Monday is a day dreaded by many, as it is followed by a weekend of relaxation and time with friends and family. So, feeling anxious and unmotivated about starting the work week again is justified - especially since it means having to go back to work.
That's why a lot of people like to refer to Mondays as ‘Blue Monday’.
Blue Monday or Monday blues is not talked about often, but is still experienced by more than 40% of the working population. If you think you might be part of this 40%, you might want to read further to find out where this phenomenon comes from, what it means to you and your collegues, and what some solutions are in beating the blues.
What Are Monday Blues
‘Monday blues’ is a saying that people use in order to describe negative emotions related to the beginning of the working week. In many cases, having anticipatory anxiety is related to experiencing Monday blues, as by thinking about the future situation nearing - your anxiety levels increase.
According to Alexander Kjerulf, an international speaker on happiness at work: “Monday blues contains elements of depression, tiredness, hopelessness and a sense that work is unpleasant but unavoidable.”
However, sometimes it can be much more than just a passing tiredness. Sometimes, it can be a serious sign that something is not right in your working space.
You may dislike your job. You feel unmotivated with the given tasks. Or there are serious problems within your working space. This, can lead to feeling unhappy, unmotivated or other negative emotions.
Yet another Philadelphia-based career coach Rita Friedman, agrees. “If you love your job and are passionate about what you're doing, going into work Monday morning is another opportunity to do what you love,” she says. “But if you're feeling under-appreciated or unsatisfied with your job, it can be especially difficult to start another seemingly endless workweek.”
In fact, having Monday blues and feeling continuous de-motivation and dissatisfaction will not only affect your mood, but can also affect your productivity and quality of work. Plenty of studies on psychology and neurology proves this.
So, do not get dicouraged, as Monday blues is more common than one may believe and there are many ways to overcome these feelings.
Scientific Reasons Why People Experience Monday Blues
What is Monday blues scientifically speaking? Can all these bad feelings and de-motivation at the beginning of the week be explained?
The answer is certainly - YES! Take a look at the top four reasons why you and your colleagues could be experiencing Monday blues.
1. Sudden Change
Interestingly enough, Monday morning blues are not as blue as you think. A study about people’s emotional intervals during the working day was conducted. The results showed that people actually don’t feel worse on any other specific working day. People who experience Monday blues have exactly the same feelings on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Only Friday is the exception! It is only because people associate Fridays with upcoming weekend and good emotions.
However, we experience Monday as the worst only because it is right after the weekend - there is a greater emotional shift from Sunday to Monday.
2. You Are Less Healthy
Once again, it all boils down to the weekend activities. You were probably enjoying your weekend with your family - going to a nice restaurant and enjoying a nice dessert as a treatment.
In fact, most of the fitness and lifestyle gurus talk about Sundays being the best choice for spoiling yourself and having unhealthy snacks!
The weekend gives you a chance to take a break from the priorities you have during the week - allowing you to enjoy a fun and relaxing weekend. However, before you know it it's Monday again and the pressure of work and responsibilities kick in.
And that’s where Monday blues starts.
3. Sleeping Patterns
We all know that our bodies are completely dependent on our natural sleep cycle. Just think of when you change the clocks by one hour during the spring. Just one hour change immediately has an effect on our sleep cycle and how we feel during the day! That’s exactly what we do to ourselves every single weekend.
We often feel like we don’t get enough sleep during the week. And we try to compensate those sleep hours during the weekend.
All of those extra hours of sleep during the weekend confuses your body's sleep clock. In fact, according to these scientists, those extra hours of sleep make you feel even more tired and exhausted.
As your body is confused by the extra hours of sleep and your natural body clock is thrown off, you find it even harder to wake up on Mondays. This is yet another reason why you have Monday blues.
4. Socializing
Yet another explanation of why we feel Monday morning blues is the aspect of socializing.
Humans by their nature are social animals - after a weekend of meeting your friends and family you may feel like continuing the social aspect of it!
However, when going to work you may feel uncomfortable speaking up or feel like you are restricted to share your weekend memories.
For this reason, your Monday morning blues may seem even worse. Beating the blues can be done by just waiting till you have a break to have a good laugh with your co-workers!
6 Ways To Beat Your Monday Blues
Now we know all about the meaning of Monday blues we should also learn how to beat them!
If you are a person who indeed has Monday blues all the time and wishes to beat them, read the top six tips to improve your Monday motivation!
1. Identify The Problem
As easy as it sounds the first solution in beating the blues is to identify the problem and find out what is bothering you.
According to Sara Sutton Fell, CEO, and founder of FlexJobs, you should make a list of what is bothering you - It may be your boss who you need to speak to you first thing on Monday morning, or maybe, the tasks at your job are not challenging anymore.
Identifying the right problems can lead to the most effective solutions! It will empower you to take charge in beating the blues.
2. Prepare For Monday On Friday
The following solution on how to beat the Monday blues is to be prepared and plan your work week beforehand. In fact, Mondays can be very overwhelming and stressful because of the work you left to do in the previous week.
Doing all the difficult tasks on Friday allows you to have a more relaxing weekend and a less stressful Monday morning.
3. Get Enough Sleep And Wake Up Early
This tip on how to beat Monday blues is especially important to the ones who have difficulties in waking up. The best solution you have is to go to bed a little earlier on Sunday - and wake up a little earlier on Monday.
You wonder, how is this going to help me beat Monday blues? Well, try to take your time off on Sunday by turning off your phone before bedtime or reading your favorite book.
Waking up early on Monday morning is also a solution for beating the blues. You will be surprised what 15 or 30 minutes extra will do to your morning. This gives you extra time for your morning coffee, to catch up on the news, and set your mindset for the work week ahead of you!
4. Keep Your Monday Schedule Light
If I ask you about your Mondays, you are probably thinking about hectic meetings and tasks leftover from the week before. Therefore, the best strategy to beat the Monday blues is to keep your Monday schedule light!
Try to keep your Monday schedules clean and simple. And interestingly enough, experts suggest that the best task to do on Monday is to reply to your emails!
However, don’t leave too much free time for your Monday morning - in such case you feel blue just by sitting around and being unproductive.
5. Have A Post-Work Plan
Yet another important trick on how to beat Monday blues is to have some exciting plans for after working hours!
You should not only drag through the day by thinking about everything you need to do. Instead, make it exciting by planning something for after work.
You can go on a dinner date with your beloved ones. Have a cinema date with your friends. Or go to the gym. Plan something that will get your mind off work and you just might be able to beat Monday blues!
6. Make Sure to get the best Sleep
Last but not least, the solution to beat your Monday blues is to make sure that the sleep you get during your resting hours is the best!
In fact, a Vita Talalay latex mattress might be able to give you that. The mattresses are made of natural latex, are dust mite free, and are highly breathable and comfortable!
The natural latex mattress will not only adjust to your body but also will make you warm in winters and cool in summers! Keeping you fresh and rested while helping to get rid of Monday blues and prepare for the week!
