If you’re having a bad case of the Monday blues it could very well be more than just sadness that the weekend is over and more dread about starting a new week when the weekend left everything feeling like chaos.
When going into the weekend, most of us think that we’ll be getting our whole lives together in preparation for Monday. Sadly, that isn’t always the case because, hello… you probably wanted to chill and kick your feet up a bit too. So somehow Saturday disappears, Sunday flies by, and all those ambitious weekend plans are still sitting exactly where they were on Friday night.
As such, when Monday comes around you have no choice but to face the things that were left unattended or the things that got a little too much attention – hello overspending and overeating.
But, the weekend has already passed. It’s Monday now, You can’t go back and fix the weekend. And you certainly don’t want to make your busy Monday into a whole Sunday reset routine. If you usually have more time on Sundays, my Sunday reset routine is a great way to get ahead before the week even begins.
But for those weeks when Sunday doesn’t go as planned, this Monday reset works just as well.
Why Mondays Feel So Overwhelming
Weekends disrupt our routines. We sort of give ourselves free rein on the weekends. Your sleep might change, your eating habits might change, your exercise routine may go out the window, and you definitely don’t go out of your way to stick to a schedule. As a result, your home may get messier, the laundry starts piling up, clutter seems to appear everywhere, and boy, do we spend more on weekends—especially on takeout and entertainment.
On top of that, there may be family obligations, errands, and other social events that make weekends incredibly busy. Before you know it, you never get around to doing the things that would have made Monday feel so much smoother. And then in rolls a chaotic Monday.
If this sounds like your usual Monday, don’t worry. I’ll show you how to rescue the rest of your week with a few simple steps.
But first, let’s talk about the mistake most of us make every Monday that keeps the rest of the week feeling chaotic—even when all we really want is a little more calm.
The Biggest Monday Mistake Most People Make
One of the biggest mistakes most people make on Monday is trying to fix everything that was ignored on Sunday or the weekend.
If you’re starting your Monday trying to:
- Eat perfectly after a weekend of takeout and snacks
- Deep clean the entire house because you never got around to it on Sunday
- Catch up on every load of laundry
- Meal plan, grocery shop, and prep all in one evening
- Undo all the money you spent over the weekend
- Squeeze in an intense workout because you skipped exercising
- Answer every email and clear your to-do list
Then you’re approaching this busy day very wrongly and your chances of failure are very high.
Hear me out. Most people work on Mondays. So that means you don’t even have the time it takes to do all these things.
All this long list is going to do is create a lot of overwhelm, which then creates guilt and then leads to burnout.
So, first, accept that you cannot undo an entire weekend in a single day.
For me, I’ve had to accept that Mondays aren’t about fixing everything—they’re about building a little momentum. Because it makes no sense trying to overhaul your entire life in one day… especially if you’re busy with work, family obligations etc. All you need is to do a few small things that make Tuesday, Wednesday, and the rest of the week feel a little easier.
So let’s see how to build that momentum without feeling overwhelmed.
The Best Monday Reset Routine
1. Stop Feeling Guilty About The Weekend
The weekend has already happened. You’ve already spent the money. You’ve already skipped the cleaning. You’ve already skipped the weekend workouts. So, the first thing you can do for yourself is to stop feeling guilty about everything that didn’t (or in some cases did) get done over the weekend.
Instead, accept where you are, try to let the guilt go, and focus on what you can do today to make the rest of the week easier.
2. Do A Quick Damage Assessment
Once you’ve let go of the guilt, take a few minutes to figure out where you stand.
Check your calendar, glance at your bank account, see what’s in the fridge, look at the laundry basket, and skim your inbox. You’re not trying to solve every problem right away, but instead, to get a clear picture of what needs your attention.
Once you know what’s actually going on, it’s much easier to decide what deserves your attention first. Also, try not to panic because you’ve got this.
3. Do A Five-Minute Brain Dump
Now that you’ve figured out what’s going on around you, it’s time to get everything that’s going on inside your head onto paper too.
Your brain is usually juggling about twenty different thoughts at once. You need groceries. You forgot to reply to that text. There’s an appointment later this week. You should probably buy more coffee. Oh, and you really need to remember to pay that bill before Friday.
Instead of trying to keep track of it all, you should just write it down.
Not because you’re making another giant to-do list.
But because you don’t want to spend the rest of the week trying to remember everything.
Once it’s on paper, your brain can finally stop working overtime.
Whether you use it for journaling, planning, note-taking, or morning brain dumps, this hardcover notebook is a great everyday option. It has lots of pages, thick paper, and a clean, classic look that makes it easy to reach for again and again.
4. Fix The Biggest Source Of Friction
Now that you know what’s going on, keep in mind that you don’t need to try to fix everything on Monday.
Instead, ask yourself one question:
What’s the one thing that’s going to make this week harder if I ignore it?
Some weeks that’ll be an empty fridge because you know you’ll end up ordering takeout if there’s nothing to cook.
Other weeks it’s that huge pile of laundry that’s slowly taking over the bedroom, or that messy kitchen that makes it so hard to want to make dinner. Sometimes it’s the stress of not knowing what’s going on with your money and the need for a quick money reset.
Whatever it is, you’ll start there.
I’ve found that removing the biggest source of friction makes everything else feel easier. Once that one big problem is out of the way, the rest of my to-do list suddenly feels much more manageable.
5. Take A Walk (Or Move Your Body)
If your workouts didn’t happen over the weekend, don’t let that convince you that you’ve completely fallen off track.
I think a lot of us make the mistake of treating exercise the same way we treat diets. We miss a couple of days, eat a little more than usual, and then convince ourselves we’ve “ruined” everything.
