Monday Morning Blues #1

 

It starts happening around 4:00 Sunday evening. The pit in your stomach knowing that the weekend is almost over. You push it aside and distract yourself with Netflix or glass of wine, trying to enjoy the last few hours of “freedom.” But in the back of your mind, you know it’s coming…

Monday Morning.

Ugh.

And when it finally does arrive, it’s often as bad as you imagined:

• The alarm goes off when it’s still dark out. You drag your feet out of bed and look at your phone, only to find that the emails have already starting to coming.
• At work, there’s a stressful meeting and new demands pile on. You react quickly and decisively, but the requests seem endless.
• You run into a close colleague whom you haven’t seen in awhile, only to be interrupted by rumors of a deadline being pushed up, and suddenly there’s more office churn and politics.
• Finally, it’s 6:30. You head home, exhausted, yet somehow find the energy to complete the rest of your personal and family to-do’s before another day begins.
• You think, one day down, four more to go…

Sound familiar? You are not alone. According to a 2014 report conducted by The Conference Board, a New York based nonprofit research group, 52.3% Americans feel unhappy at work.

But spending the next five days holding your breath and living only for the weekends is no way to live. In the back of your mind you know this. But if quitting isn’t an immediate option because of financial or other responsibilities, is there anything you can do now to alleviate the Monday morning blues?

The first thing to do is: Notice the crucial moments “in-between” each of those bullet points above. Focus on them, and how they can be used more strategically and intentionallly.

Here’s what I mean. Circumstances happen (i.e. the bullet points). We cannot control if a boss suddenly changes her mind on a project you’ve been working on or another department needs a revised budget projection by end of day. But we can choose how the moments in between will look like. We can intentionally create them ahead of time, as well as pause between each crazy demand or unexpected interruption and then decide what to do next. For example:

• The alarm goes off when it’s still dark out and you’re tired. You drag your feet out of bed and look at your phone, only to see that the emails have already starting filling your inbox.
• Instead of responding immediately to the emails, you tune into your favorite playlist or a motivational podcast as you make a fresh cup of coffee. You savor the quiet morning moments as the sun rises. Then you choose to respond to only one or two emails that are the most urgent/important. You get dressed in a favorite outfit that makes you feel great and on the train ride to the office, you jot down some creative, out-of-the-box ideas you have on some upcoming projects.
• At work, there’s a stressful meeting and demands you think you cannot meet. You react quickly and decisively, but the requests seem to be endless.
• You take a five-minute break to re-set and relax with deep breaths. You decide to do this every hour, making sure at least one of them you head outside for a quick walk away from your desk.
• You run into a close colleague you haven’t seen in awhile, only to be interrupted by a rumor of a deadline being pushed up and suddenly there’s more churn and more office politics.
• On your way to your next meeting, you take a minute to stop by your colleague’s desk since you didn’t get a chance to talk when you ran into each other before. As you catch up, you realize you could easily collaborate on an upcoming presentation. You jot some innovative ideas when you get back to your desk and plan for the next day by reviewing your calendar and tasks.
• Finally, it’s 6:30. You head home, exhausted, yet somehow need to find the energy to complete the rest of your personal and family to-do’s before bedtime.
• You use your commute time to decompress mindfully. You decide to read one more chapter of your book, instead of listening to another news pundit on how the market did today. Before heading into the house for dinner, you take another quick walk around the block and enjoy the last light of the evening.
• You think, one day down, four more to go…
• Before heading up to bed, you write down one thing you’re grateful for and one intention for the next morning, ending the day on a positive note.

By being more mindful, you still might encounter stressful circumstances and fires to put out throughout the day. But the overall focus of the day becomes much more manageable and enjoyable. Acknowledging each moment “in between” the fires, pausing for a moment, and then deciding how you can act instead of react, can make a significant impact on your frame of mind and ease the stress of the work week.

What do you plan to do between your bullet points? Share any ideas below: