One of the major causes for Monday Morning Blues is lack of enthusiasm combined with lack of planning, says author and management guru Virender Kapoor.
Most professionals dread Monday mornings for various reasons.
What is Monday morning blues, you may ask?
It's a bunch of negative emotions -- lethargy, hopelessness, depression -- that stop you from feeling good at the start of a week, says Virender Kapoor.
How you feel on a Monday morning will pretty much influence how you feel the rest of the week.
Instead of sulking and being lazy, it is important that you brave up and beat the blues.
Here, Virender Kapoor shares some simple and interesting things to do that will help you have a happy and positive Monday morning.
1. Find out the cause
Why do you suffer from Monday Morning Blues?
If it's a temporary feeling, you don’t need to worry about it much.
However, if you are constantly feeling negative about going to work on a Monday, there is room for worry.
Either of these situations is likely:
If your answer to all the above is yes, it is perhaps time to brush up your CV and start looking for a new job.
2. Plan your Monday mornings on a Friday
One of the greatest mistakes professionals make is not planning their Mondays in advance.
Before you leave office on Friday, ensure that you have not scheduled a lot of important things for Monday.
Prioritise and spread out your tasks between the first three days of the week -- Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Try and keep your Mondays light.
3. Look at Mondays differently
Well, it's just another day in a week, what's the big deal?
Half the problem is because you have seen Mondays with fear and anxiety.
Look at it as a bright start to the week -- look at tasks with renewed enthusiasm and you’ll realise that Mondays are not as bad as you thought them to be.
4. Start loving your job
After spending a couple of years in an organisation, most of us tend to take our jobs for granted.
Stop looking at your job as work alone.
Have you ever played golf or visited a golf course?
If you observe closely, the players hardly swing their stick for maybe 6 times in a span of two hours. Why then is it such a revered game?
The game golf, let me break it to you, is all about style.
You wear nice clothes, good shoes, a good cologne, a cap and spend two hours with like-minded people playing this game.
At the end of the game, you retire for drinks and have a relaxing conversation.
Similarly, it is important to look at your job as a complete package. If you want to be happy in your career, you have to think beyond the paycheck and find ways to make your work interesting for you and your team.
Find out what you like the most about your job -- presentations, networking, creative satisfaction -- and spend time making the most of it.
5. Make some friends at the workplace
Let’s accept it. Great colleagues make your workplace better.
Find people who you can share your lunch and tea breaks with.
They may not necessarily belong to the same department as yours.
Also, remember to indulge in some harmless humour while interacting with your colleagues.
6. Ask yourself: Do you have an alternative?
What would you do if you did not go to work on a Monday?
Would you sleep the whole day, watch television or sulk about your work?
Unless you’re ill, there is nothing productive you can do by skipping work.
Instead, why not go to work, do something meaningful and make it worth your time.
7. Plan something nice every Monday
If you have to announce a new initiative, share positive news with your team, reserve it for Mondays.
Simple things you do can help spice up your Mondays.
Appreciate your team member, help your colleague with his/her task, or maybe buy lunch for someone and spread a smile.
8. Show sense of responsibility
Most of us admire the life of our film stars.
They drive fancy cars, live in plush bungalows, but how many of us really value the struggles they undergo.
Imagine wearing leather jackets and shooting action or romantic sequences in a desert under the scorching sun.
No matter how big the star is, a certain sequence is shot at least a dozen times before the director approves it.
Even senior actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan would think twice before cancelling a shoot because they know the amount of money, effort and time that the director and producers have invested in them.
If these celebrities can show commitment to work, why can’t you?
9. Pamper yourself on a Monday
After you successfully win over Monday, do not forget to reward yourself.
Treat yourself to a fancy dinner or end your day by watching a movie with your friends.
10. Never overindulge on a Sunday evening
If you look flustered with sleepy eyes, on a Monday morning, chances are you’ve had a longer Sunday evening than you should have.
The solution -- keep your Sunday evenings shorter.
If you want to party or call friends over for a sleepover, do it on a Friday or a Saturday evening.
Remember that six to eight hours of healthy sleep is a must before you get to work.
Did you know that airplane pilots are not allowed to have alcohol 12 hours prior to their flying schedule? Maybe it's time you brought some discipline into your life.
As told to Divya Nair/Rediff.com
> More career advice from Virender Kapoor here
Lead image used for representational purposes only. Credit: Marcus Quigmire/Creative Commons
He is also the author of Winning Instinct: Decoding the Power Within, Leadership: The Gandhi Way, A Wonderful Boss: Great People to Work With,Passion Quotient and Innovation, the Einstein Way.
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