Sometimes, Mondays are rough. I get it.  There are simple things you can do to make them less icky, though.  Here are 6 common complaints, and some ideas to make them better!

“I always feel so frazzled on Monday morning!”

Invest an hour on Sunday to help you hit the ground running Monday.  Put the laundry away (or start a load), run the dishwasher, lay out your clothes for the morning, take out the trash, run the sweeper, pack your lunch for Monday.  60 minutes on Sunday will improve all 24 hours of Monday!

“Monday morning is a fog, and the day slips away before I get anything done.”

Before you leave work on Friday, or sometime over the weekend, take a glance at your schedule for  the week, and jot down some tasks and to-dos to help you be productive first thing Monday morning.  Map your plan for your Monday and for your week, to guide your actions.  Also, since the Monday morning email load can also be overwhelming, spend 5 minutes first thing Monday morning (or Sunday night) immediately and ruthlessly deleting anything  you don’t need to read, and flagging the important emails to find later for a response.

“The weekend is over, and the next one is 5 whole days away!”

Yes, I know.  I can’t help you too much with this one.  Two tips:

• Let me channel my inner Dread Pirate Roberts and say “get used to disappointment”.  This happens  EVERY week, so the best thing you can do is stop being sad about it.
• Spend a few minutes on Monday planning something fun for next weekend, to look forward to throughout the week!

“I’m so tired…  I didn’t sleep very well last night.”

Stick to your usual waking time over the weekend, within an hour or so.  If you usually wake up at 5:30 on a weekday, set your alarm for no later than 6:30 on the weekend.  And as delicious as a weekend nap is, keep it to 30 minutes.  Both of these ideas help keep Sunday Night Insomnia (yes, that’s really a thing) away.  Sunday Night Insomnia happens when we’re stressed about the week to come, plus we have stayed up and slept late for two days, messing up our sleep hygiene (yes, that also really is a thing).

“I’m not feeling very well, maybe I’m coming down with something.”

Um, or, maybe not.  Don’t go crazy with specialty foods or beverages.  Indulge a bit, of course, at family parties or special dinners or out at the bars with friends, but don’t go too crazy or you will start your week feeling sluggish or even a little ill.  I know folks who follow strict diets during the week and save their “cheat” days for the weekend, and then wonder why they feel crummy Monday morning.

“Ugh, Monday.  I just feel blah…”

In addition to good sleep hygiene and a healthy diet, maintain other healthy habits on the weekend, too.  If you exercise all week, exercise on the weekends, too – maybe even changing it up, with a hike or bike ride with friends.  Take your vitamins, meditate, stay hydrated – whatever it is that you do to get through a week, do it on the weekend, too.

Like anything in life, we can take what we have and make a rough situation better, just by making better choices!  How else can you improve your Monday?