The M Word

By Elaeshah Shallow-Campbell

Fellow and Features Writer

That Monday feeling, the one you hate but don’t really know why. Or is it that you do know why and you choose not to address it?

Monday is just another day of the week, it hasn’t done anything to you personally and surely doesn’t deserve the stigma it has. You’ve heard them a thousand times before and probably said some of these things yourself.

“Monday seems to drag”
“I can’t wait for the weekend” and the classic
“I hate Mondays”

It’s par for the course if you’re in work to resent the first day of the week. It seems that British culture has us all hating the M word. With all of that ‘stiff upper lip’ jazz, we quietly indulge in the bashing of Monday as a sort of coping mechanism for a much deeper issue.

Diagnose your dislike

Undiagnosed it can get lost and mistaken for being miserable or ungrateful. In actual fact it’s much more a symptom of a stagnant routine than anything else. There is no reason to dread Monday if you love what you do. The equation is pretty simple, if you hate your Monday routine you will hate Mondays in general. Imagine you’ve been in the same job for a year or two (in some cases it doesn’t even take that long!). You’ve settled in and are comfortable with what you’re doing. Sounds good so far, doesn’t it? But comfort can be dangerous in the wrong doses. If you’re too comfortable you run the risk of becoming bored and impairing the quality of your work. Doing the same thing every Monday for two years is bound to drive some people mad. The fear of the predictable bogs us down and creates feelings of resentment towards our work.

Re-asses your routine

So now that I’ve diagnosed you, let’s find a cure. If your routine is the same every Monday and you find yourself muttering (or screaming) some of those famous phrases, it’s time to scrap the routine. Write out what you do on a Monday and see where you can make some changes. Move that meeting to Thursday, have lunch somewhere else, work collaboratively. These are the types of things that we overlook in the short term but tend to have a big impact on our general outlook.

Seek advice

Alternatively, speak to your line manager or contact Making the Leap for advice on how to tailor your role to your needs so that Mondays aren’t so mundane. If shaking up the content of your day doesn’t do the trick you have to consider the fact that you may be in the wrong workplace. The job may be perfect, but if the environment is not a match for you then yes, Monday will drag. And vice versa, the right workplace and the wrong job will lead to mundane Mondays. With that said, the whole thing can be absolutely draining. Consider your options and always act in your best interest.