Embracing and Making Peace with Mondays | Silver Bloggers Contest Theme : Embracing Silver for #BoW

Hello everyone and welcome back. I'm excited as this is my first time participating in a Silver Bloggers' contest. The theme of the contest for this week's Blog of the Week (#bow) is: "embracing silver". You can see the details of the contest hereBlog of the Week winners and new topic deadline: 14 June 2021.

Now that I'm retired and in my silver years as many would say, I smile when I hear my family and friends refer to that dreaded day -- Monday. Sometimes when times passes and we enter another phase of our lives, we tend to forget the stressful times we've come through and landed safely on the other wise.

Recently, I started thinking about the affect that Monday had on me as well when I was employed in the corporate workplace. My hours were 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., for five days a week, just as many other workers did.

Currently, my Mondays are the same as any other day of the week. It's just the start of the new week. I can sleep in and rise whenever I please. I can plan projects and other ventures on that day. It's so satisfying to feel removed from the pressure that the day Monday has on me both physically and mentally.

However, in the not-so-distant past, I dreaded that day also. I remember literally feeling ill on Sunday night right before bedtime. I would think of ways to get out of going in on Monday. I know that sounds shameful; however, Mondays were the worst day of the week for me. My job duties entailed a few major reports and several meetings scheduled that day. Skipping Monday seemed like an awesome idea. It felt as though I needed an extra day after Sunday to prepare for Monday. I wanted a called "Betweenday".

Monday is the day most people see as the day that spoils your entire weekend. You look forward to Fridays so you can have fun with family and friends. You may take a weekend travel out of town. Still more popular is a family get-together closer to home. Relaxation is the key. However, after having fun for two days with relaxed schedules, you now have to switch gears and place yourself in a different mindset. Most of us have to set the alarm clock to ensure we're on time each day for the coming work week.

^{Image by niritaharoni62 at Pixabay}

Here are a few ways I reconciled with my Mondays:

• Weekend Spoiler

Have you ever woke up on Mondays feeling as though you have a hangover, and you don't even drink? Well, that was me for the majority of my work life. I would spend the entire week thinking about all the activities I could cram into those two days. By the time Sunday night arrived, I was dead tired planning, cooking, preparing for the outings, and making sure everyone else have good time.

I was worn out trying to ensure everything was perfect. That was my downfall and the most prominent reason why I couldn't even force myself out of bed come Monday morning. That's when I thought I needed another day to recover from the weekend.

I knew there had to be a solution and that others had undergone the same predicament. Through reading numerous articles on how to have a successful weekend, I began to embrace my attitude with Mondays. Once I did, a silver lining emerged. I began to plan better.

My decisions included coordinating with other family members so that I wouldn't be stressed attempting to create this idyllic weekend outing. By distributing the work load, I was less stressed and able to enjoy the outing more. When Sunday nights arrived, I didn't feel worn out.

• Monday To-Do-Lists

If I had numerous deadlines and projects the coming week, I would spend my entire two days on the weekend thinking about how I would handle them. In other words, I allowed my obsession with the coming week to overshadow my time that was dedicated to relaxing. Sometimes while either on an outing or taking the time to read one of my novels, I'd end up grabbing a pen and paper and jotting down notes for Monday morning work projects.

I decided to stop. Instead, before I left work on Friday afternoon, I would make whatever notes I needed for the next week. Your precious time on the two days you have off to enjoy yourself shouldn't be filled with thinking about the upcoming work week.

There are always exceptions to this. You have an urgent undertaking where you must work on the weekends to finalize a project. There may exist a situation where you're trying to resolve an internal conflict with a co-worker and need time away from work to think things through. However, don't allow this situation to drain you and cause concern once Sunday night arrives.

• Same Routine Monday

Every Monday is basically the same if you work either inside or outside the home. You have nothing to look forward to after the weekend. What I did was to change things up a bit. Usually my breakfast, lunch, and dinner consisted of the same weekly items. I had a menu planned out the entire week.

After deciding to do things a bit differently, I planned my weekly food menu backward. For instance, I would normally order pizza and a movie for Friday. I started having pizza on Mondays. We'd either go out or have it delivered. Also, another menu item my children loved...breakfast for dinner. It was an amazing change in my attitude that I didn't have to cook after a tiring Monday workday.

Other items you can do is plan for a short dinner outing or other activity on Monday that you would probably have with your family on the weekends. You'd be amazed how switching your activities around on Monday can bring a good change in your attitude. However, be careful not to crowd your after work night activity so it tires you out for Tuesday.

My advice overall is to to first acknowledge that you have nemesis called "Monday". Next, embrace it with a passion. You'll discover there's a silver lining waiting for you.

Now for me, as far as Monday is going today, I'm trying to shake off a nagging sinus headache from this weekend. That's the only thing that actually ruins my weekends and makes my Mondays unbearable. These are the times when, unlike my family and friends who have to work careers, I can just go back to bed. That's how I embrace the silver years of my life.