How not to hate Mondays

If you’re like most people, you’re probably irked by thought of Monday. 

You’re having a great time over the weekend, then suddenly: It’s hard to come down from the weekend, especially if you’ve had great one that you wish wouldn't have ended. But there’s no reason to hate Mondays.

Monday is the day of the week with the worst rep. It’s the day you must go back to work, the day that ends your weekend.

Also, people put a lot of burden on the beginning of their week. If you ever said that Monday is the day you’ll start your diet or exercise, the day you’ll stop smoking or the day you’ll call your mother more, you know what I’m talking about. Matt Emerzian, author of the book Every Monday Matters, said in an interview with Fast Company on why exactly is it that every Monday matters:

“If you really think about it, we have created a monster out of a day of the week, and the monster is so powerful that it even overpowers our Sundays. So, basically two of our seven days a week are ruined because of Mondays.”

With a few simple hacks, you can claim back your Mondays, and go from this… ... to this:

1. Plan your meals for the week 

Nutrition is really important if you want to maintain high energy levels. What you put into your body is extremely important. But when things get hectic during the week, it’s easy to forget to eat healthy.

Planning your meals for the whole week might seem a bit overboard, but if you've ever found yourself with an empty fridge on a Wednesday night you'll know it's not. Even a tentative plan is better than no plan when it comes to your meals.

2. Clean your workspace

White space is conducive to productivity. And a messy workspace is quite the opposite of that. You want to be able to work unencumbered by piles of stuff . You need space to work. And no matter what some might say, chaos (especially the kind where you can't find a pen to write with) is not conducive to creativity.

Set time aside before you start your work for the week to clean up your work space. Remember, the more you postpone cleaning your desk, the messier it will get. If you need some tips on how to keep your desk organized, check out 10 Tips to Keep Your Desk Clean, Organized & Productive from Time Management Ninja.

3. Set weekly goals 

Setting weekly goals helps guide your week. On Monday, it’s easy to get stuck on taking care of emails that piled up over the weekend and tying up the loose ends of the past week. Setting weekly goals is more simple than it sounds.

Ask yourself: what do I want to accomplish this week? Then break your goals into tasks and get to work!

Don’t limit yourself to either personal or career goals. Have both. Personal development is just as important as professional development.

4. Share your goals with your team

It’s a proven fact that sharing your goals with others will make it more likely for you to achieve those goals. You feel more accountable to them, and positive peer pressure is a really good motivator. In his book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, social psychologist Robert Cialdini argues that  

"once we have made a choice or taken a stand, we will encounter personal and interpersonal pressures to behave consistently with that commitment. Those pressures will cause us to respond in ways that justify our earlier decision."

This is not at all a bad thing, if you want to achieve your goals and you know that at some point, you might slack. Have a weekly goals meeting with your team at work, and try to do the same within your personal social circle.

5. Do something you feel really good about every week

Doing something that gives you great joy in your life is not only about setting goals and accomplishing them, but also about engaging in meaningful activities.

Whether it’s volunteering in your community to pick up litter, or visiting a pet shelter, doing something that you feel good about will make your whole week feel awesome, no matter where you are on achieving your goals. Meaningful activities give you something great to feel about every week, and also something awesome to look forward to.

6. Set your weekly purpose

Your purpose is different from your goals. Goals are about action, purpose is about being. Your weekly purpose is like a mantra that will remind you of something that is important to YOU throughout the week.

Your weekly purpose might be living more in the present, or it might be about dealing with anxiety. Use some introspection to find out what it is that you really need before you set your weekly purpose.

Try a few 6 things over the next couple of weeks, and you'll see that Monday becomes less and less the bad guy of the week.  In the end, it's all about having a positive attitude and not letting 'the monster' that Monday is believed to be overtake your life.

Do you have any tips on how to stop hating Monday and making it an awesome start to the week? Share them with us and other readers in the comment section below. 

Photo credit: Robert Couse-Baker (CC)