This new pet will make you love Mondays
PART 1 — Work is the great reality, beauty is the great aim.
Few things in life are satisfying like watching dough rise in the oven. Cake, pizza, muffins…baked goods warm up the soul just by looking at them. The same feeling you get by walking past a bakery. Or sipping coffee over your favorite magazine. If you’re more of a tea person, picture yourself on the sofa in winter with a steaming cup and a good book.
Nice sensation, right? Let your mind linger there for a moment. It’s the Danish concept of Hygge, or Gemütlichkeit in German. A heartwarming state of mind you can experience every Monday.
Now, I know most people loathe the start of the week, as the Hakuna Matata fun of the weekend is abruptly replaced by boring job activities and everyday chores. But I’ll teach you a simple trick to turn Monday Blues into nothing but a soundtrack for coziness and well-being. Ready? Turn up the volume!
How do mums do?!
Monday is not always easy for me either. Though with a full-time job I still have the luxury of enough free time to pack workout, hobbies and social life along the week. Damn, I’ll need to readjust my priorities once I have kids. Expectation: toddler-deadlift while the cake bakes and I mentally gather ideas for the next article. Just before happy hour with friends of course. Reality: it’s never gonna happen haha I wouldn’t survive one week like that. *cries*
However…may your Mondays carry the free time of a twenty-something, or the busy schedule of a CEO (including golf on the 70th floor), or even barely 10 minutes of freedom after you fed all the family and your husband has volunteered (miracle!) to clean up the kitchen…hear me out, I have a trick you must try.
Pick a day in the week where you will devote some time ENTIRELY to yourself. Mondays are perfect if you can get rid of enough housework in the weekend to be covered till midweek (perks of a small apartment and no kids yet hehe).
Plus, the thought of this little treat waiting for you at the end of the day will provide motivation to get out of bed and kick-start the week! Who needs coffee anymore?
Ok, I got a little too excited. But believe me, it works wonders. Find a day for yourself and dedicate a good half-hour time (ten minutes, even!) COMPLETELY to something that makes you feel good and brightens your day. No distractions or smartphones allowed. The world will survive.
It can be alone or with people; from social time to a relaxing hot bath where you think of nothing else but the bubbles popping on the surface in the present moment. Go buy some new make-up, play that silly videogame you thought you had lost interest in. Bake with your kids (recipe below!).
Schedule ahead something simple and different every week/month. Mark it on the calendar, set reminders. Keep it important for you and create anticipation. Choose activities that enable to forget the little worries and (fake) problems you seem to struggle with all the time.
Do something that lifts you from the great reality of work and reminds you of the great aim of life: beauty. Cit: the coolest door in Dublin Writers Museum.
Volunteering activities (for children, elderly, animals) are also a good option, if the ones above sound selfish. But sometimes these require a bit too much effort and commitment to be something one looks forward to, after a difficult start of the week. Whatever you choose…
You’re not what you do at work from 9 to 18. Remind yourself of it each Monday!
NEXT EPISODE: set up your calendar and meet the mysterious pet in PART 2.
