The Monday Morning Struggle: Why Getting Back Into the Routine Is So Difficult

There is something about Monday morning that makes getting out of bed feel just a little bit harder.

The alarm goes off, you reach for it with the enthusiasm of someone being asked to climb Everest, and for a few precious seconds you consider whether you could possibly get away with staying under the duvet for another day.

Then reality kicks in. It’s Monday. Work is waiting, the school run needs doing, the commute is calling and the weekend has officially become a memory.

So why is getting back into the routine always such a struggle?

The weekend feels too short
It doesn’t seem to matter how much you manage to squeeze into two days, Sunday evening always arrives sooner than expected.

Perhaps you spent Saturday catching up with family and friends, tackling jobs around the house or enjoying a well-earned lie-in. Sunday might have involved a roast dinner, a bit of television and the intention to relax.

But somehow, there’s never quite enough time to do everything you wanted.

By Sunday evening, you’re already thinking about the week ahead, and that feeling of having to start all over again can take the shine off the weekend.

The alarm clock becomes the enemy
One of the biggest shocks of Monday morning is having to return to an alarm.

At the weekend, you might wake naturally, enjoy a slower start or stay in bed for an extra half an hour. Monday brings an altogether different arrangement.

The alarm goes off at exactly the wrong moment, even if you’ve had a reasonable amount of sleep.

And in November, there’s the added challenge of getting up while it’s still dark outside. The bedroom is warm, the house is quiet and the thought of stepping into the cold morning air is hardly inspiring.

It’s no wonder the snooze button gets so much attention.

The Sunday night preparation panic
Sunday evening often becomes an unofficial planning session for the week ahead.

Have you got everything ready for work? Are the clothes ironed? Is there enough milk? Have you remembered that appointment? Does the car need fuel?

Then there’s the question of what everyone is having for dinner during the week.

You might have spent Sunday trying to relax, only to discover that your mind is already working through Monday’s to-do list.

Some people prepare everything in advance. Others leave it until the last possible moment and promise themselves they’ll be more organised next week.

Either way, Monday morning has a habit of exposing anything you’ve forgotten.

The commute feels longer on a Monday
The journey to work can feel particularly demanding after a weekend away from the usual routine.

The roads are busy again, trains are filling up, traffic lights seem to take longer than usual and there’s always someone who appears to have forgotten how roundabouts work.

Even if your commute is normally manageable, Monday can make it feel like a much bigger undertaking.

For those working from home, the journey might only be from the bedroom to the kitchen, but that doesn’t necessarily make switching back into work mode any easier.

The inbox is waiting
Once you arrive at work, there’s often another reminder that the weekend is over.

Emails have arrived, messages need answering and the jobs you left behind on Friday haven’t magically disappeared.

There might be meetings to attend, deadlines approaching and a list of tasks that seems to have grown while you were away.

The temptation is to tackle everything immediately, but that can make the first few hours of the week feel even more overwhelming.

Sometimes the best approach is simply to work out what needs doing first and take things one step at a time.

Why does Monday feel so different?
Part of the problem is the sudden change in pace.

At the weekend, we’re generally more in control of our time. We decide when to get up, what to do and how much we want to fit into the day.

Monday takes away some of that freedom. There are schedules to follow, responsibilities to meet and people expecting us to be somewhere at a particular time.

It’s not necessarily that we dislike what we do during the week. It’s the adjustment from a more relaxed routine to one that comes with a little more pressure.

Making Monday mornings easier
There are a few simple ways to make the start of the week feel less like a punishment.

Getting clothes, bags and essentials ready on Sunday evening can remove some of the morning chaos. Having something decent planned for breakfast gives you a reason to get moving, while allowing yourself a little extra time can make the whole morning feel less rushed.

It also helps to have something to look forward to during the week. That could be meeting a friend, watching a favourite programme, going out for a meal or simply having a quiet evening with your feet up.

And perhaps the most important thing is not to expect yourself to be firing on all cylinders by 8am on a Monday. Give yourself time to get going.

Monday doesn’t have to be miserable
The good news is that Monday morning eventually turns into Monday afternoon, then Tuesday arrives and before you know it, you’re halfway through the week.

The weekend might feel a long way away when the alarm first goes off, but Friday has a habit of coming around again.

So whether you’re heading out into the November darkness, settling down at your home-working desk or tackling the first coffee of the week, remember that you’re probably not the only one wondering how the weekend disappeared so quickly.

What’s your biggest Monday morning struggle?
Is it getting out of bed, the commute, the school run, the mountain of emails or simply accepting that the weekend is over?