Do You Hate Mondays?

When I was growing up, one of my favorite hot chocolate mugs was a Garfield mug that said, “I hate Mondays.” Out of the dozens of mugs we owned (for a non-coffee-drinking family, we owned a lot of mugs!) I used that mug most often, so you could say from early childhood I was conditioned to hate Mondays. In fact, I hated them most of my life.

And I didn’t know why.

Why are Mondays to be hated? Is it because as a society we’re conditioned to work five days a week, get a short two-day vacation over the weekend, just to go back to the grind Monday morning, and maybe that vacation isn’t enough time to relax or get the pile of household to-dos done, so in actuality we got no time off and are longing for a real vacation?

And then there’s the entrepreneur, who often works seven days a week on their business for several years so they can take weeks (or even months) off at a time once the business is self-sustaining, so maybe they hate Mondays because they haven’t had a real break in years.

Honestly, I don’t know. All I know is…

I’ve finally found a way to love Mondays!

Really LOVE them. Here’s my secret:

For the past couple weekends I’ve taken Saturdays and Sundays (two whopping days in a row—holy crap!) off business work, entirely. I mean, not even checking email and most of the time staying away from anything business-related on Facebook.

It hasn’t been easy. Yes, I tend to be what some people may call a workaholic. In actuality, I love what I do so much it’s mostly play, so it’s super hard to stay away! AND I’ve realized in the past several months that in order to avoid major burnout, I need to let my body recharge.

So I picked up a “hobby” that requires me to be out of the office the majority of Saturdays, and I spend Sundays relaxing with Netflix or when the weather’s nice, doing something outside. The important thing is to get away—out of the office—and leave my computers alone.

Do an experiment…

The next weekend you have no work-related appointments, find something to do outside your workspace for both Saturday and Sunday. Then see how you feel about Monday morning. Here are some ideas:

• Pick up a non-business-related sport. I started karate, and Saturdays are now my dedicated training days (I train anywhere from four to six hours each Saturday, in addition to four evenings per week).
• Spend an afternoon hiking. Parks and walking trails are everywhere. Explore your own backyard!
• Go kayaking. This can be an all-day activity with a picnic lunch out on the water.
• Have a movie/TV show marathon. On rainy or wintry days, my favorite thing to do is veg in front of Netflix and watch three to eight episodes of whatever series I’m currently watching. It’s my way of draining my business brain cells and occupying them on someone else’s issues for a while.
• Go fly a kite. Seriously. Get yourself a kite (you can find cheap ones for only $1) and go to an open space for the day. Pack a picnic, lay back on a blanket or towel, and let your mind wander as you watch the kite dip and swing in the breeze.
• Energize your Monday. Join My Book Mastermind and get a nice shot every Monday with our weekly calls full of motivation, inspiration, step-by-steps and inside looks into my business!

I’m sure you can come up with dozens more activities to do on the weekends. The key is to give your brain a break from work. The first couple weekends you do this, you may still hate Mondays. I guarantee, however, the longer you keep it up and the more sequential weekends you choose to relax, the more motivated you’ll be to tackle your Monday to-do list, and the more energized you’ll be to be there for your readers, customers, and business partners!

What are your thoughts?

Do you love or hate Mondays? What motivates you to get up and go on a Monday morning? (Share in the comments below!)