It can be hard to find a vocation in life where you have the same level of excitement for weekends and weekdays.
At Move we pride ourselves on a work-life harmony approach to life [read more here], but if you haven't found your perfect job yet and are regularly hit with Monday blues you are not alone . In fact, a survey by a leading recruitment website found that 78% of people had experienced the Sunday night blues at least once! So here are some science backed ways to kick that "smonday" madness out of your life.
1. Plan a fun activity on Sunday
A lot of us approach weekends by doing all the fun stuff on Saturday and leaving all the chores that have to be done until Sunday. Why not tackle some of the cleaning, washing and prep for the week on a Saturday when you're naturally in a better mood? That way you can plan something fun to do on Sunday and take your mind off work!
2. Workout
Exercise is Mother Nature's most effective anti-depressant so book a class or hit the gym. As little as 5 minutes exercise has been shown to reduce anxiety. The endorphins also make you feel awesome and ready to take on the world!
3. Spend time with your family and friends
Spending times with your loved ones has proven to decrease levels of the stress hormone cortisol. During the study, researchers found that during an unpleasant experience, participants who were with their best friend didn't produce as much cortisol as those who weren't around a friend during the stressful time.
4. Organise for the week ahead
Sometimes the best way to deal with worries about the week ahead is to tackle them head on. Before you leave work on Friday make a list of all the things you want to do on Monday, tidy your desk and sort out your emails. That way you can be relaxed knowing that everything is ready for you to start a fresh on Monday.
5. Have a Bath
A Sunday evening bath is a great way to unwind. Neil Morris, a psychologist at the University of Wolverhampton, recently studied 80 people who took a bath every day for a fortnight and reported: "I found that bathing improved general psychological wellness radically. There was a significant drop in feelings of pessimism about the future and increases in hedonic tone, the internal feeling of pleasurability."
