Motivational Mondays Are Not Very Motivating

I definitely do this. In fact, I am pretty sure there is more coffee in my blood than iron, and I can say that as someone who has had iron transfusions. Yes, you read that correctly. As a South African, I have a reasonably healthy diet of red meat, biltong and spinach, so surely the coffee is the problem.

Jokes aside, the point I am trying to make is that we are constantly on the go. Weekends don’t always offer much time to rest because, if it isn’t a school function we are attending, it’s a family event, a friend’s birthday or something else that seemed like a good idea when we agreed to it.

Before we know it, the weekend is over, and we are standing at the bottom of Monday like it is a mountain we have to climb after just swimming across an ocean.

I have actually had this discussion with my bestie. I remember asking her: if we were given a four-day weekend, would things actually get better? Or would we simply fill that extra day with even more things to do and eventually start hating Tuesdays because Tuesday had become the new Monday?

I would love to know what some of you do to get yourself through a Monday with something resembling a smile on your face.

So, after doing a little research for myself, I started looking into what actually helps people get motivated on Mondays.

And one of the most interesting things I found is that people don’t necessarily motivate themselves by feeling inspired. Research suggests that they rely more on routines, a sense of purpose, small achievable goals and positive anticipation rather than motivation alone.

And honestly? That makes a lot of sense. Start small.

Researchers have found that people are more likely to pursue goals after what are called temporal landmarks, things like a new year, a birthday or the beginning of a week.

Mondays can create a psychological sense of a clean slate. They give us an opportunity to recommit to healthy habits, work goals and personal aspirations. We make weekly plans, set priorities, recommit to goals and sometimes decide that this will finally be the week we get our lives together…until Thursday.

Motivation often follows action, rather than the other way around.

Instead of waiting until we feel motivated, we can start with one small, meaningful task. Completing something achievable can create momentum, which makes it easier to tackle the next thing. Make a to-do list that you can actually tick things off. Tackle one important task first, and when you finish it, celebrate that little victory like you have just won Olympic gold. Go get that gold medal!

Give yourself something to look forward to. People need something to look forward to. Psychologists suggest that positive anticipation can help offset Monday dread. When we associate Monday with something enjoyable, our mindset can shift from avoidance to approach. I have to admit, there have been a few times when I have genuinely thought, “I am so excited for Monday!” And yes, you guessed it. There was always something specific to look forward to.

It might have been something happening on Monday or something coming up later in the week. But knowing that Monday meant the week was beginning somehow created a little sense of excitement. So, give yourself something to look forward to. Buy your favourite coffee. Listen to a podcast on the drive to work. Schedule lunch with a colleague. And, for those of you who are teachers like me, have lunch somewhere different. Sit on the playground. Find a quiet corner of the school. Sit next to your work bestie in the staff room.

Plan something pleasant for after work that doesn’t involve grocery shopping, collecting children from school or forcing yourself to complete that twenty-minute workout you have been avoiding all day. Unless, of course, you genuinely enjoy those things. In which case, carry on.

I am thinking more along the lines of reading a chapter—or two, or three—of your favourite book. A long-awaited bubble bath. Going for that cycle you have been desperate to try, even if you know the new route will take a little longer or finally making that phone call you have been rescheduling for three weeks. Small things.

But sometimes small things are exactly what we need.

Sleep matters more than motivation. I am definitely no expert on sleep. In fact, I really struggle to sleep at night. But offer me a quiet place under a bench on the playground and I will probably be fast asleep before you even get the chance to ask if I am comfortable. I have honestly started wondering whether somewhere in my DNA it has either cat or lizard. I haven’t figured out which one yet. That said, the advice about sleep has been repeated to me often enough that I have started paying attention, and it has helped. Keeping similar sleeping times over the weekend can make Monday mornings easier. It is so tempting to sleep in when we have the opportunity or stay awake until the early hours because we finally have some alone time. We watch the movie. We write in our journals. We scroll for far too long. And then the next morning we wake up looking like we have been pulled backwards through a hedge and wonder why we are exhausted.

Preparing on Sunday evening can also make Monday feel a little less chaotic. I make a point of getting our clothes ready the night before. My husband’s and my work clothes are laid out and ready to go. I do this every night. Life changer.

