Why the Monday Morning Alarm Hits Different

Same 7:30 AM

Alarm goes off. 7:30 AM.

Tuesday through Friday, I shut it off and get up on autopilot. But Monday is different. The alarm sounds sharper. The volume seems louder. My phone is attacking me.

Hit snooze. Five minutes later, it goes off again. Even crueler this time.

Same time, same volume, same alarm. Why is Monday like this?

Weekend Jet Lag

Friday night, bed at 1 AM, up Saturday at 11. Saturday night, bed at 2 AM, up Sunday at noon. In two days, my internal clock drifted 2-3 hours. Didn't go abroad, but I've got jet lag.

In that state, when the Monday 7:30 alarm rings, my body thinks it's still 5 AM.

I've been jet-lag recovering every single Monday. There's even a name for it: social jet lag. Having a name for it doesn't make it any less painful though.

Monday Starts on Sunday Night

The truth is, Monday morning's pain begins Sunday evening.

Watching Netflix, I glance at the clock. 10 PM. The realization that tomorrow is Monday surfaces. The show gets less enjoyable. I should sleep but don't want to. Because sleeping means Monday arrives. (This psychology is truly childish, and yet it repeats every week.)

Out of 5 weekdays, the only truly free day seems to be Saturday. Friday night goes to exhaustion recovery. Sunday night gets eaten by Monday anxiety.

Is There a Fix?

Honestly, no. At least not a complete one.

"If you love what you do, you'll look forward to Monday" -- not wrong, but how many jobs in this world make you excited every Monday? Even work you love is a bit less lovable on Monday mornings.

What I've found is planting a small reward on Mondays. Grab a coffee from my favorite cafe, eat something good for lunch. Not enduring Monday, but putting something to look forward to inside it.

In theory, waking up at a similar time on weekends would reduce the jet lag. But how many people actually resolve on Friday night to wake up at 9 AM Saturday? I can't do it. So in the end, I'm making a trade-off between weekend freedom and Monday suffering.

7:38 AM

Got up. 7:38. One snooze -- my little luxury.

In the shower, I think: maybe this resistance to the alarm isn't about hating work. Maybe it's just not wanting to let go of rest.

Hating Monday means the weekend was good. And the weekend being good means there are still enjoyable things in life. Thinking about it that way, the Monday alarm felt ever so slightly less cruel.

Ever so slightly.