Waking up on a Monday morning after a relaxing weekend with the dread of going to work again, is a feeling most adults have experienced more than once. With pending commitments, deadlines, and a pile of demanding work, many can perceive a sense of unpleasantness and decreased productivity. Often termed as a case of the Monday blues, this can be accompanied by anxiety, sadness and a lack of will to work, which can be quite bothersome. Since this is so prevalent these days, it is relevant to discuss ways to work around it for short term cases as this can hinder your productivity and of those around you. Let us take a look at some of the tried and tested ways of beating the Monday blues.

Identify causes

The first and best approach to get rid of your Monday blues is to identify its source. This could be anything – from work atmosphere, a coworker you’re not fond of or even a dreaded meeting that brings with it a lot of trepidation. Identifying the cause is the first step in beating the Monday blues. Once that’s tackled, everything else should be easier.

Quantification

Sometimes, the sheer amount of workload, often expected under tight deadlines, can be the primary trigger for Monday blues. In such cases, quantifying the entire week’s workload into smaller targets could go a long way in making it seem achievable. The trick here is to sort by priority and experience. Approach the most critical tasks of the week on Monday so that the rest of the week can progress smoothly. Also, be sure to complete the most tedious or monotonous tasks by the end of the week to ensure a pleasant work experience the next Monday.

Get Plenty Of Rest

Going to bed early on Sunday night and ensuring that you are well-rested could significantly boost your productivity and mood for the rest of the day. Also, you may want to look forward to things you’d like to engage in over the week during work, such as hitting the gym or even meeting your coworkers. All of which should help you get through the work-week.

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Change Things Up

The monotony of everyday work largely contributes to the reluctance in beginning a new work-week. You could try changing the way you do your work to make it more challenging, or simply introduce variety. By the end of the week, you may be left feeling much better. Change makes the human brain work differently, which means that you will never get bored by doing the same tasks differently!

Lighten up Monday’s schedule

Considering that you have attended to critical tasks beforehand, you could consider lightening up Monday’s work schedule and primarily focus on relatively simpler tasks. For some, this could help maintain focus and ensure an uplifting feeling throughout the day. Not only will this contribute to reducing workload in a quantifiable way, but it also provides a sense of accomplishment, which could prove to be a serious morale booster.

Post-work plans

Planning something fun or something that excites you after work would both elevate your mood in the moment as well as at the end of the day. Make small plans with friends or colleagues for after work to lighten up and drive that motivation for the rest of the workweek. At a coworking space, this may be especially easier since you’re surrounded by folks from all sorts of organizations, functions, and more.

All these suggestions are intended to help with the occasional Monday. If this is an experience you go through every week, then maybe you should consider determining if there are bigger issues at play. Perhaps changes like switching jobs, careers, or your workspace. An uncomfortable workspace, for example, may significantly contribute to frequent cases of the Monday blues. You could consider switching to more comfortable and reliable shared office space providers like iKeva – with features like modular and customizable offices, refreshments, and regular team-building activities that contribute to great work experience.