I Don’t Like Mondays, I Love Them: 5 Reasons to Love Mondays

Mondays… They’re the worst, right? Well please don’t hate me, but I actually really like Mondays. I’d go so far as to say I LOVE them.

(Before I start: hope you like the new look to my blog branding, I love the new header!)

Of course, they don’t beat the weekend – for me, that’s the main time I get to spend with my husband, friends and family and try to at least spend a bit of time away from the blog (note the keyword “try”).

But this week I woke up Monday morning refreshed and really rather excited about a new working week. I took time off work last week and spent five of those days in Ilfracombe in North Devon on a “time holiday”: walking, working out, eating a vegan diet, no TV, lots of sleep and fresh air.

 

Reading time: 5 mins

This post was originally published in March 2017 and has been updated.

 

I came home feeling good both physically and mentally, so it’s no wonder I was full of positivity come Monday morning.

It got me thinking about why a new week should be a positive, not a negative, thing. And how the way you approach it can make all the difference to how the rest of the week goes.

It makes sense that if you start Monday feeling negative, you’ll most likely end up feeling negative when Monday draws to a close, and possibly into the rest of the week as well. As they say about happiness, sometimes you’ve just got to force it a little bit. Have you heard the theory that if you force yourself to smile it can actually boost your mood and increase happiness levels?

Yep – it’s a thing (apparently). Studies were done and everything. So maybe that same theory can be applied by forcing positivity onto Mondays a little bit?

It’s worth a go at least, so hear me out. Here are the reasons why I love Mondays, and hopefully it can give you a few suggestions as to how you can make it at least not the worst day of the week (we’ll leave that particular accolade to Tuesday. Now we’re talking the most heinous day of the week #AbolishTuesdays).

 

5 reasons to love Mondays…

1. I enjoy my job, so I like Mondays.

A new working week is always a positive thing for me. I’ve usually had lots of creative inspiration over the weekend and turning them into something real and tangible is one of my favourite things to do at the start of the new week.

I like to remind myself of the projects I’ve got coming up by going through my emails.

I like to catch up on the social media messages I’ve missed because I’ve been out doing other things at the weekend (otherwise known as “having a life”, which can be hard to remember to do when you’re a content creator).

But because I like what I do, it’s easier for me to like Mondays.

 

How this could work for you:
If you’re in a job you don’t enjoy, I see you – I’ve been there (many times). One job I hated so much that I felt sick every morning and came home crying after work every night for the final few months until I left. If this is you, PLEASE do something about it.

You may want to read my post about why sometimes you need to take a chance in life. It’s not too late to change and turn your [work] life around; don’t let your perceived ability, your age or anything else stop you.

 

2. I like to get back into my routine

After a weekend of eating maybe a few too many treats and going to bed a bit later than I should, I like the working week routine that Mondays bring.

Whilst I enjoy the odd pudding we treat ourselves to or the must-watch classic movie we stayed up and watched on Saturday night, a routine is really where I’m at. It makes me feel positive with an organised time for everything (and cleaner eating), and I get so much more done.

 

How this could work for you: 
If you’re not usually a routine kind of person, just try it and see. If you’re worried it’ll make life “boring”, think of all the free time you’ll have to be spontaneous because the stuff that has to get done (eating, sleeping, exercising, sorting out the kids, walking the dog, housework, you get my drift!) gets done more quickly and more efficiently because it’s done at the same time every day/week/month.

Get the mundane stuff out of the way in the quickest, most efficient way possible. Let your hair down and fly by the seat of your pants the rest of the time.

 

3. Mondays are my busiest day work-wise, and I like that

Yes, that’s a positive thing, honest! I like being busy. Lord knows I shouldn’t have become a full-time blogger if I didn’t like working because a woman’s blogger’s work is never done. (Seriously – my husband often asks me before bed, “Have you done all your work today?” And he always gets a wide-eyed look and a “No, it’s never all done!”)

There’s no such thing when you blog… when you finish one thing there are always, always another 10 things to do. I like to tackle all my work head-on and really steam through it – I tend to lose that momentum a little as the week goes on. On a Monday I feel like I could accomplish anything.

 

How this could work for you: 
If you’re the sort of person who shuns hard work, then I probably can’t do much to help you. But if you always have a lot to do at the beginning of a new work week but the Monday Blues affect your output, try the Ivy Lee Method productivity hack… it works a treat:

1. 1. At the end of each working day, write down the six most important things you need to accomplish the next day. Do not write down more than six tasks.
   2. Prioritize those six items in order of their true importance.
   3. When you arrive the next day, concentrate only on the first task. Work until the first task is finished before moving on to the second task.
   4. Approach the rest of your list in the same way. At the end of the day, move any unfinished items to a new list of six tasks for the following day.
   5. Repeat this process every working day.

I use this every day if I can – honestly, it’s a game-changer.

 

4. The house is usually clean and tidy after a weekend clear-up

I’ve usually had a bit of time at the weekend to do some housework, sort out a set of drawers, clear out a room or get all the laundry done and put away – the house feels organised after a weekend of relative (but good) mess. (Let’s just call it organised chaos, also described by my husband as “I think a clothes bomb went off in the bedroom”).

If I’ve done a DIY job on the house it feels good every time I walk in that room and I stop to admire my handiwork. As I work from home I can’t escape an untidy house, so if the house is sorted and clear then I feel goooooood on a Monday.

 

How this could work for you: 
If you, like me, are the sort of person who struggles to keep their desk tidy, this is one of the best things you can do to make Mondays, well, just nicer.

Working outside the home? If you can find time on a Friday to take just 10 minutes to clear up your desk or work area, throw away stuff you don’t need, shred/recycle/file paperwork and give your desk a quick wipe over with some anti-bac wipes, then I guarantee you will feel more positive when faced with a clean, tidy work area arriving at work on the dreaded (or rather, dreaded-no-more!) Monday morning. Try it and see how envious your colleagues are of your sparkling working space.

Working from home? Keep on top of not just your work area, but on top of any kitchen mess. I’ve worked in many places where the staff kitchen left A LOT to be desired (the number of times I’d spend half my lunch hour cleaning the kitchen because it was ewwwwww), and if you treat your own kitchen like a staff kitchen then you’ll be greeted by a mess every time you go to make a cuppa. So keep surfaces clear, give everything a quick wipe down and put all dirties in the dishwasher (or wash them up) and put clean bits away. Come elevenses and lunchtime you’ll thank yourself.

 

5. We watch our favourite TV show on a Monday night

We are [were] massive fans of The Walking Dead (it used to be on a Monday in the UK, a day after the US) so I always looked forward to it during the day. I often forgot it was on that evening* until it clicked with me sometime mid-morning that “Yessssssss – tonight is TWD night…” It usually sparked a few texts between me and the husband about what we thought was going to happen, and yes, I’m easily pleased (and really scared of zombies. Makes no sense, I know). It honestly made me feel really positive which affected my productivity and boosted my mood.

*This was, of course, before it was only available to stream. The good old days of “TWD is on at 9pm every Monday”…

So it started with The Walking Dead and continued with other series when TWD ended. We needed to fill our Monday evening TV-watching gap and think it’s the best day for watching one (ONE!) episode of whatever series we’re desperately trying not to binge-watch.

 

How this could work for you:
If you record your favourite show on a series link or have it available to watch already, make Mondays the regular night you watch an episode. If you know you have the next episode to watch it will make Mondays so much better – watch it at the same time in the evening every week so you organise your evening around it and make it that bit more special.

I know it’s only TV but when it’s your absolute favourite show, then that’s okay, right?

 

Do you have any good tips for making Mondays better? Share them with us in the comments…