Beat Blue Monday

Did you know that the third Monday of the year is monikered Blue Monday? Incidentally, this is also often the day when we give up on New Year’s resolutions, run out of money and discover instead losing the excess Christmas weight, we’ve just piled on more. So, it isn’t surprising that next Monday may be a bit tougher than most Mondays of the year.

If you find yourself unable to beat the blues and in need of tips to get you through the day, read on.

Start the day right
To get off to a good start on blue Monday, you actually need to get into the starting blocks in the right frame of mind from the night before. Try to go to bed 15 minutes earlier than usual, put your phone away so you don’t get distracted by notifications and the blue light doesn’t mess up your circadian rhythm. Prepare, your clothes for the next day so you can avoid the mad dash in the morning looking for what to throw on.

You will wake up feeling more refreshed, and without needing to hit the snooze button. Why not invest the fifteen minutes you’ve saved yourself to something beneficial like some light exercise or listening to a podcast or TED talk?

Eat right
On a Monday, and the bluest one too, you may be tempted to have a heavy breakfast. Instead, try to have a healthier option such as oats and fruits or at least boiled or scrambled eggs with some brown bread; and before breakfast, try to drink a glass of water so you start hydrating early on in the day.

Stop the doom scroll
20,000 National Guard are stationed at Washington DC, ahead of the inauguration amidst reports of more violence expected next week in the US capital, one of the COVID-19 variants discovered in Brazil may be resistant to the vaccine, Chinese vaccine is reported to be only 50 per cent efficient… There’s plenty of bad news, and you’re only going to make yourself more anxious by the constant doom scroll. Put your phone away and have a day of digital detox. Your mind will thank you for it.

Celebrate small victories
Aced a meeting at work, completely a report you’d been putting off for a while, shave off a second from your daily 5K run? However small or big, celebrate your wins today to give yourself a boost of happy hormones to beat the blues.

Get moving
It may be more of a challenge to find the time to exercise on a week day, but even if it’s taking the stairs at work, or a quick stretch at your desk mid-morning before grabbing another cup of coffee, or even putting on a feel-good song at the end of your day to bust some moves to in your living room, you can actually get some form of exercise and make it fun too.

Keep a grateful heart
Before you go to bed, try to spare a few minutes for gratitude tracking and list a couple of things that you’ve felt grateful for during the day. In fact, why not make this into a daily ritual so you can make it through not just Blue Monday but the rest of the year with a grateful heart?