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According to the “Blue Monday” theory, the third Monday of January is the saddest day of the year. While we know this is a marketing ploy, the fact remains that the first day of the week is clearly rarely the best. Five tips to fight depression.
Barely started your day and already want to go back to sleep? Nothing more normal. Between the frigid weather and the post-holiday fatigue, this month of January seems awfully monotonous. Some would call it Blue Monday, the third Monday in January, which is considered the saddest day of the year according to a formula created in 2005 by English psychologist Dr. Cliff Arnall. Except we know it’s a marketing hoax. So if you have pimples on your feet, it’s mostly because it’s Monday, and like every week, this day is especially painful.
This explains several reasons. “It could be nostalgia for the nice weekend we just had, a feeling of unfairness when we’re working while others are on vacation, or, in extreme cases, it’s a red flag. This reflects suffering and can indicate depression or burnout,” explains psychologist Boris Charpentier. The latter gives us six tips to avoid it.
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Optimize your weekend
If your morale is at an all-time low, it may be because you didn’t know how to use your Sunday off, and you’ll have to remember that next week. The work is done in advance to survive Monday. The beginning of the week will inevitably be less chaotic if the weekend serves as a decompression chamber; The best way to do this is to not think about work at all. So we avoid, for example, our email. from checking emails,” says the intern. In short, rest and relaxation thanks to the intelligent choice of activities that caress our well-being.
Plan the coming days
Monday is often busy. “It is better to predict, avoid important meetings or very ambitious plans today,” advises Boris Charpentier. In order to have a rational vision of the workload we need to manage, we clarify to do list, starting with what we didn’t manage last week. This will prevent us from procrastinating,” adds the psychologist.
Think positively about the week
Instead of projecting ourselves into dramatic scenarios, wondering how the week will unfold, “we envision the days ahead positively and reverse the trend by asking ourselves the right questions. “How will this week be satisfactory?” “What am I looking forward to?” explains the psychologist. At the end of the day, filter your optimism by realizing what you accomplished during the day. list three things you are proud of yourself for. “It’s nice to say to yourself, ‘I finished this project,’ or ‘I made the phone call I’ve been dreading,'” comments Boris Charpentier.
Plan extracurricular activities
This schedule will give you new energy from the beginning of the week. Not forgetting that it “allows you to control the daily routine and set the pace of your week”, adds the psychologist. Change up your activities to avoid a boring routine. It can be fun to plan a sports session, spend some time with family or friends, or just create a moment of decompression that contrasts with the sad sleeping habits of working on the subway.
Discover the benefits of being in the workplace
After all, this first day of the week is also an opportunity to communicate with people we value in our professional context, to plan a special lunch break in a place that we value or comforts us. Therefore, the psychologist advises to “think about the positive aspects.” To look on the bright side, ask yourself what you will be able to do today that you don’t normally do.
*Originally published in 2016, this article has been updated.
Source: Le Figaro
