Mondays are generally quite miserable: you have to set an alarm, get up early and commute to work with memories of a weekend falling fast behind. Add a hefty dose of wind and rain and you’ve got yourself a recipe for disaster.
But there is hope. Here are 10 ways to get your Monday off to a cracking start.
1. Scroll through pics of cats standing up.
These are clinically proven to boost mood (OK, maybe not... but they are fun.)
2. Go for pasta.
Eating not only helps you feel satisfied but it also improves brain function. Slow-release energy foods such as pasta, rice, oats, wholegrain bread and cereals, nuts and seeds can also help to keep the tiredness and irritableness at bay.
3. Take 10 minutes to think about you.
Senior midwife Marie Louise says doing just 10 minutes of meditation each morning helps her deal with a stressful day ahead. Marie, who meditates in bed using an app, told us: “I can’t stress how important it is to give yourself time in the morning.”
4. Wear something cosy and comfortable.
Protect yourself against the miserable weather (and battle the unpredictable office air con) with your cosiest jumper. Instant happiness guaranteed.
5. Smile at a stranger.
Smiling isn’t just a nice thing to do, it also activates neural messaging (in your brain) which can benefit health and happiness, Ronald E Riggio wrote for Psychology Today.
6. Do 20 minutes of exercise.
Research has found a 20-minute workout can produce subtle mood benefits that last as long as 12 hours. Happy days.
7. Call someone you love.
Use your break to call a loved one or even a friend who you haven’t spoken to in a while. Plan a catch up and set a date in your diary, it’s likely to bring you lots of joy and is something to look forward to once the week is over.
8. Be inspired by these stories of kindness.
HuffPost UK’s HumanKind project tells the stories of incredible people who help others either through charitable work or random acts of kindness. A survey commissioned by the British Red Cross recently revealed the positive effects kindness can have on the public: half say when someone is kind to them it makes them feel like they’re cared about.
9. Don’t compare yourself to others.
Comparing yourself to others - whether that’s a friend, sibling or colleague - never ends well. You need to remember that you’re an individual and your skills (and weaknesses) are what makes you who you are.
10. Write a to-do list and work through it.
When we tick something off our to do lists, our brains equate this to success and release dopamine which is connected to feelings of pleasure, learning and motivation.
