Career Trends: Getting through the ‘Monday Blues’

Edition: October 18th, 2021
Curated by the Knowledge Team of ICS Career GPS

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• Excerpts from article by Amanda Puravankara, published on peoplematters.com

Monday’s are notorious for being ‘heavy’ work days that are often chaotic. One way to reduce the pressure is to start with easy and achievable tasks in the day. 

If this struggle at the beginning of a workweek seems familiar to you, the chances are that you have experienced the infamous ‘Monday Blues’. The pervasive blues can often make their way in as early as Sunday afternoon and impact a perfectly good weekend. 

While this is a fairly common phenomenon, we do not have to give in to this. 

Here are a few ways to help you overcome ‘Monday blues‘:

1. Plan ahead 

• Begin your Monday with a clean slate, as much as possible.
• This means wrapping up all the work engagements of the week by Friday and ensuring minimal spillover into the next week.
• By pushing yourself a little bit, you can make sure that you are not stressed over pending actions or deadlines at the start of the week. 

2. Ease into it

• One way to reduce the pressure is to start with easy and achievable tasks in the day.
• It helps set a positive tone for the whole day.
• Schedule difficult meetings or long-drawn activities to Tuesday or Wednesday so you can ease the transition between a relaxed weekend and a busy workweek. 

3. Take well-placed breaks 

• While it might not always be possible to keep Monday’s free of hectic engagements, it is prudent to schedule breaks in between.
• Find the time and space to pause between meetings.
• This will help you stay grounded and feel refreshed before the next agenda on your calendar.

4. Post-work incentives 

• It is important to ensure that our Monday’s are not just about getting through work-related tasks.
• It should include an activity/activities that you can look forward to.
• It could be anything like meeting a friend, catching up with a family member or cooking a favourite meal later in the day. 

5. Identify stressors

• We often feel overwhelmed with challenges because we are unsure about navigating through them.
• If you feel anxious about beginning a workweek, take a step back to identify and reflect on the stressors triggering the negative emotions.
• The stressors could be originating from an unhealthy work environment, unrealistic deadlines, an overbearing employer, or the nature of the job.
• Zeroing down on the problem can help devise solutions and minimise feelings of negativity. 

6. Reconnect with career goals 

• It is possible for us to experience monotony and, in extreme cases, burnout, even in a job we like.
• It is vital to review our progress regularly and gauge if our current professional milestones align with the larger career goals.
• If there is a gap, it might discourage us from returning to work at the beginning of the week. 

No matter what day of the week it is, it is essential to carve out time for yourself. Strike a balance between personal and professional life, check-in with yourselves throughout the day, maintain a healthy lifestyle and regularly revisit your career aspirations to ensure that you are always working towards being the best version of yourself. 

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(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article mentioned above are those of the author(s). They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of ICS Career GPS or its staff.)

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