Why Mondays are really the absolute worst
In the 1930s, economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that our five-day work week would be reduced to only 15 hours as our world became more automated by the Industrial Revolution. But instead of basking in an abundance of leisure time, most Americans are working more than ever before, with the average employee working 47 hours a week, according to a recent Gallup poll.
If our work week ever does shrink, I think we would all agree that Monday should be the first work day to go. On most weekends, I dread Mondays so much that my case of the āSunday night bluesā starts on Saturday afternoon. Sure, not working Mondays would probably just shift the blues to Tuesday, but hey, thatās a risk Iām willing to take.
We tell ourselves itāll be okay, but these little self-help pep talks almost make it worse, reminding us of the dwindling hours in our all-too-short weekends. What does make it better, for me at least, is understanding why my body physically struggles with the first workday of the week so that I can try to counter those problems ahead of time.
Sleeping in can deprive you of sleep
Not only do we work more these days, but we also sleep less. According to a Gallup survey on sleep habits, the average time we sleep each night has dropped from 7.9 hours in 1942 to 6.8 hours in 2013. To counter that, we sleep in to catch up on some rest. But experts say doing that will only leave you more tired because it sets your bodyās internal clock backāmaking it even tougher for you to rise and shine on Monday. Trying to reset your circadian rhythm on Sunday night by going to bed early wonāt do the trick either. The best thing experts say you can do is to minimize the difference between your weekday and weekend sleeping schedule.
Weekend overeating and overdrinking takes a toll
Itās no surprise that what we do to our bodies over the weekend makes it hard to get back on track. And you donāt have to be an expert to know that overindulging in food and drink certainly doesnāt help make us feel good about ourselves as we gear up to start another week. One study found that almost half of the women surveyed felt the most unattractive on Mondays, saying they felt more stressed and less motivated to make an effort to look nice.
To prevent Monday from being your āugly day,ā take a few extra minutes on Sunday night to prepare what youāll wear to dress for success. Because the way you feel about yourself can affect your productivity and overall attitude for the day.
Comparing your social life to others will only make it worse
On weekends, we socialize more face-to-face, while on weekdays, we socialize more on Facebook. As youāre catching up on your friendsā status updates on Sunday night, itās impossible not to compare your lives to theirs. All of a sudden, whatever you did to unwind on Saturday seems so insignificant compared to your friend who just changed her relationship status from āin a relationshipā to āengagedā on Facebook. And you go to bed feeling worse about your life than ever before.
One sure way to avoid feeling depressed from social media is to limit how much time youāre on it and choose certain times of the day when youāre feeling more positive. So unless youāre a morning person, you might want to wait at least until after youāve had your first cup of coffeeā¦or just wait ātil Tuesday.
Have a case of the Monday morning blues? Tweet me @jeanie531 and use ā#MondayMotivationā to share what youāre doing to power through it.
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