Mondays Aren't Bad...You Just Hate Your Job

The Monday blues are like herpes... either you have them or you don't. Either you're waking up Monday morning detesting its presence or you're leaping out of bed, ready to start the week.

Because, contrary to popular belief, Mondays themselves aren't horrible, you just hate what you have to do on them.

It's been said that life is work and work is life. If the two words are mutually exclusive, shouldn't you make sure your life is consumed by work you love? Shouldn't your work be the root of happiness in your life? Shouldn't Monday morning just be the start of another great day?

Imagine waking up on Monday morning ready, willing and excited to go to work. Imagine not minding that the fun of the weekend was over because you have another type of excitement to look forward to during the week.

Imagine if the people you worked with were more your friends than the ones you were with on the weekend.

Then maybe Mondays wouldn’t be so bad.

It's not just the end of the weekend you're dreading, it's the beginning of your horrible week. It's not the six-letter word that causes you angst and fear, it's what that word represents. And if Monday threatens you the same way a sentencing date does for a prisoner, you may need to reexamine your case.

Because you signed up for this, you enlisted. You chose that job, that career, that path. You chained yourself to a five-day work week that's more a prison sentence than a safe haven. Mondays don't come attached to dread and pain: You created it.

You don’t have to endure Mondays this way. You can look forward to Mondays, or at least not detest them. You can actually anticipate the work week, or at least not spend Sunday nights thinking of ridiculous, yet just plausible enough excuses as to why you can't make it.

It doesn't have to be like this, you can be happy on Monday morning. You can find a job you love, one that makes you excited to leap out of bed. One that makes you wish the weekend would hurry up so you could get back to the work you love.

While there may not be a cure for herpes, there is one for the awful case of the Mondays.

There’s not enough coffee and free donuts to appease you

If the caffeine and sugar rushes aren’t getting you where you need to be Monday morning, clearly it's a case of mind over stimulants. There's no denying that after two days of too much booze, too many bars and one too many hangovers, Monday morning can be a rough start.

If a few cups of coffee, some office snacks and a few Advil don't take that pain away, however, it may be more than just a groggy morning. Because we've all been there.

We all hate getting out of bed. We all hate waking up early. But once you've gotten that shower, accepted those bags under your eyes and treated yourself to one too many shots of espresso, it should start to look like a great day.

The morning commute is more about dreading the destination than the travel

If you're enjoying the time in your car more than the idea of getting out of it, something is wrong. If you're basking in your 30-minute train ride and huffing and puffing your way off it, you may need to do some reevaluating.

Your commute should suck because of traffic, small quarters and too many people too early in the morning. It should be about making it as quick as possible because it really is the worst part of your day.

If you bask in your commute, hoping to drag it out for as long as possible, that means you're dreading your job more than the average Joe. Because nothing can be worse than 7 am traffic, crowded subway cars and cranky strangers.

If your commute sucks on top of your job, it may just be time to quit before you end up in front of your Monday morning subway car.

You look forward to meetings because that means you don’t have to do work

If a Monday morning meeting gets you excited because it delays the inevitable workload, you need to reevaluate what you're doing. Meetings are something that only take away from what you need to be doing. Anyone who is pursuing his passion doesn't want to waste time in meetings, but get back to his job.

You shouldn't be hoping for distractions or delays, but hope to avoid them so you can get to your work. You shouldn't want to walk into work hoping something will come up and keep you away from it.

There's not enough drama from the weekend for Gchat

If you're dependent on Gchat to get you through the day, something is wrong. Your Mondays shouldn't be about needing drama from the weekend to get you through.

Mondays should be hectic and exciting. You should be energetic and excited to come back Monday morning after your weekend of rest. Monday should be your most productive day, the day you start another week.

You should look at the time and wonder where it went, not why it's going so slow. Mondays should excite you for another week, there should be no time to spend talking to people you just spent the weekend with.

You must have a drink after every Monday

If you need a drink by Monday, what does that mean for the rest of the week? Understandably, having a drink after a long day of work is not just acceptable, but healthy.

If you're needing it by the middle of the afternoon on the first day back, however, it might mean you're more in denial than you are thirsty.

Going home to the bottle every Monday night because you need to erase the awful taste Monday left isn't the fault of the calendar day. It's the fault of your sh*tty job.

Photo Courtesy: We Heart It