Blerg. Does someone have a case of the Mondays? Well don’t you worry your pretty little head about it. Don’t let the Monday get you down! After all, it’s not about it being MONDAY. It’s about it being another day that you get to share your AWESOME with the world. Boom.
Shake off the bluesies and make kick this day in the buns in 5 little steps…
- Breathe
- I know. You think, “Ya. I’m always breathing. That’s just a fact of life.” But do me a flava flave: BREATHE. Stop whatever you are doing. Close your eyes. Close your mouth. Breathe in through your nose and slowly count to 5 letting your chest fill. THEN. Hold that breath for 5 seconds. Lastly, push that breath out through your lips for 7 seconds. Do that 2 to three times. Before you open your eyes, roll your shoulders back. Voila!
- Tidy up!
- We don’t need to tackle the whole world on a Monday morning. What we need to do is feel a little sense of checkitoffedness. You know, the act of having checked shit off our to-dos. So, I pick one little area: maybe it’s making my bed (which I do every day, btw), or just the kitchen, clearing off my desk. I set a timer for 5 minutes or put on two songs {let’s be real. I put on two songs} and then, I tidy up, and that’s what I focus on for that period of time. When the songs are over, I am done with that space and move on to something else. Or I keep tidying. Whatever the day allows. Regardless though, I feel a little clip of control.
- Bruno.
- Seriously. Music, people. It’s key. It boosts my mood almost instantaneously. So. For Monday, I make a quick playlist of tunes like Bruno, JT, Imagine Dragons, Zac Brown Band, Frat party circa 2001, and the like. Songs that make my shoulders shrug, that make me smile, and that get me in an upbeat place. I mean, have you ever been fired for desk dancing with your headphones on? I haven’t.
- Praise the Lawd!!
- Big praise hands, friend! Take a sec to jot down F I V E things you are grateful for today. You can keep a running list throughout the day. Or knock it all out in one fell swoop. It’s true that the act of gratitude actually releases happy bubbles in your brain. I don’t really know if that’s actually true. I’m guessing it is though, right? Seems legit.
- Buddy the Elf.
- Y’all. Have you ever focused on how it feels to deliberately SMILE? It is like a little workout for your face! Take a cue from Buddy the Elf and say, “Smiling is my Favorite!” Not feeling the smile? Fake it til you make it. I mean, don’t be a fake. But give the ol’ pearly whites a chance to shine and exercise your right to be happy.
Sometimes Mondays can be a little bit more work than the rest of the days. That’s okay. But don’t give up on it yet. Shake it up! Or a la T Swizzle, shake it off.
Happy Monday!
