Having yet another manic Monday? It’s not just you.
Between the Sunday scaries and the Monday blues, the beginning of the week can really dial up the anxiety. A 2017 Monster.com survey showed that more than 75 percent of Americans say they experience a “really bad” feeling of dread when the weekend ends. No wonder we’re all living for Friday to roll back around.
For a fighting chance of getting out of bed on the right foot, Bare Necessities found 10 easy things you can do in the name of self-care:
1. Keep a consistent schedule
While the last thing you probably want to do is get up in the six o’clock hour on Saturday, don’t go to extremes and sleep until 10, either. By keeping your bedtime and wake-up time relatively on track, you won’t experience what’s know as “social jet-lag,” setting you up for a Monday that’s rougher than it needs to be. A fitness tracker can help with this.
2. Give winter the cold shoulder
It’s extra hard to feel motivated in these chilly, dark months when you’re constantly feeling blah. The quick fix: snuggly pajamas that make bedtime something to look forward to. We never want to take off the Barefoot Dreams Luxe Milk Jersey Modal Pajama Set. The beyond-adorable ED Ellen DeGeneres Smile Knit Pajama Set, replete with a puppy pocket, is guaranteed to warm your heart and extremities. (To-read: 17 ways to get a good night’s sleep.)
3. Get off your phone
Too much aimless scrolling can have you comparing your life to everyone else’s highlights reel and adding to your mental to-do list, whereas IRL interactions put problems into perspective and leave you with a literal contact high. See friends and do the things you’ve been meaning to do, like having brunch at a new spot or checking out a museum exhibit. You may also want to download an app that limits blue lights emissions in the evening—those are the rays that signal to your brain that it’s time to get up and suppress your natural melatonin production.
4. Take it outside
Even in less than ideal weather, fresh air and bright light do wonders for resetting your body’s circadian rhythms. As often as you can, go for a walk, run or hike, take the dog for a stroll or hit the playground with your kid. If the great outdoors just isn’t doable, any kind of exercise you can get should boost your mood and help your sleep more soundly.
5. Split the weekend workload
Stop giving Saturdays all the glory and make Sunday more of a fun day. Redistribute how you balance your errands and entertainment, running around and resting. Going hard one day and being useless the next is too much of a letdown.
6. Tame your brain
Meditation is proven to harness your stressed-out, multitasking monkey mind. (Call it deep breathing if that helps make it more palatable.) You don’t have to will your brain to go blank; just keep bringing your focus back to your breath. That’s all there is to it. You can even do it from the comfort of your bed before going to sleep or after waking up. Staying present keeps you from fretting about what’s ahead. Find an app to walk you through relaxation exercises, like Calm, Headspace or Pacifica.
7. Write it down
Like meditating, journaling also helps tame your brain. You can start a gratitude list, jot down your worries to get them out of your head, keep a master to-do list, or note what you want to accomplish in the week ahead. A brain dump onto paper makes it much easier to relax and stave off the scaries.
8. Use your mantra
Tap into the power of a phrase that anchors you when you need it the most. Repeat it to yourself as you breathe, speak it into the mirror or scream it if you need to. Power Figure Suzan Colón is partial to “Keep it humble.” Bare Necessities staffers use “I am enough,” “No judgments,” “Don’t rush, never settle,” “All is well in my world” and, fittingly, “Don’t let your Monday ruin your Sunday.”
9. Schedule relaxation
Make Wednesday the new Friday. Find time on a random weekday to slap on a face mask, get a mani/pedi, take a bath or visit a float tank, light that fancy candle or schedule a lunch-hour massage. At night, there are even Sunday Scaries Gummy Bears to pop, with vitamins and anxiety-squelching CBD oil. Suddenly, the week feels more face-able.
10. Ease into Monday
Cut yourself as much slack as possible. Order out for breakfast, pick up a cappuccino, go out to lunch with a coworker or schedule something fun to look forward to after work. Organizing expert Julie Morgenstern advises never checking email in the morning so you can play offense, not defense, at the office. Avoid scheduling Monday morning meetings if you can help it. (You can tell your boss we said so.)
And, of course, catch up on the latest Bare it All blog post.
Brooke Glassberg
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