Plan your work in advance

Do you think in terms of “What I need is someone who will make me do what I can”? Maybe you did not plan you work properly in advance and that’s why you’re finding it tough going to your office on Monday. The fact is that’s how some of the top professionals feel at the beginning of week ‘On Mondays’. And, this is contrary to the common belief that professionals go to their workplaces fully recharged on Mondays. Some of the professionals find Mondays the most boring or least attractive days of their careers.

If you feel low on start of your week or face anxiety, strange feelings of facing the same run of the mill or even nervous, lack passion or fired up which is a clear sign of not interested in your work, the chances are you are not satisfied with your work. If you're tensed on the start of the week maybe it's not the case of Monday Blues in your case but the chances are you are in a job not suitable for you.  If you are one of them then have you ever tried to analyze the reason for your lack of interest for going to your work? If your answer is ‘no’, it’s right time you give it a try before it’s too late!

Monday is fearsome

What I feel the fear of Monday has increased ever since the trend of ‘five days’’ week has replaced the good old six days’ week in our country. The system of five days’ week is fine in countries where people are ready to work for 45 hours and then enjoy their 2 days’ weekends and then come back to work fully recharged and full of zeal but as far the trend in our country goes the rule says the work should begin at 9 in the morning and must go on up to 6 in the evening but in practical people do not follow the system but still going by the old system of coming to office at 10 or even later and pack up by 5 or before.  This system is very much in practice at least in government sector. People try to avail as many holidays as they possibly can.

Let’s come back to Monday Blues, there is a big number of professionals who are kind of afraid of going to their workplaces on Mondays since they are not yet out of their ‘rest mode’. Most of such people feel nervous or sad merely at the thought of returning to office on Mondays. They come to office but the fact that they remain in office physically but not involved in their work whole heartedly. And the worst part of the story is your behavior in office on Mondays set the trend for rest of the week. Let me repeat at this point that if these systems are temporary then there is nothing much to worry but if you feel the same every Monday then you must think it over seriously. 

Are you satisfied with your job?

How a professional feels about his workplace on Mondays could be the result of many different reasons but most analytics have a common conclusion that people finding Mondays tough to work perhaps are not comfortable with their management or even not cut out for the job they are in or they are not on good terms with their coworkers. If a person finds these problems once in a while then perhaps the matter is not that serious but if it is matter of every Monday, you’re in for a serious trouble. I suggest you must update your bio-data and send it to job agencies. You are in need of a new job with immediate effect.    

What you need to do is…

If you find it tough to come back to grove on Monday the reasons could be you left too many loopholes in the last week or you did not plan your week properly. One of the main reasons is the left out works keep bothering you where to start your work and that becomes the reason of stresses in your mind which stops you from anything new. You’re never sure whether to plan afresh or finish the jobs you have yet to complete. The best way to keep yourselves at ease is to finish your work before you leave your office on Friday evenings. At least make sure that nothing important is left out to be finished which will create problems for you while you come back on next Monday. That will solve some of your Monday Blues for sure. 

As far I am concerned I will look at my priorities within the first two days or at the most y Wednesday. Thursdays and Fridays I will keep for planning for next week’s programs and hopefully could very well spare a few moments for my personal programs for the weekend too. But, one thing is for sure if you see yourself in middle of the messed up situation on Monday itself you shall never be able to come out for rest of the week. In fact, Monday is the important most day of the week and if you look forward on this day with a positive mindset you will find everything moving smoothly. Just plan out properly and see the difference.

Let’s think this way 

Suppose you are not sick and have decided on Sunday itself to not to go to office on Monday, then what is your plan, I mean what you will do on Monday! I know you have so many things in your mind like you will continue where you left on Sunday night like keep watching movies, reading the unfinished novel or going a step further having plans of sleeping for the entire Monday morning. I mean if you’re thinking in these terms even if you are neither sick nor having something important to work at home, you’re probably destroying your future chances for no reasons. It’s better to go to office and try to concentrate and do something worthwhile. 

I would suggest you sit with your co-workers and plan for the week which will ease out all your tension and you’ll feel extremely satisfied and full of energy ready to take the bull by the horns. Let’s admit that your coworkers make a big difference in planning out the strategies even while you’re not at the work table or in a conference room but at lunch time or tea break. And your good coworkers need not be from the same department where you work but from any department for that matter. For instance, I had a very good friend in software department a couple of blocks away who used to provide some very good suggestions during my visit to his office.

 I never found him cracking jokes or talking unnecessarily but whatever he said had lots of sense. I never saw him sitting idle but I had started to believe that he never stopped working and still never felt overworked or bored. Visiting him was a unique experience in itself even though he spoke very little but whatever he said had a message and something worth listening. I thought spending 15 minutes with people like him was far better than spending hours with people who had no ideas about work ethics. He was like a chess player who made a move in 30-40 minutes but each of his moves was worth noting down for future reference. Let’s accept the fact that good coworkers make a workplace good or bad. The good workers look at their job as a complete package and act accordingly.

Let’s face the reality

There should be a time when we should come back in working mode and the best time according to my view is Sunday night itself. We should prepare for the next morning by going to bad at right time so that we get up fresh for the work next morning. Should I remind you that pilots have to stop taking liquor etc at least 12 hours before their scheduled flight timing? Likewise we should keep ourselves mentally fit for the work so that a proper discipline is maintained and you are ready for the work in right frame of mind.

Let me put it this way, we love the monitory gains out of our jobs but we must always keep in our mind that our employer also expect to give our 100% for the money they pay us in lieu of our work. In fact there is a direct relation in between money we earn and the efforts we put. We should also know the fact that some of the efforts we put to finish a job maybe we do not like doing but we have to do them as they are part of the job. There is no alternative of proper synchronization, the coordination of events to operate a system in unison without which the whole system will collapse.

There are other ways which keep you happy

If there are orthodox ways of keeping yourself happy and engaged at workplace there are some innovative ways too which might do the trick for you, like-

1- If you show your willingness to help your coworkers you will certainly become the favorites of many within no time and that will help keep you engaged

2- Keep smiling because smile wins one and all without doing much

3- I never felt inferior saying hello even to my juniors when they did not notice me before I did

4- Never ever engage yourself with gossipers because that is one of the easiest ways to become unpopular and make you feel uninterested in your workplace

5- One of the common mistakes we make is we become over aggressive in some cases, which is one sure way of making one unpopular

6- I am not sure about your workplace environment but I would prefer to call as many people with their first name, that brings closeness

7- The worst you can do is to copy someone, be yourself and act normally

8- There is nothing better than mingling up the ideas with coworkers and sort out the best ideas

9- There is no result of unnecessary talks especially with the one with whom you cannot win

10-  While talking normally with coworkers is good but getting serious or dating at workplace will certainly put you in a jam

11- I know social gatherings are part of the modern day activities but I would suggest getting too close or taking too many drinks will bring something undesirable out, so avoid that.

12- Are you in habit of cracking jokes about yourself? Do that but make a limit, unless you do not want to become a laughing stock.

Conclusion

I am very much sure if you keep the above in your mind there is no reason you'll ever face any Monday Blues or think in terms of skipping your office in future.