Take your Monday off, it'll change your life. Try and see for yourself.
Discover more from And It's Up to You! by Antoine Martin
Take your Monday off, it'll change your life. Try and see for yourself.
Some complain about having to get back to work, but others enjoy the thought of getting back to something they love. Either way, it's a mindset thing, and it's up to you!
I've hated Sundays for a pretty long time.
For others, Sundays were all about family time, sleeping late, and having large meals with lots of people, jokes, and all that.
To me though, Sundays were more of a struggle because they were all about wondering how bad Monday would get.
As a graduate who couldn't find a job during the global financial crisis, Mondays were just an empty day, without anything to go back to - except perhaps worrying about what the rest of the week would be like. People were lucky to have a busy Monday if you asked me.
As a consultant in a very big firm, Mondays sounded like plunging back into 70-hour weeks full of political BS, pressure, stress, and insatiable clients you couldn't understand because they were driven by invisible forces (aka. a board of rainmakers who couldn't seem to agree on stuff and stressed their teams out). Awful Mondays if you asked me.
And as an academic, Mondays sounded more like those days where you're not sure what to do. Because time comes in so much abundance and so few constraints that finding your inspiration and drive can be daunting. You enjoy it at first, sure, but then what? Empty Mondays for sure.
But it was up to me.
For the past three years, however, Sundays and Mondays have become a fun routine I'm always looking forward to.
Why? Because a career change gave me a way to make my Mondays mostly off.
Off the calendar. Off booking. Off pressure. Off-limits. Off the hook. Off-road. Off to the beach.
Why? Because I made a decision to live things differently. I decided to give myself an extra weekend day to enjoy time that's just mine to use, and the difference it's made is huge.
Like, huge huge.
Monday mornings can be about going for a paddling session and meditating on my board far from everything. Ever tried box breathing by the way? Definitely a keeper habit…
They can be about expanding the weekend's family time, just because a little bit of extra rest feels nice every now and then.
Or they can be about taking some time to sit in my favorite coffee shop, by the beach, early in the morning, to read a book or write. While, of course, looking at everyone rushing and hopping they'll get their 8:30 am ferry to work. You wouldn't want to be late, right?
Speaking of reading and writing, I just finished reading Seth Godin's book ‘This Is Marketing', by the way, and it’s pretty good. More on that another time.
There's off and off.
Being off isn't about being available for no-one. It's about taking control over time for a while, to free some mental and preserve your own life pace.
Now of course, with what I do for a living, being totally off isn't always possible, so I have to adapt.
Sometimes there's an occasional bit of work to do because we have an exciting team Rendez-Vous on Mondays every once in a while and I don’t want to miss it.
Or because a client wants to think out loud and trusts me enough to ask my opinion when they need it. And I don't want to miss that either.
When that's the case, I make myself available for an hour and I enjoy the rich interaction and the amazing trust people grant me. Then I say thank you for the moment and go back to my off-time, feeling happy about the day.
That's because being off isn't about being available for no one. It's about taking control over time for a while, to free some mental and preserve your own life pace so that you can be available for whoever you want.
And you know what?
The best thing with all this is that making that change is absolutely up to you.
All it takes is a decision, which then turns into an empowering mindset.
Taking control takes a decision. Then it becomes a mindset.
Mindset is everything.
It can empower you if you decide to take control, or it can undermine you in everything you do if you decide to not take control and follow.
Some decide to stay a victim, others decide to take the lead. And now that you know, you have to make a decision too.
Here's the thing.
Your week doesn't need to start on Mondays at 8 am like everyone else.
It can start on Sundays, around the breakfast table, knowing that you can enjoy today because tomorrow will be just another smooth day in your personally chosen and carefully crafted routine.
So, please do me a favor. Take your Monday off and see for yourself - it really (really) is up to you!
That’s all for today - your turn!
Quick tips to take control.
👍 Look back. When was the last time you loved your Sunday even more because you had free free free free time the day after? How about more of that?
👍Reflect. What prevents you from taking Mondays off? Are the reasons internal (you) or external (them)? How about recalibrating your mindset?
👍Decide. How better would your life feel if you had some routine time off to enjoy, off whatever you don't want to do?
👍Adapt. If the limits are internal, do something, take only half a day if that’s easier, but do something because YOU are the boss. If they are external, negotiate a day off, fire your boss, find a way, that's up to you!