How to make your life easier on Mondays

Monday causes bouts of melancholy and anxiety in many. Scientists have even found that it is on this day that people feel the most unhappy. There are many reasons for this: you have to give up the freedom we enjoyed on the weekend, think about responsibilities and stress again, get up early. Luckily, it's in our power to make Mondays less scary.

1. Prepare well in advance

On Sunday, look at your calendar and remember what you planned to do on Monday. Make a list of tasks if you missed Friday. If necessary, pack your bag and get your belongings ready for work.

Don't stay up late Sunday night watching TV shows, playing games, or flipping through social media. Otherwise, you will not get enough sleep and the next morning you will feel overwhelmed. Ideally, on a weekend you should get up and lie down at the same time as on a weekday. And don't be too heavy on alcohol. Monday is already tough, so don't add a hangover to it.

2. Start your day early

Yes, it's not easy, but this will give your brain time to gradually get used to the fact that the work week has begun. Try to come to your workplace early, take your time for a cup of coffee, read the news or mail, chat with colleagues. Start your day with a simple task, and then move on to more difficult ones.

3. Watch your thoughts in the morning

Negative thoughts are often not at all connected with real facts, we repeat them just out of habit. Pay attention to what you think about on Monday morning. If you notice that the phrases “Nothing will work”, “Everything is bad”, “I can’t” and the like often pop up, replace them with positive ones. For example, "I can do it", "Everything is fine", "I used to succeed and now I will succeed." This way you will control your thoughts and your mood, and not vice versa.

4. Plan something nice for Monday

It doesn't matter what it will be: your favorite dish for breakfast, yoga for lunch, or meeting a friend in the evening. Or maybe on Mondays you and your family will have dinner in a cafe instead of cooking at home. The bottom line is that by planning an event for your pleasure, you regain your sense of control and create joyful anticipation.

Also, try not to hammer Monday with unpleasant and difficult things: this will make it seem even worse. Spread them evenly over the days of the week.

5. Limit your social media consumption

On Sunday nights and Monday mornings, try to keep your social media browsing a little less. People often complain that it's Monday again, and joke about the liters of coffee they will have to drink in order to somehow survive the day. This negative attitude is contagious.

6. Take time to take care of yourself

Someone needs to meditate for this, someone needs to lie in a hot bath, and someone needs to go for a run to get a charge of endorphins. Choose the appropriate method or combine several. This will help protect against the anxiety caused by the start of a new work week and help maintain peace of mind.

7. Rate your job satisfaction

A dislike for Mondays may reflect your general attitude towards what you do. If you are constantly afraid of the first day of the work week or are dying of boredom in advance, just remembering about it on the weekend, it may be worth considering a change. Moreover, the search for a new place is only one of the options.

Think about what you can change in your current location to make your work more enjoyable. And discuss it with the management. Also check to see if you are experiencing burnout. If that’s the case, don’t postpone recovery or it gets worse.

eight. Remind yourself of pleasant experiences in the following days

Plan something interesting on Tuesday or Wednesday, such as a date, a movie trip, or a meeting with friends. Now Monday will not upset you, but will bring you closer to the long-awaited event.

9. Accept

Yes, sometimes Monday is the worst day of the week. But stress is a common part of life, and from time to time you can't get away from it. Accept this and remind yourself that you have enough strength to handle it and get through this unfortunate day.