The alarm rings and you’re already feeling it — the dreaded Monday Blues. Bad news? We’ve all felt it at some point. Good news? We can beat it!
Did you know that research has shown you crack your first smile only at 11.16 am on a Monday morning? That’s a little too late and way past the morning coffee — let’s start your week on a high note with these 5 tips on beating the Monday Blues.
Make Mondays Musical
Music not only changes the mood, it makes the mood. Start your day with an upbeat, fun song that would put you into a more energetic mood. Similarly, this could extend into your office environment — plugin, play your happy tune, and increase productivity.
Enjoy The Breaks
Don’t cut corners with your breaks. Have an hour lunch break? Take the full 60 minutes to enjoy your food, decompress from the morning, or even fit in a quick power nap. Mondays are usually filled with meetings or setting deadlines, it’s okay to save those breaks just for yourself and not multi-task
Be Monday-Ready on Friday
It might be a little hard to keep your productivity level high on a Friday. However, preparing for the new week ahead before leaving the office will go a long way. On top of beating them Monday Blues, the first day of the week is stressful enough since work probably piled over the weekend. Take that added pressure off by finishing the hard tasks on a Friday. For those who have little to no time to finish, the very least you can do is make a clear to-do list and map out tasks for the following week.
Clear The Clutter
Another thing that you could do on a Friday is to clear your clutter. In fact, this should be done on a daily basis to ease the anxiety as you start your day. Visual clutter overloads your mind with excessive stimuli, signaling that your work is never finished or will never be (which is not true!). This could dampen your spirit or simply leave you frustrated. Imagine the first thing you see after a nice weekend is a paper mess with different colors from last week’s meeting — major mood spoiler!
Plan A Simple Activity Post-Work
The reason many of us look forward to the weekend is that we get to do things we actually want to do. Schedule a simple social activity such as a quick post-work drink or simple dinner at your favorite restaurant with friends — this way, you have something to look forward to and get you through the day!
Now that we’ve shared with you all these tricks, it’s time to pick your favorite tune and implement these changes to set yourself up for a successful week ahead!
