How to love Mondays

From the day we start school, Monday to Friday represents the daily grind. Early starts. Hard work. Routine. Living for the weekend, waiting for those two precious days with family and friends. Sunday nights bring a familiar feeling of dread and the Monday morning alarm is the low point of the whole week. But it doesn’t have to be this way, what if we were to learn how to love Mondays?

Start the week with something you love

To learn how to love Mondays, the first step is to do something you enjoy on the first day of every week. If you’re working all day, you may have to fit that beloved activity in either first thing in the morning or in the evening after work. We all need something in our lives that’s just for us.

Personally, I learned to love Mondays when I started open water swimming every Monday morning. But whether you enjoy throwing yourself in a freezing cold river like me, or prefer to play with a train set, go for a run or sit in a sauna, do it on a Monday.

Recognise Monday as a fresh start

I’m writing this on a Saturday after a fairly dire week last week. Work was underwhelming, I didn’t agree any exciting new projects. The children were tired, I was up in the night with them most nights. I was so, so ready for the weekend. I spent Friday afternoon dealing with a screaming six year old and vacuuming potting compost out of the carpet. To top it all off, I broke my favourite mug.

But the fact last week was rubbish doesn’t mean that every week will be rubbish. Monday is a fresh start. I’ll swim in the river, push harder to get exciting work projects on the go and fare better with my to do list. I might even buy a new favourite mug. Because that’s what Mondays are about. My dad always says that tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life. So grab Monday, claim it as your own and make it the start of something fabulous.

Make midweek plans and shift the blame onto Tuesday

The main reason Mondays are rubbish is because they’re so flipping far away from Friday. So, bring Friday closer. You might not be able to book every Wednesday off work, but that doesn’t stop you from having something to look forward to. Whether it’s a regular coffee date with a friend or a sneaky midweek glass of wine, it breaks up the week. So now you so something you love on a Monday and treat yourself on a Wednesday. And suddenly, Tuesday is the enemy instead of Monday.

Do something special at the weekend

There’s nothing worse than getting to Sunday night and thinking you haven’t made the most of the weekend. Whilst most of us have things we need to do on Saturday and Sunday, it’s important to take a break too. Have a day out on one of the days and leave the other to get chores done. Visit a National Trust property, walk on the beach or go out for lunch. Better still, plan a weekend away every now and then. Having a camper van makes this really easy. There’s nothing better than picking the children up from school on a Friday night and heading to the coast until Sunday afternoon.

Love Mondays by changing what you can’t accept

There is a saying about accepting what you can’t change and changing what you can’t accept. I have always applied this to my career. We all find ourselves in jobs that we hate at some point in our lives. If we can’t change the role itself, it’s time to look for something new.

Years ago, I worked in a career where morale among colleagues was plummeting. We were treated badly, overworked, underpaid and put at unnecessary risk. Everyone hated it. Yet, when I decided to leave, I had the same conversation over and over again with colleagues.

Them: “I hate this job because…”

Me: “I’m leaving next week.”

Them: “What? That’s insane, you must be crazy, what are you thinking? What are you going to do?”

Most of them are still there. Morale continues to plunge and there hasn’t been a moment when I’ve looked back and regretted my decision to leave. I learned how to love Mondays and life will never be the same again.