Mondays suck. 

That may be a smidge harsh, and mostly they are alright, however finding the umph to get up and moving at a productive pace can seem like torture. As the holiday season approaches, weekends are filled with shopping, gathering, planning, and prepping. Those two days hardly seem like enough to get everything done, and then BAM, back at it. 

This past weekend was slightly out of the norm. Somehow, someway, we managed to have zero out of four children home. I saw this as the perfect opportunity to finish the gift lists, make new to-do lists, and possibly even convince the hubs to get some odds and ends finished. I ended up achieving a third of my planned undertakings, the gifts are purchased and wrapped, the tree is up but bare of ornaments, and the village is arranged but not quite ready for power. However, with all the holiday excitement, the best part is the early gift I bought myself. 

A new coffee cup. 

It seems trivial. Who cares? How can something so small and mundane impact my outlook so heavily? 

As I prepped the coffee pot to brew bright and early before bed last night, I rediscovered my new insulated black mug that had been tossed aside during the chaos of unpacking and wrapping. I splurged. It has a handle and a lid and will prove to be a fine replacement to the stained, lidless cup that has been a staple for the past six years. 

Waking up on this cold, snowy, Monday morning, I was feeling less than ambitious. The kids were cranky, the dogs were whiney, and my other half is 671 miles away on a business trip. And then, voila! I approach the coffee pot, its beep of completion guiding me to my lifeline, the clean, shiny mug is standing at attention, ready to fulfill its cuply duties. 

I filled my cup, and magically, my own personal internal cup filled. I was ready to battle the teen that was cutting it close to missing the bus. I managed to make a breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast for the younger one with plenty of time to spare. I was ready to take on the day with a pizzazz and vigor that only the earliest of birds would rival. 

How can we get past the Monday blues and get that pep in our step?

Make a List: Whether you’re old school and jot down to-dos the night before (me), or use a fancy planner, or a digital tool, creating an agenda for the next day will help to formulate a plan. You will have a playbook for your day to guide you into productivity. There is pure joy in crossing off tasks, especially the ones that are dreaded. Get those done first, and the remainder of the day is yours to seize. Make a list, and check it twice.

Enlist Rudolph: You might wake up faced with a fog that won’t lift. As you stumble through the morning, find the bright and shiny beacon of motivation that will drive you to success. A lunch date you don’t want to reschedule, a couple extra free minutes chatting it up at the water cooler, or even being able to invest more time into a project that you are invested in can be the light that guides you out of your stupor and into your stupendousness.  

Buy a Cup: The cup is not just a cup. It symbolizes the need to have something tangible to get my gears going. It creates an excitement to begin, a fresh start to the week. The cup gives a reason to get up and get moving. Your personal cup may be a new outfit you can’t wait to don in the office, a new tool that promises to make today’s jobs easier, or even just the pull of the new seasonal coffee flavor at the local cafe. Fill your sleigh with reasons to take off, and you will never be grounded again. 

No matter what gets you motivated to start your week, or even your day, it’s important that you can identify what is your personal energizer. Without that one thing, crawling out of bed, finding pants, or even just opening your eyes can feel as heavy of a task as delivering presents to all the boys and girls of the world. 

Time to refill my cup, the Christmas Blend is calling my name.