4 Things To Do On Sunday That Can Improve Your Monday
Relax, think good thoughts, Monday is only a day away.
Nothing is worse than waking up on Monday morning and already feeling like your day is going to suck. You just spent your entire weekend trying to relax from last week, and all of a sudden, the weekend is gone and your standing in your kitchen staring at your fridge realizing that you have no food, no motivation, and therefore no chance at having a positive start to your day. William Hartston of UK’s Express even reported some crazy facts about Mondays, like the fact that the average person doesn’t smile on Mondays until around 11:15am, or that the stock market is most likely to fall on this day. It’s safe to say that this horrendous day is one that sneaks up on you and sets the tone of your week.
But even though Mondays suck, there may be some little things to tweak in our Sunday routine to improve our transition into the fury of Monday’s wrath. If we make our Sunday’s balanced with productivity and pleasure, we can make our Mondays seem less dreadful and the rest our week less stressful. Maybe, even, gain a little piece of mind while we’re at it.
Grocery Shopping and Meal Prepping
One of the biggest stresses to your wallet and time is scavenging for a last minute meal. If you don’t prepack your lunches for the day or plan your dinner for the upcoming days, you’re left trying to find quick fixes that can eventually add up in expenses, lunch hours, and pounds to the scale.
Healthier choices are way too expensive at your local fast-food joint (unless Chipotle is next door). By incorporating a planned trip to the grocery store on the weekend, you can save yourself the stress of trying to find last-minute meals, and can ultimately save yourself some money. If you have a pre-planned list handy, you’ll be set.
Instead of having to throw things in a brown bag or making a trip to a restaurant, all you’ll have to do is place your pre-made lunch in your lunchbag and reach for your dinner items from your fridge when you get home. No more scrambling! That’s one less worry on your Monday agenda.
Laundry
Get it done. If there’s anything worse than not having food ready for you on Monday, it’s not having any clothes. Waking up to see that shirt that matches your skirt you have on laying on the floor, you just want to cry.
If you can incorporate a simple 2-hour session of laundry into your Sunday to-do, you’ll give yourself a fresh wardrobe. The worst part is actually finding the time to haul your laundry bag to the laundry mat or your wash area, but after you load everything, you’ll realize how little time that actually took while saving yourself the stress of having to search for pieces of clothing to accompany your grumpy mood.
Planning
And by that, I mean literally writing everything that you have to get done that upcoming week into your planner. By taking the time on a Sunday to map out your appointments, due dates, etc., you’ll wake up on Monday less frazzled with the ability to lead yourself through the week knowing exactly what you need to get done.
Yes, things will come up, but you will not risk double-booking an event, or over-booking your day, because you will have already set a template for your schedule. With planning, you can begin your Monday a little less pouty and a little more sure-footed.
Relaxing
Ah! The best part. On top of all the things I just previously listed as being major to-do’s for a productive Sunday (which only take maybe 6 hours all together), taking a few moments to yourself and enjoy your last day of freedom can be incredibly beneficial for your stress levels and peace of mind.
Sunday is still a part of the weekend, and going into it with the mentality that it’s your “last chance” to get everything done will do nothing but stress you out more for the day ahead. Obviously dedicating the entire day to letting loose and pretending the next day is the beginning of having responsibilities again is ill-advised, but a few hours in the beginning of the day or a few hours before bed can help you unwind and come to terms with the fact that the weekend is nearing a close.
We can’t hide from Monday, and we can’t make weekends last forever. What we can do is try and blend these two opposing sections of the week to make your step into the weekday a little less sour.
