Mondays. The dreaded first day of the workweek. We all hate them, but why? We spend our whole weekend either sleeping in and relaxing or running around as busy as we can be. We’re left feeling sluggish and wishing that we could have just one more day between Sunday and Monday. Perhaps this imaginary day could allow us to mentally prepare for the start to our week. Unfortunately, we discover that this isn’t a possibility. Not being able to mentally prepare has a negative effect on our mood, which decreases our productivity. Here are just a few tips and tricks on how you can start your week right and kick that Case of the Mondays for good!
1. Exercise
In this fast-paced society that we live in, it’s hard to get up and maintain the high levels of energy needed throughout the day. Having little to no energy results in low productivity levels and a negative mood. Simply doing a few small exercises throughout the day has been shown to improve your overall mood and productivity. According to The Mayo Clinic, regular exercise can improve your oxygen levels and blood flow, providing you with more energy to accomplish your daily tasks. You don’t even need to worry about getting a gym membership! A few simple exercises that you can easily do throughout your Mondays include jumping jacks in the morning, a lap or two around the office during lunch, or even a quick stretch at your desk every so often.
2. Reward yourself throughout the day!
We all love that feeling of accomplishment that comes when we meet our goals and we love the rewards even more! Some believe that the most productive way to get through a long workday is to set small goals and rewards for yourself. Each time you complete a certain small task, reward yourself with a 10-15-minute break. During this break, you could get up and get yourself a snack, a cup of tea or coffee, and the occasional short scroll through social media. You may find that this method of rewarding yourself will make your Mondays more productive and make you feel much more accomplished at the end of the day, so long as you don’t let those little breaks get in the way of you completing your next task.
3. Ditch the social norm
At one point in history, Monday was just another day. In fact, having “a Case of the Mondays” didn’t start until 1999 when 20th Century Fox released the movie Office Space. Whether or not we want to stand out, we all want to be unique! So the question is, how can we all be unique if we’re all conforming to the same mindset? Negative thoughts only increase the sluggishness that comes with having a Case of the Mondays. So, let’s not conform to this group think mindset and instead focus on what good we can accomplish throughout the day!
4. Give yourself an exciting reason to get up in the morning
Let’s be real, when your alarm first goes off in the morning, the only thing you want to do is hit the snooze button and lay in bed to the point of even being late, especially on Mondays! This can leave you feeling rushed and tired for the rest of the day. Now, if you were to take your time and enjoy your morning, you might not feel so rushed. Having something to do first thing in the morning that you enjoy can set a positive tone for the whole day. Whether it’s reading a good book, listening to your favorite podcast, making a fun breakfast, meeting a friend at a coffee shop, or something entirely different, it doesn’t matter! So long as it keeps you from hitting snooze and starts your Monday on a positive note, your whole day will have a much better outlook!
Continued improvement
Now that you have learned a few easy steps to improve your Mondays start putting them into practice! It is never too late to jump onto the self-improvement train and improving your Mondays is a great way for you to start your journey! if you would like more inspiration in the realm of self-improvement, click here to check out some of our other posts!
