Happy Monday, y’all! Yes, I did just use “happy” and “Monday” in the same sentence. If you are anything like 99.9% of the rest of the entire world, you dread Mondays. You probably saw several “Monday’s suck” type posts on social media, or made one yourself. I get it. Your two sacred days of rest, relaxation, cleaning, organizing, or whatever you consider to be “me time” have blown right by, and it’s time to get back to the grind again. It can be a daunting task to look at. Mondays generally start the 5 day countdown to the weekend, and it’s a never-ending cycle.
If you haven’t learned yet, I love a good paradigm shift! That being said, let’s shift some paradigms and dive into some ideas on how to make Mondays a little more enjoyable. The following seven tips are things that I do my darnedest to accomplish in order to set my week up for success. I would say I hit at least 5 of these on an average week, and I’ve seen a noticeable shift in my stress levels since applying them. Let’s get started!
1) Mind Control
We live in a super negative world. We also live in a very lazy world. I’m convinced these two things are the reasons we have this hatred for Mondays in our current culture. We will find anything and everything to be negative about, and we want to live in a never-ending weekend state. I hate to break it to ya, sweetheart, but that’s a super unrealistic expectation of life. We look at the beginning of the week as a bad thing when in fact it presents a whole new host of opportunities. This a chance for you to wipe your slate clean from all of last week’s blunders, set new goals, and achieve new feats. Every Monday is the start of something new! Look at it as a new adventure- what will you see, do, think, dream, and create this week. Who will you meet and where will you go? Don’t take for granted this opportunity to change the world. Not everyone will get another Monday. Don’t look at Mondays as a start to a mundane week- they deserve more credit than that. Take some time to pray over your week ahead. Make declarations that this will be the best week yet, that God is for you, that you have the mind of Christ, that you have a spirit of peace… the list goes on and on!
2) Proper Preparation
Here come my favorite “5 P’s” again- Proper Planning (Preparation) Prevents Poor Performance. Monday morning is not the time to scramble at the last-minute and run around like a chicken with you head cut off. For your sake, and for the sake of those around you, take some time on Sunday afternoon/ evening to prep for your week ahead. Don’t stay out too late, do some meal prep, double and triple check your 15 alarms set in 5 minute increments (I’m not the only one, right?), make sure your home is tidy, and pick out a cute outfit you will look forward to wearing. This will all eliminate potential stress factors from your Monday, and in turn, your week as a whole.
3) Start Off On the Right Foot
It’s everyone’s famous saying, “I’ll start that on Monday”. Well, honey, Monday is HERE! If you said your diet starts today, do whatever you need to do to make sure that happens. If you said you’d exercise on Monday, do it. If you said you would start getting more organized on Monday, just do it! There is nothing like the feeling of accomplishment you get when you do what you said you would do, when you said you’d do it. Imagine starting off your week with that feeling- you’ll be unstoppable! Do whatever it takes to get there. Even if it’s just a small step, it’s a step nevertheless.
4) Create Weekday “Me Time”
It can be really difficult to find quiet time during the week. My favorite way to do this is my morning routine. I am usually up an hour or two before my husband , so this time is pretty much guaranteed to be by myself (not that i don’t love time with Jon-Paul, but alone time is vital for a successful marriage- more on that next Sunday) A good, solid morning routine is a huge key to success. It is another way to eliminate stress from your week, especially if you are making it enjoyable! Get up, wash your face, do your skincare routine, work out, drink your tea or coffee, do your devotions, listen to some praise and worship, etc. I always feel SO much more fulfilled and accomplished when I do the things I set out to do. You will actually have MORE energy by doing these things. Make this your “me” time during the week!
5) Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
If you let every little thing get to you during your week, you might spontaneously combust. Is it just me, or does it seem like 70% of things that go wrong during the week happen on Mondays. Someone cuts you off, you spill your coffee down the front of you, you get a flat, or worse, you get pulled over. Yes, these things SUCK, but no, it is not the spirit of Monday out to get you. It’s life and once it happens, there is nothing you can do to change the fact that these sucky things took place . The only thing you have control of is your attitude in response to these events, and how you choose to learn from your crappy event. Spilled coffee? Chances are you were rushing. Someone cuts you off, don’t flip them the bird. Chill out. Get pulled over, leave on time and don’t speed! Hit traffic? Take some time to pray. There is a positive perspective and solution for every problem, but your attitude and response to these situations will determine the outcome and success.
6) Take 30 Minutes to an Hour at Work to Plan Out the Rest of Your Work Week.
If you’re anything like me, you have a legal pad for every topic. My favorite one is my to-do list legal pad. Every Monday when I get into work, I get a couple of quick things done, then create a list of things I have to get done that week, including the 2 or three things I already did. I automatically get to cross those off with an amazing feeling of satisfaction. It helps motivate me to get everything on that list crossed out. If I have time, I even write out a personal version of that list. I live by lists. They keep me accountable and organized, and keep me from forgetting to do things in a job where there are always things to do!
7) Plan Something Enjoyable When You Get Home from Work
What makes a day more exciting than having something to anticipate when you get home! Save a show on DVR to watch. Try out a new recipe for dinner (or throw something in the crock pot in the morning! You’ll be excited to get home and see how it turned out). Plan a family game or movie night. Have yourself a bubble bath for some quiet time to wind down from the day. Any time you start to catch a case of the Mondays, just remember what you have waiting at home for you. I try to keep the exciting event at the end of the day at home rather than going out. If you start your week out exhausted, you are setting yourself up for failure.
Mondays do not have to suck. The last half of your Sunday should not be filled with stress for the week to come and your week as a whole should not be a countdown to the weekend- savor every bit of your week- even Mondays!
Emily Louise Keller 