Are you the type who jump out of bed on a Monday morning and just can’t wait to get to work? If yes, Congratulations! This article is not for you.
This article is for the regular office goers who loathe the idea of waking up on a Monday morning, and drag their bodies to work. If you belong to this second category, but wish to be among the type described in the previous paragraph, read on.
Most of us sift through a Monday morning catching up on emails and moaning. Conversely, since your brain is relaxed, planning your week’s tasks and activities is a good use of the Monday morning. It is an important day of the week that can pretty much set the tone of the work week, if used properly. More often than not, there are important meetings or tasks scheduled for a Monday that require you to be at your best. You cannot let the energy slump affect your tasks and goals.
Instead of analysing why Mondays are important, I will straight away jump into these tried and tested ways of making you feel on top of the world (exaggeration 😉 ) on a Monday!
1. Root cause analysis
We all go through an occasional Monday blue every now and then, which could be a mix of various psychological and physiological factors. Yet, if you constantly find yourself struggling to cope up with Mondays, and are exceptionally happy on Fridays, it might be time to really find out why. Is there some aspect of your work/office that you find demotivating? Introspection and listing out the positives and negatives of your work might be a good exercise to help you figure out the next steps.
2. Scheduling work that you find interesting
We all love doing what we find interesting, and when we are doing what we find interesting work seems to become more enjoyable. Schedule chunks of work that you find interesting on Monday mornings. This way you will have something to look forward to at work. It helps raise your spirits and mitigate the Monday morning blues. The bonus is that the tasks get done effectively.
3. Adequate hydration
Research has proved that the human brain needs optimum hydration to remain sharp and focussed. The longest period of time we spend without drinking any fluids is the 6 – 8 hours at night while sleeping. Not just on Mondays, but each morning hydrate once you wake up. Most of us go for a caffeine kick to get going; before you do that, have a glass or two of water. Effective hydration raises the alertness of the brain, and helps clear any brain fog.
4. Positive mental associations
This one and the one next is related to consciously re-wiring your brain. We have heard and accepted the stories spoken around us about Mondays being this and that. It might just be that we’ve lead ourselves to believe that Mondays are blue. Recreate the story. Think of the one thing that you like a lot and associate working on a Monday with it. For example, associating holidays or shopping with working on Mondays. Work pays for Holidays and Shopping, so working on Mondays is fabulous! Positive associations will create positive feelings about the day.
5. Positive affirmations
Continuously keep telling yourself that you ‘love’ Mondays. Soon it becomes a habit and the brain gets programmed to accept a Monday as any other day of the week. Throughout the morning keep repeating that “It’s a beautiful Monday morning, and I am going to be so productive at work today!” Consciously Smile a lot on Monday mornings; the activity would send the brain a signal that you are happy. Repeat this week on week and soon you would be one of those who are brimming with energy and enthusiasm on a Monday morning.
6. Sleeping well on Sunday night
If you haven’t followed this one, none of the other techniques can hugely help you recover from sleep deficit on a Monday morning. There is sound logic behind labelling Friday and Saturday nights as party nights. Sunday nights are meant for recovery. Get 7 to 8 hours of sleep on a Sunday night to wake up fresh and ready for the next working week on Monday.
7. A balanced breakfast
What would be better than a balanced and healthy breakfast to complement the good sleep on Sunday night to kick start a Monday? Plan the breakfast on the Sunday night and make sure that it doesn’t have lots of sugar in it as sugar causes energy slumps later during the day. Here are some quick and healthy breakfast ideas to help you. My favourite is scrambled eggs with beans on toast and/or oats with apples and blueberries.
Hope the tips shared above help you to get over your Monday morning slump. Please do leave your comments and share if you’ve got any more tips.
Cheers!
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