4 Things to Make a Monday Rock

So, there is a trend that I've noticed, and that is a horrible disdain for Mondays. It's true, this is a start of a LONG week and a start of school, work, or whatever. Long times are ahead, filled with projects, exams, papers, and just plain adjustment from that wild and crazy weekend (though mine are usually me staying up until 11 and waking up at 7...like a rebel). My Mondays aren't that bad this semester due to the fact that I have no class on Mondays or Fridays, and I love every second of it. It's the bomb diggity, but Mondays can still be terrible. Poor Monday, it never had a chance.

Or does it?

I have resolved this semester to love Mondays. You heard that right, love them. They're still going to be there, and the multitude of things to do that week will be there too. But I have a few tips for you to make your Monday rock, following anecdotal evidences of why they actually suck.

Mondays = Stress. Yes, this may be true, but WHY are they stressful? Let's break it down: I have an exam this week, I have a project due soon, I have so many appointments, I'm tired. All of those things are completely in your control. Yes, I said it. You're the reason why you're stressed.
1. What did you do this weekend? Did anything this week strike you as important to note? Probably not. Weekends are turning into a time to completely check out. Studies have shown that once distracted from a task it takes 5 minutes to completely refocus. 5 minutes x 10 texts about that crazy hangout later = a whole 50 minutes of distraction, and that's IF you were focused in the first place. Weekends are definitely there for recharging, but do yourself a favor, and devote an hour and a half to uninterrupted (meaning put your phone in a drawer) productivity. This way, it will never feel like you took a break from work, and thus won't be such a shock when you start up again.
2. That sleep schedule. You know it's true. Studies show that when you alter your sleep schedule from what is typical, you are more likely to feel groggy and discombobulated when you readjust. Changing your sleep schedule and having your body adjust to it may take months! You're losing precious work hours by vegging out 12 hours at night on weekends. You wake up feeling "refreshed" but in actuality you are more tired the rest of the day. Make it a goal to sleep 8 hours a night, even on weekends. If the getting up hurts, set a coffee pot timer. Something that helps me wake up is setting an alarm for 20 minutes before I'm supposed to get up so that I am already pretty much awake. It's also important to sleep around the same time (give or take a few hours) each night and wake up around the same time. For example, during the school week, I sleep from about 10:30-6, and the weekends it's more like 11:30-7:30. My body has gotten so used to it that sleeping 10 hours just makes me sick!
3. Schedule your week ahead of time! Set a time during your weekend when you will take out your planner (and if you don't have one, get one), and well...plan! My planner is organized by hour and I put everything in it, too. Put in your classes, your appointments, your times with clubs/church, and note what you have to do! Look at Thursday and see how it's jammed up...well, then do your work early for that day. See how Tuesday is chill? Do more extra work or get coffee with your friend that day. The point is, you really HAVE a lot of time, I'm almost guaranteeing it, you may just need to visualize it. If you see there is a lot of time here or there, you will be more apt to being productive and less apt to hating everything that has to do with starting this week. I will even schedule when and how long I will study and stick to it like I would a doctor's appointment so I can sleep at 10:30. Don't procrastinate. You'll hate Mondays even more because you're going to dwell on how long you've put everything off!
4. Change your attitude. A lot of the things we hate about Mondays are hyper-inflated by everyone around us. We need to look at them from a different perspective, like, "Hey, I was actually ready for this terrible week, I am going to make the most of it," because think about it, why do most people hate summer by July? We aren't doing ANYTHING. You need to enjoy the work. Cherish it. Why? Because being inactive makes you feel sluggish. Synapses aren't firing as often. You're not being stimulated. Make your work fun. Look at your study guides as a game. Listen to music. Anything. There are no rules as to how you put the information in your brain. Something I like to do not related to studying is cleaning my room on Mondays. The weekend can pile up lots of things and I can oftentimes look at my environment as a reason to hate my life. Stop that right now! Pick up those papers, put them in folders, take the sheets and fold them, make your bed, pick up your clothes, organize your desk, put your planner on your desk and just feel the chi flow. Remember, it only takes one deep cleaning to set you up for maintenance, and believe me, your brain will thank you.

So let's change our views on Mondays, and learn to LOVE what renewal they have to offer!

Pinterest Is the Devil (Part 2): The Sock Bun

Hello, I have returned. After about a month off of blogging due to a sabbatical from social networks, I am excited to report that I have thought of many fun new thoughts to share with you lovely people since I've been gone. Of course, I want to start off with another post about the bane of my existence: pinterest. I love that website, but now it's getting to be a widespread campus epidemic! Specifically I want to comment on the "Sock Bun". By the end of this blog you will be so informed that you will be calling it out left and right, even if you're hair inept (like me).

In essence, one of the basic principles of this website is that there is an emphasis on creating a wish list for various aspects of life, and hey, as an organized person, why would this be bad? Well, when you start realizing this "wish list" outweighs your means, you start a discouraged downward spiral. With this completely irrational insecurity as the worldview, women are noticeably projecting their anger at Pinterest and subsequently anyone who can do what they want. The sock bun is no exception.

The sock bun is the pinnacle girl hairstyle that says, "Who cares? It's only hair," and is thus placed in high esteem amongst college women. In short you make your hair into a ponytail at the crown of your head, wrap a sock around that, and then turn your hair into a donut. It's so easy and looks so put together you A. don't have to try and B. Don't have to look like you didn't have to try. Should be pretty attainable for everyone, right? WRONG! Unlike the rest of the female population on campus, many of my fellow female classmates and my hair is not even remotely close to this "simple" feat. I'm pretty sure that the chick in Tangled still has to grow her hair a bit longer to attain this style:

We then resort to biotin supplements and putting eggs in our hair (which first off smells ratchet and second of IS ratchet and third off of course was found on pinterest!) to make our hair grow THAT long with no avail. Look around you, the chick that can do the sock bun, she's the best woman ever. So much talent. So much glam.

So for my fellow hair inept females, here is what I've resolved to do regarding this trend:

1. Recognize that desiring hair growth to put an old sock in there and make a bun is absolutely absurd

2. Be content with my medium length hair

3. Get rid of unattainable wishlist boards

4. Own that ponytail

5. Work that up do

6. GET OFF PINTEREST WHILST STUDYING. 

There you go ladies, you're not alone.