You haven’t.
The easiest way to get back into your routine isn’t by forcing yourself through an hour-long workout on Monday because you feel guilty abut Friday, Saturday or Sunday. It’s by simply moving your body again.
That’s why I like starting the week with a walk.
That doesn’t feel intimidating, it gets you moving after a weekend of being less active, and it helps you reconnect with your routine without feeling like you’re trying to punish yourself for enjoying the weekend.
If the weather isn’t great or getting outside isn’t realistic, a walking pad works just as well. I love putting on a podcast or my favorite TV show and walking for 20 or 30 minutes while I catch up. It doesn’t feel like a chore, but by the time I’m done, I’ve already kept the promise I made to myself to start moving again.
If getting your steps in has always been a struggle, you might also like my guide on how to walk 10,000 steps a day without quitting after a few days.
Want an easy way to get more steps in without buying a bulky treadmill? This walking pad gives you a simple, space-saving way to move more at home, even on busy days. It’s a practical, budget-friendlier option for small spaces and makes it so much easier to stay consistent with daily movement.
Doing this has one main goal. Simply reminding yourself that one indulgent weekend doesn’t mean you’ve abandoned your healthy habits. Monday is just your chance to get back into the rhythm.
Note. I choose walking because I have a goal of walking 8000 to 10000 steps daily. However, you can choose any type of movement that you prefer. That could be dancing, weight lifting, yoga, or a following a quick workout video.
6. Finish One Quick Task
Once you’ve done your movement of choice, don’t immediately try to conquer your entire to-do list. Because… hello, overwhelm.
Instead, look for one small-ish task that you can finish in five or ten minutes.
Maybe it’s emptying the dishwasher, folding a load of laundry, making the bed, clearing off the kitchen counters etc. Whatever it is complete it.
It doesn’t really matter what the task is.
What matters is finishing it.
There’s something motivating about ending a task completely. It creates some momentum that often makes you want to keep going. And even if you don’t, you’ve still made your home feel just a little more put together than it did ten minutes ago.
7. Check Your Refrigerator And Pantry
One of the easiest ways to make Monday night more stressful than it needs to be is opening the fridge at dinnertime and realizing there’s nothing to cook.
Before you do anything else, take a quick look through your refrigerator and pantry.
What vegetables in there need to be used up? Are you running low on milk, eggs, or bread? Do you already have enough ingredients to throw together a couple of easy dinners?
You’re not trying to do a huge grocery haul. It’s about knowing what you already have so you can stop buying duplicates and actually use the food that’s sitting in your fridge before it goes bad.
8. Make A Simple Meal Plan
Once you know what’s in the fridge or pantry, decide what you’re eating for the next few days.
Notice I didn’t say the next seven days because you don’t need a perfectly planned week to feel organized. You just need to stop trying to figure out what’s for dinner for the next few evenings.
I usually pick three or four simple meals that fit our schedule and use ingredients I already have whenever possible. And, if I’m missing something, it goes straight onto my grocery list.
It’s a small habit, but it saves me from making last-minute takeout decisions simply because I couldn’t think of what to cook after a long day.
9. Review Your Budget
Money just seems to disappear on weekends doesn’t it?
It usually happens due to brunch with friends, family outings, takeout because nobody felt like cooking, or quick trips to the store where you somehow left with twice as much as you planned.
And Monday is a good time to check in.
You don’t necessarily sit down and build an entire budget from scratch. But, make sure to simply open your banking app, see where you stand, and remind yourself what’s coming up this week.
Then give yourself a working plan. If for instance you spent more than you wanted to over the weekend, maybe you could plan on cooking at home a little more this week or cutting out on extra fun spending.
There’s no point in feeling bad about it. It’s already done. A good plan with the money that you do have left is a much better use of your time.
10. Restock The Basics
Another simple thing that you can do that won’t take a ton of time and effort, but will help to make the week easier is to restock on the basics. Think things like:
- Coffee.
- Toilet paper.
- Dish soap.
- Laundry detergent.
- Toothpaste.
- Eggs
- Bread
They’re the kinds of things you don’t think about until you desperately need them.
Since you may not have done so on Sunday, do a quick check to see what’s running low and add it to your shopping list before you forget.
It only takes a couple of minutes, but this saves those annoying midweek trips to the store because you’ve run out of something you use every day.
11. Spread The Cleaning Out Throughout The Week
Finally, if you didn’t get much cleaning done over the weekend, Monday is the time to start. But, do not try to turn Monday into a deep cleaning day.
I’ve tried that before, and I can tell you it makes you exhausted and over the whole week before Tuesday is even here!
So, instead, spread it out.
Make Monday kitchen day.
Tuesday bathroom day.
Wednesday bedroom day.
Thursday living room day.
Friday is just a quick tidy before the weekend starts again.
Breaking it up like this feels so much more manageable than trying to clean the entire house after work on a Monday evening.
More importantly, it takes away that feeling of being behind.
Just because the house didn’t get cleaned over the weekend doesn’t mean it has to stay that way all week. Sometimes all it takes is tackling one room at a time.
Weekends get busy, and sometimes Monday is simply your next chance to reset. The weekend already happened, so there’s no point spending Monday wishing you’d cleaned more, spent less, or gotten your life together. Instead, use today to make the rest of your week a little easier.
Remember, you don’t have to fix everything in one day. Pick one thing, then another, and let that be enough. By the end of the week, you’ll probably be surprised by how much those small Monday reset ideas helped you feel calmer, more organized, and a whole lot less stressed.
