A lot of us struggle with Mondays, myself included. They tend to be sharp, unwelcome contrasts to the easygoing freedom of the weekend, and I can’t help but mourn the loss of the relaxed Sunday vibes.

I used to blame the situation I was in. I hated Mondays because I didn’t like school or the office job that I had. I fantasized that starting my own business would usher me into a new reality where I would actually look forward to Mondays.

It turns out that the opposite is true: I feel more intimidated by Mondays now than I ever have. It’s not because I don’t love what I do, it’s just that there are more things to juggle, and the pressure to manage each task is entirely on my shoulders. So the transition between the unstructured weekend and the weight of the work week is even more difficult to navigate.

Even if I’m generally happy with my work situation, a true test of how well I’m doing is how comfortable or bad I feel during the most difficult times. Since Mondays are the low point of my week, I’ve been experimenting with ways to make the day easier and even more joyful. I may never look forward to Mondays, but if they can at least be a little less daunting, then I’ll be happy!

Here some ways I’ve found to make Mondays more joyful:

• Be nice to yourself.
  Monday probably isn’t going to be as loose and as pleasure-filled as a weekend day, but don’t think of it as a deprived, restricted day. Think of it as a healthy bridge. A good Monday shouldn’t feel like a shock to your system, it should be a gentle, transitional day. Don’t cut yourself off cold-turkey from the things you enjoyed over the weekend like socializing or eating well.

  Try guiding your sense of pleasure away from pure indulgence to more nurturing, constructive things. Take the time to prepare good meals for yourself, but focus on healthy ingredients that will energize your body for the coming week. Make a date to socialize, but instead of gossiping over cocktails, have lunch with someone you want to collaborate with or make an exercise date with a friend.

• Don’t work on Sundays.
  Many people like to spend Sunday evenings catching up on email and preparing for the week. I’m not a fan of this practice because I believe in keeping the weekends entirely work-free. I don’t know about you, but two days is barely enough time for me to decompress from the work week, so I don’t want to chip away at this precious time by emailing or worrying about upcoming deadlines. Even when I do as little as an hour or two of work on Sundays, I feel like I’ve cheated myself out of vital recovery time. When Monday rolls around, I feel tired and resentful instead of refreshed and ready.

• Don’t plan stressful things like meetings or deadlines.
  When I worked in advertising, I learned that you should never schedule presentations on Monday because this invariably means having to work on the weekend to prepare. Now that I’m in charge of my own schedule, I try hard not to promise first rounds of work anytime before Tuesday. I prefer to keep Mondays easy-going. I’ll revise things that I already have momentum on, or I’ll finish up things that I started the previous week, but I save my more intense creative work for later in the week after I’ve warmed up a bit.

• Build in wind-down time on Fridays.
  In the same way that I avoid scheduling deadlines on Monday, I try to leave time on Fridays to finish up lingering things and prepare for the next week. The number one Monday joy-killer is when I start the week already feeling behind. It’s so hard to catch up from that place, and the rest of the week feels like a drain. To avoid this position, it’s important to build plenty of padding into your week. Remember, Sunday doesn’t count as a catch-up day or a prep day, so try to build this time into your work week.

• Set realistic expectations. I have a bad habit of committing to way too many things in one day and then feeling guilty when I can’t accomplish everything I wanted to do. It’s especially important to be realistic on Mondays about what you can actually complete because the mood of the day sets the stage for your entire week. If you start the week feeling behind, time-strapped and stressed, then it’s nearly impossible to break the cycle on subsequent days.

• Make time to reflect. Take a long break at some point during the day to think through which projects are going well and which ones need a little extra love. Listen to what is stressing you out and strategize ways to work through the problems. I’ve noticed that when I don’t build this time into Mondays, I carry more stress than necessary into the rest of the week. I like taking long walks or bike rides in the evening because it’s easier to process nagging concerns when I’m away from my desk and moving my body.

It’s easy to find joy on a weekend when you can drift towards whichever pleasures draw you in at any given moment. It’s much harder to find joy on days with a big to-do list, but it IS possible. A joyful Monday should feel purposeful, pleasantly structured and empowering. When you start the week from this place, the rest of the week unfolds into even greater joy.

Do tell, how do you add joy to your Mondays?

xo,
Rebecca

Photo by Eutah Mizushima