Mondays suck. They do. It’s hard to get motivated, especially after two days of relaxation, recreation and entertainment, to get back to work, back to school, back to the weekly routine. But, I managed. As I write this it’s 8 am and I’ve already walked and fed the pup, fed the cats, straightened up the house, done a load of laundry, caught up with the news and a couple of friends and walked for several miles outside. Yes, I multitask but I also decided to think of Mondays, starting with this one, not as a return to the grind but as an opportunity to make the most of me, to take advantage of the beautiful weather (it’s been raining here nonstop for the past two weeks) and to do something nice for myself before I have to buckle down and get started on my weekday routine which entails doing things for other people. (That sounds like a bunch of crap, I know, but it’s a happy bunch of crap so I’m going with it.)
After I took care of my pets, I popped on my headphones, activated an app called PepTalk and hit the street. It is a gorgeous day in my neighborhood, sunny with a bright blue sky. And the PepTalk app gave me a few minutes of inspirational talk to let me know I could tackle the day. (It’s a cool app, an affirmation. Check it out at the App Store.)
After the pep talk, I activated an app called Running for Weight Loss. I’m not a runner so I modified the app to my own needs. The Running app is a sort of metronome for my walking experience. It has a preprogrammed routine that entails a warm up of brisk walking, followed by a minute of running followed by a couple of minutes of walking and so on for about 20 minutes. While I didn’t run, I did speed up my walking during the minutes when the app prompted me to run. It was fun, made me feel as if I had a trainer egging me on and coordinating a routine. I came to rely on the app to direct and motivate me on my walk. Of course, it wasn’t until I got home and really checked out the app that I learned that the app has a component called Walking for Weight Loss. That’s great! I’m a diehard walker, often logging 10,000 – 14,000 steps per day. Running or walking, the app is a good motivator and one I will use daily.
After completing the program, I simply enjoyed walking at my own pace, watching the birds that were busy doing whatever it is that birds do on a beautiful spring day after two solid weeks of rain. My neighborhood was filled with people walking dogs, babies or out by themselves. I enjoyed a lovely hour and a half of exercise while taking in the sights, sounds and scents of my neighborhood.
When I got back home, I was more than ready to tackle the day.
I know there’s not much to this post but sometimes it’s the little things, like taking a solitary walk and simply enjoying the scenery and the wildlife that make a big difference in the way you handle the rest of the day. At least there is for me. Now that the rain has stopped and I can walk outdoors, I’m going to try to make this a daily habit. It was the perfect way to motivate, energize and relax me for the day ahead.
Happy Monday to you. I hope it’s the start of a great week.
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Thanks for the motivation. Downloading PepTalk now.