On Sunday evening, I also look at the week ahead and plan my outfits. That way, I don’t have to stand in front of the cupboard on a Monday morning, desperately searching through the laundry basket to see what has actually been washed or ironed.

Planning the week’s dinners helps too. Because trying to decide what to cook when you are tired, hungry and slightly moody is not the time to be making important life decisions. I like to prepare as much as I can on a Sunday so that the week runs a little more smoothly. And if something inevitably goes wrong during the week, I don’t feel quite as stressed about getting everything done at the last minute.

Reducing Monday morning decision-making goes hand in hand with Sunday planning. If I can make the decision on Sunday rather than at 5 a.m. on Monday morning, best believe I am making that decision on Sunday. Why would I voluntarily make a decision at 5 a.m. on a Monday?

Connection matters. Connection can increase motivation. Research into workplace engagement has found that people who feel connected to their work, recognised and supported by colleagues tend to experience fewer negative feelings associated with the start of the working week. And this makes complete sense to me.

I cannot think of a single moment when I have thought:

“Hey, I am in a disagreement with my colleague. I can’t wait to get to work so she can disagree with me some more!” Ah, no, Susan. Nobody wants that.

Connect with your colleagues. They can have a surprisingly positive impact on your Monday morning, and on your life in general. But connection doesn’t have to stop with the people we work with. Focus on the people you serve. If you get those extra five minutes to pop into a shop to grab a coffee or your favourite snack bar, and there is someone standing in the queue looking like a particularly miserable Eeyore, ask him how his day is going. He might just need someone to notice him. Perhaps he is a doctor who has just had to tell a family that their loved one isn’t coming home. Perhaps he is a specialist who has given someone a life-changing diagnosis. Perhaps he is a lawyer who strongly believes his client is innocent, yet nobody seems to believe him. Perhaps he is another teacher who is struggling with parents and has no idea how to fix the situation. We rarely know what someone else is carrying.

A small conversation doesn’t have to be sad or heavy. Sometimes meaningful connection simply means sharing a laugh, asking a question, listening to someone’s story or celebrating something good that has happened to them. We are all carrying different things. And sometimes, connecting with another person reminds us that we are not carrying them alone.

Purpose beats pressure. Research suggests that approaching Monday with a sense of purpose, rather than focusing entirely on deadlines and demands, can help reduce feelings of overwhelm.

People who connect their work to something meaningful often have a stronger sense of resilience and motivation.

So perhaps the question isn’t: “How am I going to get everything done this week?”

Maybe it is: “What matters most this week?” That small change in perspective can make a difference. Prioritising and planning can help us focus on what actually matters instead of trying to squeeze everything into five days. As a teacher, my admin never seems to end. Lists to make. Forms to fill out. Observations to complete. Reports. Emails. More forms. And somehow, before you know it, you are spending more time doing administration than teaching. I have often thought: “This is not why I studied for four years to get a degree.” And then I have to catch myself. Take a breath. Do a little box breathing. And remind myself why I decided that teaching was my calling. I am here for the children. If paperwork is part of the job, then, well… that is life.

Reconnecting with our personal values matters too. Some of us share the same values. Some of us have similar values. Others have completely different ones. And that is okay.

The world would be terribly boring if we were all the same. The important thing is to know what matters to you. And if you feel like you are drifting away from it, pause. Reconnect. Come back to what matters.  Maybe Monday isn’t the problem.

Contrary to popular belief, motivated people don’t necessarily wake up on Monday morning bursting with enthusiasm, throwing open the curtains and shouting, “LET’S DO THIS!” I certainly don’t. And I am willing to bet I am not alone.

Research suggests that people can create conditions that make motivation more likely. They plan ahead. They protect their sleep. They start with small wins. They connect with their purpose. They give themselves something to look forward to. In other words, motivation is often less about how we feel and more about the habits and mindset we bring with us into the week.

Maybe Monday isn’t asking us to be motivated. Maybe it is simply inviting us to begin again. One small step. One fresh page. One ordinary act of faith that this week still holds possibility.

Thank you for reading

Monochrome Moments

xoxo