Mondays

I’ve referred to the 1979 song I Don’t Like Mondays before – you know, the one Bob Geldof wrote after the 16-year-old shooter of the Grover Cleveland Elementary School massacre explained her actions with ‘I don't like Mondays; this livens up the day’ (full story here). But actually, I quite like Mondays. For me, there’s something refreshing in the start of a new week, but I guess we all suffer from a bad Monday once in a while.

Today, for instance, isn’t a particularly good one. My head is a bit foggy from a persistent cold and I’m in no mood to do any serious work. My brain sputters like an old lawn mower and my legs feel like sand. So imagine my surprise (and horror!) when I read that today should be the happiest Monday of the year!

That’s right. According to the Daily Mail (read the story here), psychologists are hailing today, 30 January, as ‘Happy Monday’. Apparently by the last weekend of January many people have recovered from the financial stress Christmas and New Year caused and therefore start thinking about the annual summer holiday. (Incidentally, two people told me about their travel plans last weekend.) The result is that today should be the happiest Monday you’ll spend in 2012!

It is, on the other hand, quite curious that only last week, you’ve gone through your worst Monday of the year. Indeed, the third Monday of January is known as ‘Blue Monday’ and is reputed to be the most depressing day of the whole year. (For Fred's jeans-related Blue Monday, click here) According to the Telegraph (read the story here) the reasons are post-Christmas blues, cold dark nights and the arrival of unpaid credit card bills.

Therefore, the researcher in me concludes, in only a week’s time our lives have apparently gone from zero to hero. Hooray for us. But for me personally, the conclusion is radically different. If this is the best Monday I’ll have in 2012, I’m in for some rough times… 

But wait, I almost forgot. I didn't factor in that all this BS (acronym for a large animal's faeces) about Mondays is pseudoscience. Indeed, I've had three splendid Mondays already in 2012. Besides, who are you, dear Telegraph, to tell me that today should have been my best? Or perhaps your editor was just having a bad day?