Mondays are not fun days for me.
I have to wake up by 5am. I placed a battery operated alarm clock on the opposite side of my room to force myself to get up and turn it off. I find myself just dragging my feet back into bed and laying back down as the voice in my head begins to compromise all the things I need to do that morning.
You can workout tomorrow. Your muscles need another day to recover. Nobody is going to care that you missed one day of physical therapy exercises. You’re probably not doing it right anyway. You didn’t get enough sleep– you went to bed late last night.
I hate this voice because it’s so convincing. In this mental dialogue, I am fighting with myself. It wants the immediate gratification of being lazy now. It does not care about the future or my goals. In order to tip the odds in my favor, I developed a routine to try and make getting up as thoughtless as possible.
First, I drink a protein shake and take some preworkout. Next, I sit on the toilet and read one page of the Bible. I usually check my phone at this time and catch up on any glaring emails, markets, and review my bank balances. After that, I weigh myself, brush my teeth, and put on my contacts. Now I’m ready to workout, but I’m still not feeling it. I need some help.
I put on my headphones and YouTube some motivational videos. One of my favorites is David Goggins because he tells it how it is. With my impromptu Navy SEAL drill instructor now yelling “Stop being a little bitch!”, the lazy voice in my head no longer has the microphone.
I have to spend an hour doing unusual breathing exercises in various poses prescribed by my physical therapist. Half of the exercises require me to exhale all my air and hold a contraction. Honestly, it feels like I’m suffocating myself. This form of torture is what I imagine waterboarding is like. It’s definitely not a pleasurable experience and this part of my day takes the most effort to get through. It’s hard for me to justify an entire hour daily to this in order to fix some mobility issues in my shoulder. Luckily, the videos cut any thoughts of giving up short.
If I successfully get through breathing exercises, then I have to find more motivation to workout. My workout generally consists of a barbell training routine that I setup in my garage. Despite having easy access to workout equipment, the motivation videos tend to burnout after breathing exercises. I need another boost.
I start listening to my backup input, Atomic Habits in my Audible app. This reminds me that everything I’m pushing myself to do has some purpose I cannot see in that moment. The moment where I just want to skip a day, rest and reset. The most important lesson I’ve taken from the book is the rule: “Never miss twice.” The author, James Clear, makes it clear that we are human and we have a tendency to miss a habit due to extenuating circumstances. His rule to never miss twice is to prevent yourself from falling into a cycle returning to old unproductive habits. If you miss one, don’t miss the next one, no matter what. I’ve personally missed a lot. I failed to finish this post last night so I’m writing it this Monday morning. I failed to get up at 5am as well. I couldn’t shake a headache from Saturday night’s drinking. But I make sure that I never miss twice. So tomorrow is a new day and I will make sure I nail it.
Mondays are always the toughest because they represent the first day of the long list of habits I want to develop. Writing, working out, sauna, breathing exercises, learning Spanish, learning about VR startups, learning about 3D avatar creation, managing my business, and working my two jobs. I’m still finding a way to work in stretching and reading as well. That’s when I realized how important it is to control your emotions and how you feel before engaging in these activities.
There are times when I just don’t feel like doing something. Pure will power will only take me so far. I needed to find ways to change how I feel. Tony Robbins calls this changing your “state.” The easiest methods are to simply move your physical body. I do this by going for walks and changing my breathing patterns. Sometimes just going outside and getting fifteen minutes of sunlight can do the trick. Changing your environment can also help. Sometimes I stop by my local Starbucks and just sit amongst other studious people and absorb some of their focus and energy. Going to the sauna and exposing myself to heat, followed by a cold shower can quickly change my state as well. The secret is to take action and snap myself out of the mental ruts.
I found it best to keep Mondays clear of any to-do lists. There’s nothing more discouraging then an insanely long task list following an already brutal morning schedule. It really weighs heavily on the conscious and produces an anxiety that’s difficult to dispel despite all the tricks mentioned above. I have to stack all the things I hate doing first because by the afternoon I have nothing left. I spare any leftover energy for my family and their extracurriculars.
All gripes aside, I do try to remember to be grateful. I am grateful that I “get” to do all these things. This is a better mindset than saying I “have” to do them. I am grateful I could find and afford a physical therapist. I am grateful I have these jobs to pay my living expenses. I am grateful I have full function of my body and don’t suffer from any chronic illnesses. I am grateful for my running water and protection from the elements. It is so easy to forget the pleasures I enjoy because I experience them daily that I don’t even think about it anymore. It’s become an expectation instead of a blessing. So if you’re stuck on the same Monday vibes as me, just remember to count your blessings. Cheers.