For longer than I can remember, I have known Monday as the worst day of the week. Nobody has to tell you, you basically grow into it. The blues start to kick in as Sunday evening approaches you can almost tell from the mood that Monday is coming.

But why? Is it a mentality or is there a valid reason as to why people actually hate Mondays. A study showed that a bigger number of people are happier before the weekend meaning that the whole feel around weekends is in one way or the other contributed to by the anticipation built up during the week.

Basically saying that because we like weekends and the free time that comes with them, we end up dreading the very thought of Monday. That said, it should be noted that not everyone hates Mondays. 

For some, a good number actually, it is just another day and they will jump right in to their day with more enthusiasm than ever. Don’t you think it’s a question of the mind? Some have even gone on to argue that the reason why many people hate Mondays is because they don’t love what they do and therefore have nothing to look forward to at the beginning of the week.

The entire idea of how horrible Mondays are is subject to change once you start doing something you love and enjoy doing. The real issue though is that we’ve all gotten so accustomed to complaining about the start of the week that we fail to see it as only an issue of mentality and is thus subject to change.

If you observe long enough, you’ll notice that whenever you have a dull Monday, most of your week becomes dull too. I am not preaching the infamous ‘be positive’ message, it’s just certain things are just a matter of changing one’s mentality in order to break free.

Think about it this way: You get to work on Monday and cannot do much because you have a case of ‘Monday blues’ and all you can think about is how far away Friday is. 

Tuesday is no different as it is similarly far away from Friday. Wednesday is better considering the next day is Thursday and before you know it, it’s Friday. It is all great when the weekend starts but imagine how poorly that will reflect on your work performance because ideally you have only been fully productive for just one day throughout the entire week. 

However absurd this may sound it may become reality. It is not just your work performance that is affected by this kind of thought process. All your projects may suffer due to this simply because you’re more focused on the end of the week as opposed to maximizing everyday you’re given.

In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with Mondays. The real dispute is our mentality that needs to be changed especially when there is so much to lose. 

You can start by scheduling you most exciting tasks on Monday morning just to help give you a brighter day.

Doing a job you like can also help change your attitude towards Mondays. If anything, it should represent a new week, a chance to be better and more productive instead of the opposite.

The author is a student at University of Rwanda, College of Science and Technology.