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Mondays are hard on everyone. However, if you’re working through the weekends as well, Mondays can be even harder on you. After a few weeks, it may seem automatic. However, in order for your brain to be functioning at 100%, you need to give it a break over the weekend. Here are some tips on how to stay motivated on Mondays (or any other day for that matter).
Table of Contents
4 Easy Ways to Stay Motivated on Mondays
#1) Prioritize Your To-Do List
Plan for Monday on Friday. Truth be told, I do this habitually every workday, but this is especially important on Fridays (or whatever day your workweek ends).
On the last day of your workweek, write down a to-do list for Monday. If you can, prioritize it. I spend the last half hour of work doing this and getting papers, books, document files ready for the next workday.
It is comforting to know that when I get back to work, I don’t have to worry about all of that housekeeping. In addition to that, writing all of that down will help your mind disengage as well. It’s like you’re purging your work-related thoughts at the end of the day so that when you leave your office, you’re leaving your work life behind.
Related: 5 ways to save time in the morning
#2) Disengage Over the Weekend
Seriously, you need your downtime. Not only does your body need the downtime, but your brain also needs it. It’s one of the biggest organs you have, but you should think of it more like a muscle. Yes, you need to exercise it but you need to rest it as well.
Sometimes, asking someone to disengage from work for the whole weekend is too much. That’s okay. Start with a day first. Focus on not thinking about work for a full 24 hours.
Don’t think about anything professional or anything that has to do with your job. Don’t even mention work. Don’t check your e-mail. Leave your phone at home if you have to.
Read: Monday motivation
#3) Workaholic Mantra
If you’re anything like me, you’re a workaholic. My fiance has to tell me to stop thinking about work when I am away from my office. When we are spending time together, I should be spending time with him instead of dividing my attention between him and my thoughts about work. Random things that we will encounter outside of my job will make me think of my job.
So I’ve come up with a mantra that works for me. When I start thinking about work, I just say this to myself and try to flip to the switch in my brain from work to play. Find a mantra that works best for you.
#4) Productive Mondays Do Exist…Somewhere
Mondays are known for not being productive. No one wants to be at work. We’re not ready to flip that switch from play to work yet. Let me tell you though, if you get to work on Monday and it gets to be so bad that you can’t get anything done, you’re probably not giving your brain enough downtime over the weekend.
That being said, that excuse isn’t going to fly well with your boss. So here are some tips for being as productive as you can be on Mondays:
- Avoid energy suckers. Try not to associate with people who seem to suck all that energy out of you at work. If you must, keep the contact to a minimum.
- No snoozing your alarm. Get up early. Believe it or not, if you actually get out of bed when your alarm goes off, it’s like you’ve won the battle over the “snooze monster” that lurks deep within your sheets. Actually waking up earlier helps a lot of people be more productive in the morning. It’s a scientifically proven fact.
- Have a not-to-do list. Sometimes a “do-not-do” list is just as important as a to-do list. So after you write down that important task list of yours, write down a list of things that you shouldn’t do that day. That may differ from day to day. One day the main focus could be “no social networking” and the next day it could be “stop texting your man when you get bored.”
Now it’s your turn. How do you deal with Mondays? Do you have a relaxation technique that helps you hit the restart button over the weekend? How about an organizational tool that helps you keep track of the tasks that you have waiting for you at the office when you get back? How do you show “Mondays” who is the boss? We’d love to hear your thoughts! Share your ideas and questions in the comment section below.
Well, my first day of the work week is actually on Wednesday instead of Monday, and yet it still always feels like a Monday anyway! I really like the idea of prepping ahead so whatever your first day of the week is you are ready to get down to business.
Enforced relaxation is a must for keeping bad stress at bay. Off days are pretty sacred in my house. Anything work related gets left at the door when we come home. The focus stays on relaxing through the weekend, then prepping the night before work. Being prepared for the next day really helps it go more smoothly.
Oh the Monday syndrome. In fact, the worst thing is that I don’t feel it on Mondays; I feel it on Sundays starting in the early afternoon hours. And somehow half of my weekend is ruined. These are some great tips you have shared here. I will try to follow them and see if they work for me.
This is something that I need to work on. Somehow, I get dragged into work related task even on days that I am off. I guess I need to set up some separate emails or something so that I don’t even see the work stuff when I am off.
Isn’t it funny how the syndrome transfers to the day when your week actually starts? I have the same issue, my “Monday” is different from week to week and I always have that draggy feeling on the first day of work.
I have the early Monday Blues as well and it seems like the older I get the quicker it catches up to me. This weekend was first ruined by the rain and then by everyone getting sick and also getting the blues about the week ahead.
Hi Lorpsa, I can imagine what it feels like. Sometimes, it’s so bright and shiny throughout the week when I have to go to work and I look forward to the weekend to go for a swim. Then as soon as the weekend starts, it’s cloudy and rainy. It’s really frustrating.
Learning how to set boundaries and maintain them is one of the most important lessons we all have to learn. It’s harder when you have the tendency to be Superwoman, I think. The more you can do, the more people tend to pile on. I had to be very clear with people that there were specific times I would answer phone calls and emails. Work time is for work; family time is for family. The two are each sacred in their own ways.
The Monday blues are a problem that a lot of people suffer from every single week. It’s actually so bad that even when I’m on vacation, I feel that Monday pressure sometimes.
This is going to be really hard for me when my alarm goes off in the morning. We decided to sneak away this weekend, while we have been back for a few hours I am not even motivated to unpack yet.
I need to start doing this. I am sure it will help to make the days less stressful even when things don’t always go the way I hope they would. Today has been pure madness and I am counting down the hours until I can call it a day.
I had that issue this weekend. We were planning a nice bike ride together (the first in a few months due to hectic schedules) and it rained the entire weekend. We decided to take the time to clear out our attic and look over things some of the things from our past, looking back to see how much we have grown as a couple worked just as fine to reconnect as a bike ride would have.
Sounds like you had a good time this weekend; except for the clearing out part. I have this tiny little storage room at home and I’ve been postponing clearing out for months. I should do it some time soon 😉