this mean you need to make some changes? Is there genuine dissatisfaction going on, be it in your work, relationship or something else? Try and be really honest with yourself in answering this question.

Whether you’re reading this on Sunday evening, Monday morning, or some other time, I hope this has helped and that your day is anything but blue!