Create Your Monday on Sunday

Mondays. The day that the entire planet seems to dread. The beginning to the week that demands ridiculous amounts of coffee and is marked by exhaustion.

Oh yes, Mondays are such a delight.

I used to really hate Mondays. However, I realized that I was giving too much power to a simple day of the week; it’s a date on the calendar, the start of a week, NOT some evil force that has the ability to ruin my life for 24 hours. Sure, there may be outside forces at play that can give us a rough start to the week, but ultimately, we are the ones who decide how our Mondays will play out.

Over the past couple of years, I have learned the key to turning my Mondays from awful to awesome: Mondays are actually created on Sundays.

This is a pretty simple concept (and applies to every other day of the week as well), but is so often skimmed over. Think about it. If you stay up ridiculously late on Sunday night, don’t prep for the next morning, leave lunch unpacked or lists undone, leave the house a mess, and just don’t get ready for the week in general, how does your Monday turn out?

Usually, it’s a mess.

Maybe it’s not just your Monday that needs an overhaul-maybe you find your mornings or entire days to be a mess, no matter what weekday it is. That’s okay-this concept we’re discussing is transferable.

So, how do you create your Monday on Sunday? One simple word: PREPARE.

Think about everything that trips you up and keeps you from having the happiest and most productive Monday possible. For me, there are two simple answers: waking up to my alarms on time, and getting out the door on schedule. Once you’ve identified what your problem areas are, zoom in closer to find the specific steps to solve them.

When I know waking up to my early workout alarm is going to be a struggle, it just means I have to be even more intentional about protecting my sleep the night before. I set a bedtime, and stick to it. When you think about the fact that getting enough sleep can change the entirety of your day, it becomes something worth protecting, and turning things down that would keep you from getting to bed on time becomes a little easier. The simple fix is protecting the time you set aside for sleeping in order to get enough rest.  

Getting out the door on time becomes a little trickier, and I know it’s a problem area for a lot of us. The answer comes in simplifying your morning as much as possible, and THAT means that you need to get stuff done the night before. Struggle with what to wear? Lay out your outfits the night before. Have work or class? Pack your lunch and bags the night before. Do whatever you can to eliminate tasks that are typically done in the morning, and you’ll find yourself having more time.

Of course, those are the two specific areas that are personal struggles. Maybe you struggle with knowing what to get done first when there are so many things hounding for your attention; if that’s the case, make a to-do list the night before, and prioritize the three things you need to get done first. Then, keep working your way down as Monday passes.

Mondays are hard-there’s no denying that. However, if we utilize our Sundays to create our Mondays, they suddenly get a lot simpler. Put your Sunday evening to work, and start having happier, less stressful, and more productive Mondays.

PC: Miss Dreamy Marie