Since I was old enough to understand the meaning of the “work week” I have heard the good name of Monday being assaulted and slandered. Every Sunday evening there are social media attacks on Monday, and I believe these to be unjust and unfair. Not to mention the fact that the emotions you attach to things carry a huge amount of weight. In allowing yourselves to hate and dread Mondays, we're feeding the negative impact it’s likely to have, and that’s not going to set you up for a great week.
If you can readjust your attitude to Monday, it could completely reconfigure your mentality when approaching the working week. As one of the rare souls that enjoys Mondays, I want to share how I see the working week and how I feel people should perceive it.
This should be seen as a phoenix rising from the ashes of the last week, a start of something new. After all, that’s what Mondays are. You see people who haven’t met in a few days, you find out about their weekend, exchange stories of gallivanting, games of golf and matches watched. You have your freshly washed and ironed clothes, matching ‘Monday’ socks, packed lunch with the healthiest and best intentions. Sunday is a great day to maximise your preparation for the week and get Monday off to the best possible start which, in turn, will trickle into the days that follow.
This, in my opinion, is the snake in the grass. Your fresh start can be tainted with Tuesday. You’re tired from your big push on Monday, you have now run out of stories to talk about with colleagues and resort to the dreaded, ‘Ha, yeah, you told me’. You are far from the weekend and the one just gone by seems like a distant memory. There is nothing on the TV when you come home. The only saving grace is you still have your lunch from the weekend, clean clothes and matching ‘Tuesday’ socks prepared. Remember what I said about Sunday prep getting your week off to a strong start? This is where that’s really going to kick in now.
Also known as ‘hump day’, Wednesday can be tough but it should be seen as an achievement to be accomplished. Get through this day to reach the gateway to the weekend. You have gotten your second wind. But maybe by now, you are relying on a chicken fillet roll for lunch and you’re hoping that people don’t notice you are wearing odd socks. You are quietly optimistic that the weekend is close. When you head into this day, remember that once it’s clocking-off time, you’re officially over the hump and the weekend will be in sight.
You’ve done it, you got over the hump. Sure, by Thursday, it’s practically the weekend. Thursday has the hallmarks of “let’s get it done”. Everyone wants to clear their workload before Friday comes and there is a sneaking social underground. Lunches and possible after work drinks are prevalent. It’s safe to start talking about plans for the weekend and spirits are high. It’s not hard to get through Thursday because the weekend is fast approaching.
Congratulations, you’ve made it through the week. It’s everybody’s favourite day. Your good intentions, prepared lunches, clean clothes and socks might not have made it to the end of this five-day slog but you did and that’s all that matters. Maybe by next week your socks will match five days in a row, maybe not. However, the important takeaway here is that in order to get through the working week, one must embrace Monday for the day that it is: an opportunity to get the week off to a strong start.
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Monday photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
