If you’re feeling the five stages of grief at the start of your work week, take a leaf out of our book and cope by literally joking and laughing your way through it—because what else can you do?

Usually the feeling is only temporary, fading once you start working and talking to your co-workers, but in case you need help with coping through the initial Monday blues feeling, here are some ways to use humorous tactics to beat it.

Although, if you’re really struggling or stuck in a rut then maybe it’s time for a new job—in that case we can help you with that too.

Stage 1—Denial:

“How is it Monday already? It was just Friday.” Sound familiar?

Have you ever felt like the above at the end of your weekend?

What you can do to feel better:

Make yourself laugh with a practical joke because living in denial can make you feel better for a bit, but it won’t last.

Forget about the Monday blues by pranking the first unfortunate soul you come across like your partner, friend, family member, or roommate into thinking it’s still the weekend for your own amusement. Watch as they live in hope for a few seconds before you break it to them that you’re just messing around—unless you want to keep the distraction going, then by all means keep the joke alive and well and watch the chaos unfold.

This scene from The Office might give you some inspo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLAuzWNrK0w

Stage 2—Anger:

Once you’ve been through the first stage, the 5 stages of realising it’s Monday tomorrow feeling of anger might start to take over. You know, when the denial starts to wear off and you realise it’s the beginning of the work week (how did it go so fast?), and you have to start it all over again. By this stage you might even be contemplating how much money to put into the Lotto this week…

What you can do to feel better:

Well, avoid pouring a tonne of your savings into the Lotto—or some cryptocurrency—in the heat of the moment. This will make you feel so much better when you don’t have to declare bankruptcy because of your sudden outburst of rage.

(Then again you could be really lucky, after all there is a 1 in 300 million chance that you could win the jackpot).

Or you could just spend your money on something that you’re guaranteed to get enjoyment out of… like food, which always has a 100% success rate.

Stage 3—Bargaining:

In the bargaining stage you might do whatever it takes to have an extra day off to sleep in; it’s the voice of temptation.

What you can do to feel better:

Instead of leaning into the temptation of unique excuses to get out of work (that are anything but ‘I’m sick’), cope by brewing several cups of coffee in the morning at work and chugging these down, switching these out with an energy drink in the afternoon—caffeine conquers all, yes even Mondays. Although you mightn’t be able to type properly with the jitters, at least you’ll be wide awake.

Stage 4—Depression:

By this point you’ve realised there’s nothing you can do except to just go with it.

What you can do to feel better:

Watch memes.

These exist for a reason—for our entertainment and to make us crack a smile. There’s nothing better than watching a meme that you currently relate to and laughing until you cry

Or better yet, try our TikTok for a few work-related laughs.

Stage 5—Acceptance

You’ve finally made it—even if it’s 5 pm on a Monday night, at least you’ve reached the acceptance stage. What a day.

Seriously though, if you can’t find any humour in feeling the Monday blues, maybe it’s time to change jobs. Still unsure? Take a look at our Just Digital People job board to see what might pique your interest. We’re always up for a chat to help steer you in the right direction!