Ugh. Is there anything worse than waking up for work on a Monday morning? Probably… But we can still pretend in the moment that it is one of the hardest things to do.
Saturday and Sunday mornings, I can get out of bed early in the morning no problem. That is because I know that I will be doing things I want to do all day long. But when that alarm goes off on Monday morning, I want to hide in bed… because after an awesome weekend of drinking, eating, hanging out with friends, shopping, and sleeping, all I want to do is… do it again.
So how do you curb the Monday morning blues? It’s not easy… but it is possible!
Try and get a job doing something you actually enjoy. Okay, of all people, I know that this may not be possible right now – especially for a recent college grad… but at least wake up knowing that each day you are getting closer and closer to getting a job you actually enjoy. Because each day you work, you gain more professional experience! Let your ambition help you get you out of bed in the morning.
Exercise! Being active is one of the best ways to gain energy. When I go days without working out, I feel gross, disgusting, and don’t feel like doing anything… but when I get into the work out routine, I am not only in a great mood in the morning, but it is easier to get out of bed – no matter what time it is.
Get enough sleep… Duh. You might think this one is kind of obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many twenty somethings actually get enough sleep. You want to get 8 or more hours of sleep a night. So, if you have to wake up at 7, that means going to bed BY 11pm. And if you have to wake up earlier than 7am, that means you should be going to sleep before 11. And this sleeping rule applies for every night of the week – especially on the weekend. Now, we all know that after getting used to waking up for work Mon-Fri at 7am, you can’t help but wake up early on the weekend. But how many twenty somethings are going to bed before 2am on a Friday or Saturday night? Very few. I’m not saying don’t go out! But definitely don’t stay up until 4/5am playing ruit/pong and eating pizza with your friends every weekend night – We aren’t in college anymore… (but obviously that’s okay to do once in a while!) You did a great job getting enough hours of sleep last week – don’t mess it up by getting no sleep on the weekend.
Eat healthy. If you’re eating late night snacks right before you go to bed, you might not be in the best mood when you wake up. This might be bad, but I try to wake up hungry because then I will have a reason to want to get out of bed in the morning…
Snooze. I love hitting the snooze button. Almost every day I lie in bed for an hour and hit snooze every 5 minutes – and no, I am not exaggerating. That’s probably not the best thing to do though. However, I do suggest setting your alarm 15-30 min before you actually have to get up, and hit snooze every few minutes. This way you won’t have to start your morning by jumping out of bed in a mad dash to get ready for work. This is a great way to relax before you start your day.
Let sunshine peek into your room in the morning. Leave your window curtains half open – or open enough to let the sun in your room in the morning. Once light comes in your room, you will be more likely to wake up and more likely to be in a good mood. On days when it’s raining/dark/snowing/gross out, you will inevitably be miserable – sorry to break it to you – but those are the days when it is hardest to get out of bed… So just try to follow the other steps to morning success and you will at least be semi-okay about getting out of bed on shitty days.
Drink water before you go to bed so you will wake up having to go to the bathroom! I always have to pee when I wake up – sorry for being blunt, but it is the truth. This is probably the easiest way for me to get out of bed. Sometimes I wake up at 530am and have to go – but I’m too lazy to get out of bed so I don’t. By the time 7am rolls around and my blackberry plays that obnoxious alarm song, I have to pee so bad that if I don’t get out of bed I will pee my pants or get a UTI… so I’m out of bed in a few minutes starting my day. The way to do this is by drinking a whole lot of water before you go to bed. And that is exactly what I do, all day long, every day.
