Lisa Q. Mathews

Monday, Monday: Writers Pandemic Edition

The one in which Extra-Chirpy Chick does her best to build a case for Mondays. Inconceivable, you say? It’s all in how you look at things. Just grab your coffee and hear her out…

What day is it, Mystery Fans? That’s right, it’s everyone’s favorite: Monday. And I know you can hear me under that blanket/desk/coffeemaker/rock. Come out, come out, wherever you are! Time to rise and shine! Monday is a GREAT day to achieve!

(So…not working?)

No one is born hating Mondays. They’re an acquired distaste. But I had to give them a chance from the start because, well, I was born on a Monday.

Growing up as an almost-only-child in a kid-free neighborhood, I lived for school. Not because I was wild about learning and homework and gym class, but because I got to see my friends. Monday meant the end of a long, boring weekend. I was the first one at the bus stop; snow, rain, sleet, or gloom of morning. The only downer Mondays I encountered were in songs. Hello and good riddance, “Monday, Monday” (Mamas and the Papas, 1966), “Rainy Days and Mondays” (The Carpenters, 1971).

Mondays started getting a little less fun in college, thanks to the inevitable papers due after too much fun on the weekend, but I still had energy to spare. It wasn’t until I graduated and started working 9 to 7, with a 2.5-hour RT commute and a toddler at home, that reality dawned: Mondays sucked.

Mostly because, at 9 am sharp each Monday, the dread Editorial Meeting loomed. For us assistants, that meant we’d better have carefully read the literal boxes of 350-600 page manuscripts our bosses had dumped on us as they sashayed out of the office at 4 pm on Friday: “Can you give this (and this and this) a read and do up the reader reports for Ed Board on Monday? Thanks so much, darling, and have a great weekend—ta-ta!” A new Monday song became my motto: “Manic Monday” by the Bangles (did you know that was penned by Prince, by the way?).

Suddenly I understood all those motivational posters hanging in people’s offices and the break room and over the Xerox machine. Kittens desperately holding on upside down from branches, struggling turtles and oblivious sloths, etc.—you know the ones. Yep, they’re memes now, circulated every Monday morning on Facebook and Twitter and Insta, along with inspiring pics and quotes extolling the joys of caffeine.

Did I let those Boynton turkeys get me down, though? Heck no! Why? Well, for me, Sunday took over as the Most Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day of the week. Mondays required a lot of prep, you see, which had to be done on Sundays. Along with the grocery shopping and laundry. So Mondays became more of a #Goal, with the hard stuff already in the rear view mirror by the time they rolled around.

But in these stay-at-home, Groundhog Day times, Mondays have completely lost their power to stress and terrorize. Maybe even for good. They’re no longer special, unless you’re a fan of football, roses or vocal competitions. In fact, you can now dare to love them, and the whooshing sound they make as they fly by (okay, Douglas Adams was referring to deadlines when he said that, but same idea).

See? All of the days of the week are now equal. It is safe to get up. You’ve got this. Monday is that brand-new page in your planner, the next page in that novel you’re writing that will not end (go, Extra-Chirpy Chick, go!), the next page in that amazing book you’re reading. So let’s get ready to (Michael Buffer wrestling-announcer voice): Mooooooonday!!!!

Readers, what’s your very favorite thing about Mondays—or, just in case you can’t think of one right now, how do you deal with them?

30 thoughts on “Monday, Monday: Writers Pandemic Edition”

    1. So, they’re all Grrrrrrreat, right? At first I somehow read “WIP” there instead of “POV.” What does that say about my POV today this morning, sigh?

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    1. Well, if that isn’t the sweetest comment, Marla! Thank you! We Chicks aim to brighten all Mondays. And Wednesdays, and Fridays, and…

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    1. I hear you, Liz. My day job usually includes nights and weekends, so the days are less distinct for me now. I sure don’t miss those Monday morning Ed Board meetings, though!

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    1. That’s definitely an “awww,” El! How sweet, thanks. I do remember that disturbing old kids’ fortune-telling poem “Monday’s Child,” though. Monday’s child was “fair of face,” which at least wasn’t ominous, but poor Wednesday-borns were “full of woe,” and Thursday had “far to go” (yikes). Even worse: Saturday’s child had to work hard for a living. I mean…way to ruin the week (and our futures, ha).

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  5. Fun post, Lisa! I have risen, but my shine is low wattage.
    Just last night, hubs was talking about that song, Manic Monday, and the fact that Prince wrote it!

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  6. Having been woken up by a kid jumping into my bed this morning, I’m not as peppy as you, Lisa. I guess the fun thing about Mondays is feeling popular as all the emails roll in from people who were just waiting for the weekend to finish to inundate my inbox (never mind that it’s mostly spam). Also, it’s one day away from fun new books that release on Tuesday!

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  7. Sorry, but no. I’m working from home, so Mondays are as bad as ever. And, since I’m facing month/quarter end work (we have an off fiscal year) which means greater scrutiny and more work at the end of the week PLUS a meeting today because the people who are planning these meetings don’t care about anything but looking good, this is the wrong day to try to give me a pep talk about Mondays.

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    1. Soooo, Mark…What if Extra-Chirpy Chick flew across the country and perched on your shoulder, offering encouragement through this painful Monday? Or circled your head like those sweet Disney birds? It could work. (Ouch! *Chirpy Chick makes quick exit after being swatted.*)

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  8. I used to get terrible Sunday blues when I worked as a lawyer (but never as a student; like you, I loved school). And I was so jealous when my retired friends would brag that, for them,”Every day is Saturday!” But then I finally did retire, and guess what–they were right! So much so that I often have a hard time remembering what day of the week it even is…

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  13. Well, here I am, weighing in on the Monday post on Tuesday, so what does THAT say? Actually, what it says is that I’m in full revision mode, which means I’m making my Chick(en) scratches on a paper copy of my manuscript, so I barely look at my computer. I’m in that weird no-man’s-land where I’ve been working at home forever so I tend to lose track of the day, but also where I take Wednesdays off (since mostly I work on Saturdays), so on Monday I’m already looking forward to my “weekend” in two days.

    “Fair of face” describes you perfectly, Lisa, and no, I didn’t know Prince wrote Manic Monday. You’re a font of knowledge!

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  15. Sorry I am late–it WAS one heck of a Monday! But I love this post and both of the “Monday, Monday”/”Manic Monday” songs! Thank you, Lisa!

    ps: Also love this quote: “Sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays…” Office Space

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