Dealing With The Monday Blues As A Freelancer
Anyone with a job knows how difficult dealing with the Monday blues can become. You go into the office on Monday morning, after spending a great weekend relaxing or having fun with your family and friends, and now you’re back at your desk working. You’re in a down mood, and it takes you longer than you’d like to get started on your work. This feeling is not unique to those people who go to another location for their jobs. Freelancers who work at home experience the same problem.
So how to get past it? How do you wake up Monday morning, excited to work and have a productive day? Here are a few things to try:
Start Planning On Friday
First, it helps if you have things to do as soon as Monday starts. If you spend your morning thinking about all of the things you’d like to do that day, you are likely to just keep planning and avoid the actual work. At the end of your week, take a few minutes to plan out what you want to do come Monday morning. Now you can simply sit down at your desk and get started, and not give yourself a chance to procrastinate.
Start With Something Easy or Enjoyable
When planning out your Monday, give yourself something you won’t mind doing right away. There are probably some parts of your job that you like doing more than others, or that you can get done more easily. Maybe you’re a content writer, and you like responding to comments on your blog first. Whatever it is, do these first thing in the morning, and you’ll be off to a great start. Sometimes accomplishing something, no matter how small, spurs you to get more done throughout the day. And, if it doesn’t, at least you got something done that day. No matter what else happens that day, you did something productive, so your entire Monday wasn’t a waste.
Stay Organized
Even if you plan out well on Friday, things could change by Monday. Don’t let these changes throw you by staying organized throughout your day. If you aren’t organized, you’re just as likely to spend time organizing your things and using it as an excuse to avoid actual work. Don’t make the mistake of thinking organizing is the same as doing actual work. While it may feel nice to get things in order, you still need to actually do something that moves you towards your goal.
Listen To Music You Like
Unless music distracts you too much, go ahead and put some on while you work. Just because you’re being productive doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the experience, so do whatever you need to make the room around you better. Play music, put the TV on for background noise, or listen to a podcast. Dealing with the Monday blues isn’t easy, so use whatever tools you can find. The right music can even help you to reduce stress, but just remember to be honest with yourself. If you find that you are no longer focused, turn it off or switch stations.
Plan Something Fun As A Reward
To get you through your Monday, it’s good to have something fun to look forward to. Perhaps make it a weekly event that you and friends grab dinner every Monday night. Or maybe your favorite TV show is on Sunday nights, and you save it for Mondays. If you get through your work, you allow yourself to watch it later that night. Give yourself mini goals and rewards, and let them motivate you through your Mondays.
Have A Job You Love
Finally, the best way to get through your work is for it to not feel like work. If you’re doing something you love, you’ll find that you don’t mind having to spend Monday’s doing it. Sure, there are always parts of any job that we don’t like. But if you truly love the job you’re doing, you can focus on that, and Monday’s won’t seem so bad. Who knows, maybe you’ll even get to the point where you’re not looking forward to the weekend, because that means you won’t be working!
Planning Helps In Dealing With The Monday Blues
You may never learn to love Mondays, but maybe you can grow to not hate them. By planning ahead, rewarding yourself now and then, and loving what you do, you can make Mondays just like any other day.
Do you have any tips for dealing with the Monday blues? If so, leave a comment below and let us know!