2 Main Reasons Why We Hate Mondays, and What We Can Do to Feel Great on Mondays

Why do we hate Mondays? I caught myself thinking about it during a lovely Sunday dinner with a good friend. She said: “Everything is great, nice dinner, weather, but the fact that tomorrow is Monday spoils the feeling…”.

My first thought was, “Really?”. How can someone with a brilliant career in a big international company hate Mondays?

And I remembered myself for several years ago… At one point, I started to hate even Sundays because the next day was Monday… I even physically felt the heaviness on Sunday nights… It was disgusting…

And I started to think about it during the dinner. I realized that I hadn’t felt sick about Mondays in a long time. And it’s a great feeling! I often do some work on weekends, but I don’t feel frustrated. I love Sundays. On Monday mornings, my favorite thing is to write a to-do list for the week and make promises to myself what good habits I’ll implement from that day. Okay, I sometimes fail, but that’s another story.

So, what has actually changed?

I started by changing my attitude to Mondays. And when I stopped hating Mondays, my life became easier.

Here are some little tips and tricks from me to make your Mondays a little better.

• Try to get up at the same time, even on weekends. When we sleep too long on weekends, it’s harder for us to get up earlier, especially on Mondays. Getting enough sleep and getting up at the same time can positively affect our attitude towards Mondays.

• Don’t plan too much work for Monday, don’t overburden yourself!

• Try not to schedule important meetings on Mondays.

• Create a special Monday morning ritual, such as grabbing a coffee at your favourite café or taking a walk around the block before you get to work.

• Every Monday, try to give yourself a small gift, decide whether it’s shopping or spa treatments. It’s up to you. Maybe go to a cafe and eat a piece of cake or treat yourself with a nicer lunch. Indulge yourself!

• Think about Monday as an opportunity day to start over your life. There are 52 opportunity days to start doing something new. You can start with a new habit, especially if you failed with it the previous week. 

• Smile and express gratitude. Remind yourself of everything that is good in your life and show appreciation to everyone who has helped you achieve this, including yourself! Maybe bring sweets or treats for the people you work with. Energize yourself with positivity.

• Listen to your favourite music. Create a special list of music for Monday that puts you in a good mood.

However, applying these tricks only slightly improved my life, but the problem was much more profound.

There are many reasons why we feel low about Mondays: the end of a beautiful weekend, the need to get up early, the first day of the week and a long work week ahead, the symbol of another week of hard work, the need to socialize with people we don’t like at work, etc.

Reason 1. We are not happy with our jobs. We don’t enjoy and even hate what we do.

For about 20 years, I worked hard building my corporate career, which never fulfilled me. I often felt tired and bored with my job. At the same time, it was a well-paid and prestigious job, and I had no idea what else I could do to earn a decent living.

Finally, I realized that I couldn’t stand it anymore. I left the jobs that I didn’t like. I started acquiring new skills by doing completely different things, like setting up my online business.

Now I feel satisfied with my work. Of course, there will always be “frogs to eat,” I sometimes have bad days and lose motivation. But the feeling of general satisfaction with my work is delightful.

Reason 2. Lack of freedom.

I remember when I stopped being sick on Mondays. It started during my maternity leave. When you are free from work, it doesn’t matter what weekday it is. It’s the same feeling I’ve always had while on holiday.

I started thinking about freedom and how wonderful it would be to have it one day.

For me, freedom means spending more time with my children when I want, taking holidays when it suits me, and deciding my working hours.

I didn’t want to wait until retirement to get it.  I started looking for different opportunities.  I realized that we were living in a digital age with lots of opportunities to make money online. And setting up an online business was my solution to getting my freedom. Today I wake up every morning with joy because I am in control of my life. I work when and where I want. And my work also gives me such a sense of pleasure and satisfaction because I enjoy what I’m doing.

Your low mood on Mondays is a signal that it’s time to start making some changes in your work or lifestyle.

However, a lifestyle change is not possible without some actions from your side. Instead of walking around feeling sick on Mondays, you can start doing something new.

Mondays can become your favorite day of the week. Start making new changes and start living a better life.