It’s Monday morning and I hit the “snooze” button twice, then finally got myself off the bed (At the start of the week, whatever side of the bed you get out of, usually feels like the wrong one!). My eyes were still closed as my feet slid across the floor on my way to the bathroom. My thought process seemed to have awakened and it was yapping away..“Four more days until its Saturday again; I have five more months until my vacation, and there is another thirty six years until I retire! “
How is it that some people can get out of bed early and start their day with a smile, while others don’t speak in the morning until they get to work?
Side note: According to Depak chopra, more people have heart attacks on Monday morning rather than any other time.
I wish we could hit rewind and relive the relaxation of our weekends. Nice.. back to earth, surely, there must be better ways to make the start of the week feel less like a marathon! After some reading on the internet it seems we can eliminate some of the stress with a few tricks, put into practice over the weekend and first thing Monday morning.
1. Keep it clean on Friday evenings!
Before you leave the office on Friday, make sure1. To write the to do list for Monday
2. To De-clutter your desk
3. That you inbox is clear leaving only the weekend’s emails to read on Monday.
2. Sleep “right” during the weekend!
Most people use the weekends as a time period to “catch-up” on sleep they missed during the week. Although I am far from a sleep expert, I disagree with this notion of catching up on missed sleep. I have found that this often throws off my sleep cycle making Monday’s wake up much more difficult.Make sure you start winding down for bed at a reasonable hour to allow enough time for a healthy night’s sleep.
3. Choose your weekend activities wisely
What you do during the weekend has a big impact on the days to follow. Are you painting the walls, going rock climbing etc… don’t misunderstand; I am not implying that you should not do these things. Just, span them in a manner that is less exerting for you.If you sit in front of the television glued to a couch most of the time… definitely, Monday is going to hard! Also, if there are TV programs that run late on Sunday night, record them and watch over the week.
Think when you drink(ahem..)
4. Over the weekend, pick what you will wear on Monday
This can be a source of much apprehension (and annoyance) on mornings just after shower.To solve this, try to decide the night before what you're going to wear and put them in a separate area of the closet, away from the rest of your clothes. Promise yourself that ensemble is exactly what you will put on that day. No use preparing if you'll be changing your mind in the morning!
5. Get out of the bed immediately once you hear the alarm
When you hear the alarm in the morning, the voice in your head is just coaxing you to go to sleep despite your best intents to want to wake up (Don't think about how nice your bed feels..there are better feelings out there!). Instead of giving it the chance to speak, immediately get your physical body out of the bed and walk out!Once you last the first 5 minutes, you will find that sleepiness wears off very quickly and the day actually moves ahead as your other days.
Finally…
Your mornings set the tone for the rest of the day. A carefree and lazy start may be a relaxing way to start your day but it tends to result in a similar attitude throughout your day. Similarly, a frustrated or stressful start to your morning will color your attitude thereafter.
Lose an hour in the morning, and you will be all day hunting for it.~Richard Whately
