Mondays are really difficult! Is it like this for everyone? There’s all this stuff that’s stacked up from the weekend–because usually we’re doing more “fun” stuff on Saturday, and gone virtually all day Sunday–and toys and dishes are scattered everywhere, and I haven’t had time to do housework all weekend, so the floor is messy and crummy and needs a good vacuum and a good mopping. We’re usually running low on food, and I usually haven’t planned things out very well for the week yet. And, of course, I’m convinced Sundays are literally the most exhausting day of the week for me (we’ll defer the theological implications of that till later–but the gist is that taking two small walking children to church and back and managing them at church is not very conducive to rest)… so, basically, Mondays I have by far the most to do, the most impossible piles of work to dig through, and the least energy to do any of it.
It wasn’t until this morning, though, as I struggled through my new routine for the first time, that I really focused on the problem and determined to do something about it.
I can’t change much except my perspective, since not-going-to-church is not a very good solution, and neither is spending all weekend with my housework instead of with my family. But there’s a lot to be said for changing one’s perspective. So, all right, Julie, self pep-talk time. How can I be more cheerful about Mondays?
- The more work I get done today, the more laid-back the work will be the rest of the week. Monday sets the stage; it’s an opportunity to attack the accumulated messes and stickies and conquer ’em so well that they stay licked for the rest of the week. If I consciously chalk Monday up to be my “busy day,” then it’ll be much more pleasant to spend it being, well, busy. I think part of my problem is that I come off the weekend and expect Monday to be as leisurely as Saturday had been.
- I can pay more attention to the “little things” I can do on the weekends. You know, the whole if-you-see-it, fix-it routine. I can make more of an effort to clean up the toy disaster on Sunday mornings before church, and spend at least ten minutes or so whipping the kitchen back into line on Sunday after supper.
- I can add a step to my Thursday nighttime routine to think about what I can do on Friday to make my Monday go more smoothly. If the house is in even-more-than-usual order by the end of the day on Friday, then it’s much less likely to get completely disorderly over the weekend.
- I can be aware of my Monday attitude problem, and seek to spend the day serving God though my family. Because, hmm, the sermon should be all fresh in my head and everything–Monday’s a good day to spend in reflection and conscious application, right?!?
I think I’ll keep musing on things to add to this list.
I have that same problem, too. You've come up with a good plan on how to look at Mondays!