12 Tips for Surviving Mondays

Because lets face it – Monday is coming.

Like tomorrow.

1. Less is more. Monday is the day where if you have to pack a lunch the trick is go for ease. Maybe it’s the day you say yes to the school lunch or the prepackaged lunch (gasp…I know….but there are healthy ones out there too). Easy clothes. Less stuff. Guard that schedule. I don’t care what kind of deal they’re giving on that awesome fantastic class where your kids can learn Latin and hang glide at the same time. It’s Monday at 4. No. No. No. Monday at 4 is crazy hour. But, if there’s a groupon….

2. Be a prepper. I’m serious. Not the end of the world prepper, but perhaps have that mindset. Papers signed the night before, bags packed, missing shoes located (remember – my kids are the ones that can lose one half of a pair of anything), schedules done. Prep now to avoid meltdown moments. Monday preppers rule.

3. Be stocked. If you’re a coffee drinker Monday is not the morning to run out. Part of the prepping (See above for evidence of need) will involved keeping that caffeinated drink of choice stocked. Or tea. Or whatever else my non-coffee reliant friends indulge on in the morning. For me? It means at least two Keurig K-cups ready and loaded. Well, one, and another ready to go.

4. Expect tired children. Just expect it. You might have to wake them several times. Be warned – the older they get the less likely they’ll fall for you telling them the time is later than it is. I’ve tried it. And I always get mom it’s not 7:01 — it’s 6:58! I could have slept three more minutes. Then I reply back that I was just thinking that was the time they would come and I’m so impressed you made it with three minutes to spare. Then they ask to play media because they’re so fast. For real. And then I look and their head is resting on the table.

5. Mindset matters – so does music. It’s Monday. Sometimes I like it because it’s a switch back to the normal of the routine. Or at least that’s what I tell myself. Now really listen to me here as this is ultra important – This is the time for the cool upbeat channel on Pandora or Spotify. Absolutely no sappy music. No music that makes you think. Now is the time to unearth those tunes from the 1990s. Or 2000s. Blast them.

6. Routine, routine and did I say routine?  Over the weekend we’ll go through all the paperwork, catch up on laundry, and attempt (again, please notice the word attempt) to get homework done well before Sunday night. And then Sunday night has a routine – we just plow through it getting ready for the inevitable early alarm. And yes, yes, yes… I really do have three alarms set just in case.

7. Set your alarm early. Mind over matter. I like the 6minute 30second snooze I allow myself. And I like to be up before my kids. Oh yeah, and if you stay at home, still try to get up before them. I know you’ll tiptoe around the house all ninja and stealth like so you don’t wake them – but trust me – that little bit of time is totally awesome (said in the cartoon voice that you will soon be hearing.)

8. The slow cooker is your new best friend.  I could describe this more, but I think we all grasp. Use the slow cooker. Or crock pot. Or whatever you call it. You will love it come 4pm. Especially if you did opt for that Latin HangGliding groupon class.

9. Attempt sleep. Or not. I’ve read that some people think that you should get extra sleep on Sunday night and then there’s my philosophy of doing something for yourself on Sunday night. Maybe you have that show on Netflix that you’re dying to watch (um, hello Parenthood and House of Cards for me) — well, I say, go for it on Sunday night. Do something fun. Maybe you’ll be a bit more tired but your reserve tank is just a bit more stocked.

10. Now is the time for the ice cream or the chocolate that you stashed. Mondays are the go-to days for any of the items that you have appropriately hid around your house in case of an emergency. Monday always counts as an emergency – so there is no guilt in raiding the stash. However, always always always remember to replenish the stash (number two prepper mentality) and always even more times infinity remember where you hid the stash.

11. Remember that you have six other days in the week. So maybe Monday was bad, well, thank goodness you have Tuesday. That’s the awesome thing about time – it just keeps moving. And remember your track record for making it through those Mondays is 100%.

12. You are not alone. Here’s the deal. We’re all in this Monday day together. We all have it. We have the mornings with the kids that don’t want to wake and the oatmeal stuck to the bowls and the kids who lose their homework and toddlers who wake up on the wrong side of their bed and deadlines and running into someone at the store with your hair in a ponytail as you quick grab something for their lunches. We all get Monday. So when you’re ready to throw in the white towel of Monday surrender we’ll either all join you or join you in celebrating when Tuesday morning rolls around.

Easy.

We can work on Tuesday next.

~Rachel