Here we go, another Monday. Which means it’s time for another Monday Moving Forward installment, part of a series of posts in which I explore ways to start the week on a more positive and productive note, to get rid of the dreaded “Mondays are so bad” mantra, and to get unstuck easier after the long and lazy weekend.
Today, I realized how much of a difference a run in the early morning makes. It does come with a significant cost, because it means you have to get out of the bed probably an hour earlier than you would normally do, and doing this on a Monday is even more difficult than on any other day. But the benefits are well worth it.
There’s something about the first hours in the morning, on the empty streets. Your body is just adjusting to this new and unexpected ride, you start to perceive the city waking up, and, after half an hour or 45 minutes of running, you’re refreshed, recharged and ready to start the day.
Now, I’m a runner and for me running is something that’s part of my lifestyle for almost ten years now. You may not be a runner, and that’s ok. Even if you’re not a runner, you can “run it over, run it early” just by getting more physical in the morning. If you’re the yoga type, add a few more asanas to your regular morning routine. If you’re just a lazy potato, do your best to do some light cardio, even if it’s in the house, even if it’s for just 15 minutes. The core of it is to mark a significant difference in physical effort from the previous days, in the early hours of the morning.
The impact of this is three-fold.
First, it will put your body into alert mode faster, but without the deadline related stress that usually plagues the Mondays. It will just warm you up physically for the day ahead.
Second, it will release endorphins, which means you’ll smile more and you will approach the day more optimistically.
And third, it will slowly introduce the habit of moving more, which will be beneficial for you even beyond navigating Mondays.
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
