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Advice / Succeeding at Work / Break Room

The Monday Morning Playlist Designed to Make the Beginning of the Week Less Painful

If you have experience with the Sunday Scaries, then you’re probably familiar with the Monday Blues. Even if your end-of-weekend anxiety is minimal, and you like your job, you may still feel a certain pit in your stomach when your alarm goes off on Monday morning, signaling the end of fun and the beginning of having responsibilities again. Honestly, sometimes it seems like the moment you settle into relaxation mode, it’s time to go back to work and face all the to-do list items you laid to rest on Friday.

In an effort to better understand the Monday morning phenomenon, Spotify partnered with Ipsos, a market research company, to see how people really feel when the weekend comes to a close and what they do to get their heads back in the game.

Not surprisingly, they found that, on average, 64% of people surveyed across five countries (US, Australia, Brazil, France and Sweden) lack motivation on the first day of the week. The de-motivated feelings are especially strong before the commute. While some people take to exercising first thing, and others rely on that trusty cup of joe to get revved up up, a third of respondents said they use music to get them going. Music even beat out sex as a motivating force!

The survey’s results prompted Spotify to create a personalized playlist available on Discover Weekly. Delivered to your inbox every Monday morning, its purpose is to get you up and going with fewer blues.

So, instead of waking up to the harsh ring of your alarm, snoozing as many times as possible to delay the inevitable, and then listlessly dragging yourself out of bed and to work on what many consider the worst day of the week, you can let your alarm go off, check your email (which you’re probably used to doing anyway), and start listening to your customized playlist. Proceed to get ready for the day and brave the commute while the sweet sound of music—your music—fills your ears.



What do you do to get motivated for work on Mondays—or any other day of the week? Is there a song you listen to on repeat? Or an artist that gets you moving and ready to conquer the day? Tell me on Twitter!

Photo of man listening to music courtesy of kupicoo/Getty Images.