How to Improve Your Monday Mood

Monday has a reputation problem. Even if you absolutely love your career, making the transition from your own weekend schedule to getting up early and commuting back to the office can feel like a chore. But there are small ways to make a Monday mood better, or at least more bearable. Here are tips to starting your week on the right foot and avoid a case of “the Mondays.”

Keep a regular sleep cycle
Your mind may know the difference between weekdays and weekend, but your body doesn’t. Your circadian rhythm will try to keep any routine you train it to follow. If you sleep late for two days on the weekends, don’t be surprised if it’s harder to get to sleep on Sunday night and you feel groggy on Monday morning. Keep a regular sleep schedule on the weekends and it will be easier to get up when your alarm goes off on Monday morning.

Start in the middle
After the weekend, sometimes the hardest part of Monday is knowing where to start. You can help yourself on Friday by ending at a stopping point that will be easy to pick up on Monday. Leave yourself a post-it note on your monitor to remind yourself exactly where to start.

Clean your desk
Instead of working right up until the weekend, spend a half hour before you leave work on Friday to clean and organize. Purge what you don’t need anymore, file away what you want to keep and make sure your workspace is ready to jump in on Monday morning. Your future self will thank you.

Treat yourself
What people like about Fridays is the anticipation of the weekend. It’s having something to look forward to that gives people a boost when they head to work. You can use the same principle for Monday and plan on a reward for starting your week. This can be something small like planning to have your favorite specialty coffee drink or going out to eat after work. The anticipation of a reward will help you approach the day with a more positive attitude.