I don’t believe in “a case of the Monday’s”, except for when there are two Mondays in one week.

With 4th of the July right around the corner, I realized that many people are going to have two Mondays next week.  I’ll explain…

This year the 4th lands on a Tuesday so it’s that awkward Holiday in the middle of a week.  If you’re open for business as usual on Monday, then you’re going to get Tuesday off for the 4th then go back to work on Wednesday for 3 more days til it’s the weekend thus making it two Mondays in one week.

Let’s be real.  With any holiday but especially the 4th, most are going to indulge in a few extra alcoholic beverages.  I’m not saying the general workforce is going to be hungover on Wednesday like we most are on the Monday after the Super Bowl (which is an entirely other discussion)… back to the point… Sunday is a day of rest, recovery, reflection and to get ready for the work week (at least for me).  So this week(end) our company does go to work on Monday.  I’ll likely partake in some extra drinking over the weekend seeing as it’s 4th of July weekend so Monday will actually be a little harder than usual.  Then on the actual 4th (Tuesday) I know I’ll have some beers, see fireworks and have a late night.  Man on man, not looking forward to that Wednesday going back to work.  It’s like having a second Monday all over again, isn’t it?!

So I rather not sit here and worry about having two Monday’s next week, instead here are 3 actionable tips that will make your two Monday’s that much more tolerable 😉

1.)  Reflection:

Ok, so I hinted earlier that for me Sundays are a day of reflection.  I generally like to do things like clean my room, the yard, and other little things to get my life organized.  Maybe it’s doing laundry or catching up on the stack of mail in the corner of my dresser.  Just de-cluttering really helps clear the mind and put me at ease.  I may be a bit OCD but for me having a clean room and house for that matter makes me feel more calm.  Another thing I like to do is plan out the week.  Usually later in the day on a Sunday I’ll visit my calendar to see how the work week is looking.  From there I can start to set daily goals for the week.  It’s really that simple.  None of this takes a lot of time – it’s just a few little steps that makes waking up on a Monday that much easier.

2.)  Health & Wellness:

I’ve mentioned in a previous blog post that I wake up at 6am to go to the gym.  Mondays are the most important gym day for me.  If I hit snooze or worse don’t make it to the gym on a Monday then it really puts me behind to start the week.  No matter what, I will not miss a morning workout on a Monday even if it means just getting to the gym and after 10 minutes realizing that I just don’t have it in me that day.  Routines are everything and it’s better to stay within the routine then give up and not even go to the gym.  The second part of this is eating well.  Most of us do our binge eating over the weekend as do I.  So, it’s extremely important for me to start my day and work week off eating healthy.  For me this looks like a green smoothie after my workout and maybe some eggs.  From there I’ll do something like Tuna for lunch and maybe pack an extra treat like some new kombucha or a tasty workout bar.  Whatever it is for you, stay on track and feed your body well and you’ll feel well.

3.)  Reward Monday night:

This is the best trick of all.  If you’re an athlete you can relate to this.  When I was doing triathlons or even when I’m doing any 5k/10k’s I’m always thinking about the reward at the end – it’s one of the main things that gets me through the race.  Take this same very philosophy with your Mondays.  Plan something special Monday night to look forward to.  Maybe it’s a night out to see that movie you’ve been wanting to catch, or a special dinner, even if it’s as simple as going home to put up your legs on the couch and do some binge Netflix’ing.  Whatever it is for you, you get the concept – plan something that makes you happy and it’ll help you get through the day.

So to recap… have a GREAT 4th of July weekend – whether you’ll be having a 4 day weekend or 2 Monday’s next week – make it memorable, enjoyable, and legendary.

#Merica

P.S.  Thanks for reading this whole blog post.  Are you still curious why there’s a puppy as the main image?  Well, that’s my dog, Riley, that I mentioned in my previous blog post.  ONE, it was to get your attention because damn is that a cute puppy pic.  But, actually the real reason why I put that there is because that goes with my third actionable step – I get to come home to my dog and we can go on a run, maybe a swim, or just see her smiling face.  It’s actually pretty easy to find something to look forward to.  As the great Matthew McConaughey once said when speaking about motivation during his Oscar acceptance speech … “something to look up to, something to look forward to and someone to chase”.