How to Effectively Manage Your Mondays

How to Effectively Manage Your Mondays

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If Sunday evening fills you with dread and you drag your heels on the Monday morning commute, the time has come to make changes. Find out how to motivate yourself to manage Monday with ease.

Who hasn’t suffered from that Monday blues feeling? Occasional feelings of ‘not wanting to go to work’ are part and parcel of any career but when it keeps happening, it is time to take steps to banish it all together.

If the relief of Friday and the weekend seem to pass too quickly, it could be time to make some changes and here’s how…

#1 Identify what the REAL problem is

Known as self-analysis you need to determine if the Monday blues is an occasional thing linked to certain temporary issues at work or whether it is symptomatic of a bigger problem.

For many, the dread of work after the weekend comes with being bored, something we associate with not having enough to do. But it is also a sign of being too busy as well.

There are also times when work activities are monotonous, a ‘must-do’ to achieve the larger picture and we all have parts of our jobs that we don’t like doing.

In some cases, understanding how to stay motivated is key to a successful and enjoyable day at the office but if, after really examining the problem you come to the conclusion the problem is not lack of motivation or boredom, you need to start thinking about what changes you could and will make.

#2 Pros & Cons, Strengths & Weaknesses…

If you know that deep-down, the Monday blues are all about the fact that you are no longer like what you do, you may decide the time is right to act.

But before you leap, you need to complete the important step of self-analysis, the skill of objective scrutiny.

Of course, the Monday Blues doesn’t mean finding a new job necessarily;

Plan A – I LOVE my job but…

If you enjoy your work maybe you have become stuck in a rut where you are doing the same thing. You don’t learn in your comfort zone but on the fringes of it.

Ask yourself is it time to make a move sideways or look for a promotion? Start by listing what you love about your job and what you are not so keen on. With the second column, look at how you could change the ‘not so keen’ on items.

For example, if you hate the morning and evening commute, could you change your working hours or work partly from home?

Plan B – I HATE my job but…

Hate is a pretty strong word but if you are clearly dissatisfied it may not just be your job, but the industry you are in.

Nothing is achieved by doing the same thing over and over and so, with a blank sheet of paper and a pen, write down what you would love to do.

Your ideas may sound implausible now – be a self-employed beauty technician or be a forensic scientist – and completely different from your current skill set but making a career change can be done. And it has been done by thousands of people!

Exercise caution, however. You have rent or mortgage to pay and bills with your name written all over them so if you are serious about changing careers and upskilling yourself, have a strategy.

Going to college is one option but you can also upskill with home study courses, a great way of getting back into the habit of studying as well as gaining qualifications that could be life-changing.

#3 Are you REALLY disengaging from work?

There are people out there who simply love what they do and can’t imagine ever doing anything else or wanting to do anything else.

And yet, the Sunday evening dread grips them in its vice-like features on a regular basis with their arrival back at their workstation on Monday morning made with heavy footsteps.

The answer may be simpler than you think. Physically and emotionally disconnecting from work is essential to your well-being and so when your last shift ends, are you shutting the door on work and really taking a step away?

Look at how you spend your weekends or rest days. Are you doing something with them? From enjoying a hobby to socialising with friends, to bracing walks in nature to being mindful about disconnecting from work and not just emails, but emotionally too.

How do you deal with the Monday blues? Did you make a significant career change?

Nick Cooper
Nick is NCC's resident blog author and covers a range of subjects, including teaching and health & social care. NCC is an international learning provider with over 20 years’ experience offering learning solutions. To date, NCC has engaged with over 20,000 employers, and delivered quality training to over half a million learners.
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