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🎙️ Reclaiming Monday: Turning Dread into Drive

Apr 12, 2024 | Monday Mojo

Because the week doesn’t have to start with resistance — it can start with power.


It’s Monday morning, and your body knows it before your brain catches up. There’s a heaviness in the air — not quite dread, but something like it. The weekend’s still lingering behind you, blurry and unfinished. Ahead of you is structure, pressure, responsibility. And you wonder — why does the first day of the week feel like an uphill climb?

You’re not imagining it.
The “Monday blues” are real. But they’re not inevitable.
And with the right awareness — and some intentional shifts — Mondays can stop being the day we brace for, and start being the day we build from.

This isn’t about toxic positivity. It’s about reclaiming your rhythm, one week at a time.


Why Mondays Feel So Heavy

The cultural narrative around Mondays is already bleak — memes, coffee mugs, slogans all reminding us that Monday is a day to endure. But for women in creative, entrepreneurial, or leadership roles, Mondays often carry even more weight.

They represent:

  • The re-entry into systems that demand performance

  • The transition from rest to output, often without pause

  • A return to environments where your voice, time, or value may still be contested

In other words, Mondays can feel like a threshold between who you are privately, and who you’re expected to be publicly.

The emotional whiplash of that shift is real — and valid.

But here’s the opportunity: the way you enter your week sets the tone for everything that follows.
You don’t have to sprint. But you do get to choose how you arrive.


From Resistance to Ritual: Redesigning the Start of Your Week

What if Monday wasn’t something to survive, but a moment to reshape?

Small, intentional changes to your Monday rhythm can shift not just your mood — but your creative clarity, your decision-making power, and your sense of agency throughout the week.

Here’s how to begin.


1. Start with a Ritual That Belongs to You

Before the inbox. Before the meetings. Before the headlines.

Choose something small, sacred, and consistent — a signal to your body and brain that the day begins on your terms.

It might be:

  • Brewing coffee slowly, without multitasking

  • A short walk around the block while listening to music that centres you

  • Sitting in silence for five minutes and asking, What do I need today?

It’s not the size of the ritual. It’s the fact that it’s yours. A creative woman who starts her day in autonomy begins her week in power.


2. Reframe Productivity as Alignment

Rather than launching into your to-do list, pause and ask:
What is the most meaningful thing I could move forward today?

Choose one core focus for your Monday. Something clear, doable, and aligned with where you’re heading — not just what you’re reacting to.

This might be preparing a pitch, editing your latest work, following up with a collaborator, or simply clearing space in your calendar. Whatever it is, let it come from clarity, not chaos.

One intentional win early in the week creates momentum without pressure.


3. Shift the Story You Tell About Mondays

Language matters. When you say, “Ugh, I hate Mondays,” your nervous system listens. It primes your body for tension.

Try speaking about the start of your week in new terms:

  • “Today is the reset.”

  • “I get to re-enter with clarity.”

  • “Monday is the moment I recommit to what matters.”

You don’t need to fake excitement. But you can choose language that opens, rather than shuts down, your energy.


Case in Point: When One Ritual Changes Everything

Anna, a freelance graphic designer, used to dread Mondays. She’d roll out of bed, check her phone, scroll through social media, then dive straight into emails — often already feeling behind before 9am.

After months of burnout, she made one shift: Monday mornings started with yoga. No phone. No email. Just movement and breath.

The result? She entered her workday calmer, clearer, and more confident. Her ideas sharpened. Her client calls felt easier. She wasn’t fixing her whole week — just framing it differently.

And that changed everything.

Your ritual doesn’t need to be dramatic. But it does need to be yours. Something that reminds you: I lead this day. It doesn’t lead me.


A Monday Reset Framework (For When You’re Tired or Stuck)

Not every Monday will feel magical. Some will still arrive with anxiety or resistance. On those days, try this simple grounding process:

Breathe. Three slow inhales and exhales before opening your laptop.
Ask. What’s the one thing that really matters today?
Act. Start with that. Block 60–90 minutes, protect the focus, and begin.
Reset. When you finish, pause. Celebrate it. Then continue, if energy allows.

This is the difference between reacting to your week and authoring it.


What We Practice on Mondays, We Strengthen All Week

You don’t need to be perfect. You don’t need to be energised, optimistic, or productive every single Monday.

You just need to choose presence over autopilot.

Because what you do at the beginning of the week echoes. If you start in depletion, you’ll spend the rest of the week recovering. But if you start in intention — even in quiet, small ways — you create room for your work, your voice, and your power to expand.

Mondays won’t always feel easy. But they can feel yours.

And that changes everything.


Beatrice Betley

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