The Morning After - How to Keep Spirits Up After a Long Weekend

Every Sunday, many 9-5 employees and students feel anxiety and sadness in anticipation of the five days of work ahead. After a long weekend, these feelings can be amplified. The office feels foreign and tasks seem to have accumulated! It’s easy to lose spirits and grumpily drag through the first day back. But we at InMotion strive for better, and you should too! Here are our five pointers to survive and thrive at work after a long weekend:

1. Journal. Write in your journal at home on Sunday evening or arrive 15 minutes early to the office to jot some thoughts down. It may seem silly, but the benefits of journaling are real and helpful, especially for the dread of a workweek morning. Writing informally about your weekend and worries and hopes for the week can help to clear your mind and become more mindful during the week.

2. Start with some positive vibes. Rather than charge to your desk and get straight to business, spend some time socializing with your colleagues and exchanging stories from each others’ weekends. Knowing that your first moments at the office will be spent in small-talk makes getting ready less dreadful, and socializing can help to warm up your people skills if you spent the weekend at home alone.

3. Make a to-do list. The long weekend can leave us with so much to accomplish on Monday morning that we do not know where to begin. (FYI, we have a post about preventing this from happening). To organize your thoughts, make two to-do lists: one for the day and one for the week. Separating them allows for you to realistically plan your day without failing to write down something important.

4. Plan a fun evening activity. If nothing seems to cheer you up at work, schedule something to look forward to afterwards. It could be television, dinner with a friend, or something else. Whatever your activity be, it should refresh your mind to have a happier day of work ahead.