Ugh, Monday! In my opinion the first, and worst day of the work week. I am extremely routine orientated. Mondays are hard for me because I lack routine on my weekends, and struggle to get back into the swing of things.
Often I feel I finally have my routine down on Thursday or Friday only to have the weekend roll around to break my success.
I have really tried to work on making Monday's something I dread a little less.
Here is what works for me!
Get PUMPED: I start my Monday off right! I choose a song for my morning alarm that will emotionally hype me up for the week ahead.
Look Ahead: I feel overwhelmed by the unknowns that each week holds. Every Sunday I pause for about 15 minutes and review my calendar to familiarize myself with the week's plans. This helps me feel less overwhelmed when I get to work Monday morning. I make a list of anything I need to prepare or purchase for the next week.
Set Goals: I set three goals on Sunday for what I want to accomplish the following week. Many times these include simple things like eating a full three meals every day. Drinking enough water. Exercising three times the coming week. I mentally picture how accomplished I will feel when I achieve these goals. Right now a big goal I have each week is sticking to my routine I have set using the Tiimo App (I saw this app on Tiktok and it has been a game changer).
Weekend Mentality: Being 22 and having a chronic illness are sorta contradictory. I often felt like a loser if I am not social every minute of the weekend (I suffer from chronic FOMO). However, I have started working on giving myself permission to find more balance. My weekend now consists of setting myself up for a week of success: cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, and catching up on anything I did not accomplish during the week. I aim to be social at least once every weekend, but I have realized weekends are for recovering from the week. Using all of your spoons for the week in 72 hours does not lead me to become my best self (obviously, I sometimes make exceptions).
Looking Forward: I build something into each week that gets me excited. Sometimes this is a challenge I make with myself mentally like saying, "I bet you can't reach all three of your goals this week." Other times it's making plans with friends for Tuesday happy hour. I find something that helps me get excited to get out of bed.
What works for you?