Sunday Night/Monday Morning Blues

It seems so unfair that the workweek is five long days, while the weekend is just a quick two days.  It feels like four/three would be a much more fair split.  When people say on Thursday "hey, it's almost Friday" my first thought is something along the lines of "It is.  Which means that Monday is not too far away."  

I tend to get the Sunday night (or sometimes Monday morning) funk pretty bad.  You know, when you're bummed that the weekend is almost over (or over) and next weekend just seems so far away.  It's enough to put me in a big funk.  And make me start freaking out about how much I have to accomplish next week and how I'm going to be so tired and how next weekend and the relaxation it promises can't come soon enough.  

So here's how I cope:

• I spend Sunday doing things for me.  I relax as much as I can - whether I've had a crazy week and busy weekend or even if I've been vegging all weekend.  I put the clean clothes away, I take a bath, I do some yoga, I watch some Gilmore Girls, I write these posts, I take the dog for a walk...whatever I can to just take it easy.

• I take time on Sunday to get things ready for Monday.  There's nothing worse than starting the week off running late.  So, I prep breakfast and lunch on Sunday night.  I figure out what I want to wear to work on Monday (at least generally).  I pack anything that I need to remember to bring to work - shoes, notes, papers, etc.  Basically, I just do whatever I can to make sure that getting out of the house on Monday goes as smoothly as possible.

• I start my week off with a some movement.  This might sound crazy, but Monday mornings are one of my early workout days for the week.  The alarm goes off at 5:15 a.m., and I get up and go to the gym.  It sucks, for sure, but it's a great way to start the week off on my terms. I get a good workout in, work off any Monday morning blahs, and have some me time before delving into the work week.

• I also give myself some quiet time.  I try to meditate every morning, but a lot of times that doesn't happy.  But, on Mondays, I try really hard to carve out some time post-gym to sit in meditation, even if it's just for 10 minutes.  It's a great opportunity to transition from the weekend and get my head in the game for the workweek.  It's also a great way for me to work through any crappy Monday morning thoughts that I'm having.  

• I prep for Monday on Friday afternoon.  Before I leave the office on Friday afternoon, I make sure that I take a look at my calendar for the next week.  I make a list of tasks that need to get completed on Monday, and I make sure that I fully wrap up everything that needs to get done before leaving for the weekend.  While I still have to be on call over the weekend and looking at my Blackberry, this helps me to eliminate some of the "Oh crap, I need to remember to do XX" freakouts over the weekend.  Especially while I'm trying to fall asleep on Sunday night.  And, if one of those thoughts does pop into my head over the weekend, I send myself an email to my work email so that I don't forget it, and can get it off my mind until I make it to the office on Monday. 

• I give myself lots of time to transition into work.  I try to walk to the office as much as possible, but I especially try to do this on Monday mornings.  It gives me extra time to listen to my music and gear up for whatever's awaiting me in the office.  

So, there you have it.  Don't get me wrong: Monday's still suck.  I'm totally with Garfield on that one.  But, at least there are things that I've learned throughout the years that make it a little easier to get in the swing of things.