Mondays are often referred to as ‘Miserable Monday’ by a lot of people, other times it’s called ‘Monday blues’. No matter how much you may love your job, sometimes its just a bad day and there is almost nothing you can do about it. A few months back, I woke up late, my electricity was out so I had to shower with hot water, my clothes were unaproned, so I had to make do with what I had; grab the least rumpled outfit and jump out; hoping for the best but mentally prepared for the worst. My car engine for reasons best known to it refused to start.  I stood by the junction trying to halt down a cab and for the icing on my Monday cake, it started raining YAY! PERFECT START TO MY DAY!

I walked into the office drenched, unhappy and obviously not looking my greatest. As if the day could get any better (my awful attempt at sarcasm), my boss came to yell at me asking me why I had not turned in my presentation- shoot! That was Monday the 14^th. Well done Titi, your poor timing and bad decisions are about to cost you your only source of income. Could the day get any worse? Maybe, maybe not. Are any of these scenarios familiar? keep reading. Bad days are bad days and more often than not there is little or nothing you can do to eradicate the occurrence if bad days but there are ways to handle situations like this.

1. Take a walk: it’s almost always a good idea to take a walk when things are not going exactly according to plan. Helps to clear your head and refocus. Power walks are also important on bad days to help you breathe fresh air and calm down.
2. Venting; ranting and saying how you feel to a trusted friend is always a good idea, sometimes talking to people helps in realizing the issue at hand is not as huge as you magnify it to be, this is an amazing way to offload.
3. Change Your Attitude: when you’ve received criticism for your work or been involved in a confrontation with a colleague or boss, you’ll probably adopt an I-don’t care attitude and leave work five minutes earlier just to be a rebel and hit happy hour to drown your sorrows away. But you may want to consider a less dramatic response. By all means, give yourself some time to wallow, but make sure you shift your attitude and take a more positive outlook on things – and the sooner, the better.
4. Remember it’s not the end of the world: this might be the most important thing I’ve learned from having a bad day. It may seem that everything is daunting and you might feel that you’re stuck in a rut. However, this likely isn’t the first time you’ve been faced with a challenge, and remember, you can get through it. It’s helpful to take a deep breath and remind yourself that tomorrow is a new day.
5. Don’t Work Late: on a day when you’re feeling demotivated, it’s important to leave work on time so you can go home and do something non-work-related. After all, you won’t do yourself any favours by sitting at your desk and wallowing in your misery – it will only make you feel exhausted and you’ll end up carrying those hard feelings over to the next day.
6. Emotions! They say “laughter is the best medicine.” Medically speaking, when we laugh, our bodies are said to release endorphins and dopamine, the feel-good chemicals. As an end result, this can help us overcome anger and resentment, find a light at the end of the tunnel and look at things from a better perspective. And while I admit, during the day laughing won’t be top of mind, in many instances for me, watching a quick YouTube video over a lunch break or silly meme reminds me of the less serious and lighter things in life. Plus, let’s be honest, puppies can always brighten crappy days! Crying on the other hand, can also be a good way to release tension and stress after a bad situation.