Mondays are terrible. It's doomsday for the working class. It means that the bliss of the weekend actually ends and you have to go back to the hustle and bustle of life <at least, for us, the working class>. I have managed my Mondays somehow, and I would like to share with you some tips that makes me come out of my Monday Malaise a little bit.
Wake up earlier than usual.
Almost everyone is suffering from Monday Malaise. So symptoms are the same and most probably, timing in reaction to these symptoms would be the same. This could mean that most people would be leaving their houses at the same time because they dragged theirselves out of bed at the same time, and so on and so forth. This also means that everyone will be stuck in traffic at the same time!
Get out of this rut! Go to work early. Less stress and you eliminate the first thing that could ruin your Monday morning and that is, that horrible Monday rush hour traffic!
Power-dress!
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| Photography by Petr Kurecka |
Expect that Mondays will be more stressful than the rest of the week. So the first step of lifting yourself up on this toxic day is to actually look good. That’s why people keep on saying, “Look good, feel good”? In the company where I work, we are required to wear red on Monday to start the week with passion. This is actually very uplifting for me as I always suffer from Monday Malaise.
Tackle that to-do list.According to the color psychology, Red “is a warm and positive color associated with our most physical needs and our will to survive. It exudes a strong and powerful masculine energy. Red is energizing. It excites the emotions and motivates us to take action. It signifies a pioneering spirit and leadership qualities, promoting ambition and determination. It is also strong-willed and can give confidence to those who are shy or lacking in will power.”
Oh and yeah, wear that red lipstick!
I am a “list” person. I like seeing things written, in order and put in my plain sight. Every Mondays, try to remember what items are left pending from the previous week. Arrange them in your own preference. Some would like their to-do list arranged on virtue of importance, some on urgency. In my case, I like to break it down based on categories so that I can cover most, if not all, my bases.
Grab that coffee.
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| Photography by Billy Frank Alexander |
This is a non-negotiable. Especially on a Monday. Studies have proven the positive effects of caffeine. According to the Huffington Post, these are the 11 benefits of coffee:
1. Coffee gives you more antioxidants. According to a study done in 2005, "nothing else comes close" to providing as many antioxidants as coffee. While fruits and vegetables also have tons of antioxidants, the human body seems to absorb the most from coffee.
2. Smelling coffee makes you less stressed. Researchers at the Seoul National University examined the brains of rats who were stressed with sleep deprivation and discovered that those who were exposed to coffee aromas experienced changes in brain proteins tied to that stress. Note, this aroma study doesn't relate to stress by itself, only to the stress felt as a result of sleep deprivation.
3. Coffee could lessen the symptoms for Parkinson’s disease. ScienceDaily reported in 2012 that drinking coffee may help people with Parkinson's disease control their movement. Ronald Postuma, MD, the study author, said, "Studies have shown that people who use caffeine are less likely to develop Parkinson's disease, but this is one of the first studies in humans to show that caffeine can help with movement symptoms for people who already have the disease."
4. Coffee is great for the liver! A study published in 2006 that included 125,000 people over 22 years showed that those who drink at least one cup of coffee a day were 20 percent less to develop liver cirrhosis -- an autoimmune disease caused by excessive alcohol consumption that could lead to liver failure and cancer.
5. Coffee can make you feel happy. A study done by the National Institute of Health found that those who drink four or more cups of coffee were about 10 percent less likely to be depressed than those who had never touched the java. And apparently it's not because of the "caffeine high" -- Coke can also give you a caffeine high, but it's linked to depression.
6. Coffee consumption can reduce levels of suicide. A study done by the Harvard School of Public Health determined that drinking between two and four cups of coffee can reduce the risk of suicide in men and women by about 50 percent. The proposed reason is because coffee acts as a mild antidepressant by aiding in the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline.
7. Coffee can reduce your chances of skin cancer (for women). Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School followed 112,897 men and women over a 20-year period and, apparently, women who drink three or more cups of coffee a day are much less likely to develop skin cancer than those who don't.
8. Coffee can make you a better athlete. You usually drink coffee when you are sleep-deprived, right? Well, that much-needed jolt not only keeps you awake, it makes you sharper. CNN reports that coffee allows your brain to work in a much more efficient and smarter way.The New York Times reports, "Scientists and many athletes have known for years, of course, that a cup of coffee before a workout jolts athletic performance, especially in endurance sports like distance running and cycling.
9. Coffee can reduce your risk for Type 2 Diabetes. Coffee also lowers risk of Type 2 diabetes, according to a study from The American Chemical Society. The study's researchers found that people who drink four or more cups of coffee a day reduce their chances of developing Type 2 diabetes by 50 percent. Subsequently, with every additional cup, the risk gets lowered by 7 percent.
10.Coffee could help your brain stay healthier. Researchers from the University of South Florida and the University of Miami found that people older than 65 who had higher blood levels of caffeine developed Alzheimer's disease two to four years later than others with lower caffeine.
11.Coffee may make you sharper. You usually drink coffee when you are sleep-deprived, right? Well, that much-needed jolt not only keeps you awake, it makes you sharper. CNN reports that coffee allows your brain to work in a much more efficient and smarter way.
So there you go, loves. Hope that your succeeding Mondays will be more manageable! Do you have any other tips in mind?
xx,
Corporate Junkie
