Tips to Try If You Hate Mondays

Ah, Thursday. We're over the
midweek hump and, if you're like me, you're starting to look forward to
the weekend ahead.

And then comes Monday.

A new Conference Board Consumer Research Center survey reports
that more than half of Americans hate reporting to their jobs Monday
morning.

In the study, workers cited bonus plans, promotion policies,
health plans, pensions, emotionally distant bosses, disinterest in
company objectives and their pay as sources of their discontent.

Jeff Garton, career coach and author of "Career Contentment:
Don't Settle for Anything Less," warns that linking job satisfaction to
things such as these, which an employee has little or no control over,
will naturally lead to dissatisfaction. Instead, one should focus on
"career contentment" -- a state of mind that helps you endure job
setbacks and find meaningful work. "That feeling of accomplishment at
the end of a good day is not job satisfaction but contentment, the same
feeling you can have on Monday morning, or even at the end of a bad
day," says Garton.

Here are a few of Garton's cures for the "I Hate Monday" blues
that will help you feel content in your job:

• Try on positive feelings. Researchers
  have shown that the brain responds to a feeling that you consciously
  generate as if that feeling were spontaneous. If you're feeling tired,
  imagine yourself surging with energy. If you're feeling pessimistic,
  force your mind to create an optimistic thought.
• Distance yourself. Move away from people
  and situations that are sapping your strength. Take frequent breaks,
  and remove yourself from the workplace with a relaxing walk at noon.
• Seek relationships that give back. Think
  of people at work or in your profession who support you, challenge you
  or give you straight answers. Schedule a phone call, lunch date or walk
  with at least one of these supporters every week.
• Move faster than your employer. Taking
  initiative will help you develop more enthusiasm for your work. Don't
  wait for direction; organize a response and implement it. Keep your
  activities purposeful and moving toward your career goals.
• Invite serendipity. If you can pull it
  off, take a day off work with the goal of just wandering around some
  favorite place to see what comes up for you. By allowing your mind to
  be open in this way, ideas, inspirations and half-forgotten dreams will
  jump into your mind. Figure out how you can incorporate them into you
  current career path.

Dawn Anfuso is a South Bay-based business writer and former
Managing Editor of WORKFORCE magazine. If you have workplace or
job-search questions, e-mail Dawn at dawnanfuso@yahoo.com.
Writers will remain anonymous.

Source: Daily Breeze.
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