Mondays are always the hardest days of the week. In fact, in most 4-day work weeks, the day most frequently eliminated is Monday. It feels like since elementary school, it has been engrained in us that Monday is just the worst so much so that now the anxiety and fear start to creep into our Sunday. A while ago a TikTok creator coined Bare Minimum Mondays and it kinda took the news cycle by storm. The concept is really simple - just doing the bare minimum on Monday. A concept that really helps to ease into the week while embracing more self-care rather than chaos. It’s about being much more intentional about activities that aren’t necessarily part of the grind.

Just like with Quiet Quitting, there are detractors that say a Bare Minimum Monday encourages slacking and while that may be true with some, it hasn’t been the case with me. I love Bare Minimum Mondays because it has helped me prioritize and stick to important boundaries. It might not be the ideal situation for everyone but here are 3 reasons why I absolutely love this concept.

INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY

This might be my favorite reason because it really is true. Taking the time to decide what tasks I can do and which can be saved for the rest of the week has increased my productivity. I’m the type of person who will jump on a work task immediately in order to be as efficient as possible, but in reality, doing that means rushing things or not putting my best foot forward. This can lead to not being as productive, efficient, or returning good quality work as much as I might think I am. A Bare Minimum Monday has me looking at tasks and saying, “Okay what am I capable of doing today at 100%? then evaluating from there. As a result, I’m able to complete simple tasks easily or tasks I need to finish up from the previous week, and by the end of the week at least 95% of my to-do list has been checked off.

REDUCED STRESS

Waking up on Monday it’s all too easy to feel overwhelmed worrying about what was going to be in my inbox come work time. The email inbox can be an incredibly scary place sometimes. Bare Minimum Mondays have helped me reduce my stress because seeing an email no longer needs a rush of adrenaline or anxiety. When I check my inbox, I just use my boundaries to ask when deadlines are or when things need to be completed by. I also take a look at the email and see if it can wait just based on context. Without having to worry about rushing or tasks stacking up, it’s not only much easier to get through Monday, but through the work week in general. The expectations are set for when projects and tasks will be completed and well communicated which means sometimes it can feel like a weight off my shoulders.

MORE FREE TIME

This one kind of seems bananas, but one of the biggest parts of Bare Minimum Mondays is prioritizing self-care. While I absolutely love my self-care time, I love having the extra time to just focus on things I love doing - like this blog. By focusing Mondays on tasks that are either necessary to complete or priority, I have been able to assert my boundaries much more. What do I mean? Well, I say this is the time I’m ending for the day and I am able to stick to it. By prioritizing, I know how much I am capable of mentally and that can change depending on how the Monday is going. If I feel I can take a little more on I will and if I’m not feeling it, but feel productive enough, that is okay too. It has made it easier for me to feel less like a weight is getting stronger and stronger on my shoulders as the day goes on and more like it’s okay to shift my focus to something that brings me joy, reduces my stress, and lets me have a little fun.

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