How To Overcome The Monday Blues

Do you have overwhelming sensations of anxiety, depression, or tension at the start of your workweek? On Monday mornings, do you lack enthusiasm and motivation? Are you tired or tense? If you answered yes, you might be suffering from the Monday Blues. Making the shift from a relaxed, fun-filled weekend to a dreary workday on Monday might be difficult. If you wake up on Monday feeling stagnant, tense, or overwhelmed, the tactics below can help you keep two steps ahead of these symptoms.

Part of what makes Mondays so tricky is that we often abandon all of our regular eating, sleeping, and exercise habits on Friday afternoons. You’ll undoubtedly feel out of sorts by Monday morning if you drink more, eat richer meals, and have radically different sleep and wake patterns on Saturday and Sunday. This does not exclude you from taking some time off on weekends. However, strive to strike a balance that allows you to relax while maintaining your daily duties. Enjoy yourself, but don’t go crazy.

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Try to avoid reading business e-mail or voicemail over the weekend if at all possible, especially if you won’t be prepared to reply until Monday, but setting clear lines between work and home time can help maintain things in check. Leave your office worries at the office door on Friday and focus on enjoying your time off for the weekend.

While completely disconnecting from work over the weekend is preferable, it isn’t always possible. If you know you’ll have a busy week or an important deadline approaching, set aside an hour or two on Sunday to work to relieve some of the pressure on Monday. If you choose this way, make sure you have time to unwind on Saturday. You’ll still be frantic on Monday morning if you don’t take a break. And being overworked makes you operate less efficiently.