Five Ways to Survive Monday Mornings in Retail

Aside from Monday mornings already being a drag, Monday mornings in retail are that times ten. Well that may be a bit of an extreme but it can get that bad. If you have the morning shift on a Monday you may be responsible for all the returns from the weekend especially if the weekend crew didn't have a chance to return all the merchandise. Monday's are normally slow and this downtime gives the store the opportunity to catch up on all the work the weekend crew fell behind on. If it just so happened that you worked the weekend as well, then this list is especially a guide for survival for someone like you.

• The first way to survive is Do not forget your morning cup of coffee. If coffee is not your beverage of choice then perhaps a cup of tea but at least have some fuel in your stomach because you are definitely going to need it.

• The second way is Do not forget the breakfast. I know this should be pretty obvious but some people are in the habit of rushing out and forgetting their breakfast. NO! Do not! That is probably the worst idea and will backfire. You have to make sure you have eaten something prior to coming in or else you will have no energy to do anything.

• The third way is to keep a positive attitude. I am definitely not a morning person and so this is easier said than done. But this is an important way to survive. Although the day may get frustrating and on top of that you are already tired and cranky, if you do not have a positive attitude it will be hard to accomplish anything. Without a positive attitude you may feel overwhelmed or just ready to give up and that vibe is unnecessary but also disastrous for everything you do not just retail.

• The fourth way is to ensure that you wear comfy shoes. Although you need comfy shoes regardless of whatever day you are scheduled in retail you really need comfy shoes on a Monday morning. Your day consists of standing on your feet for long hours, walking back and forth and bending down to pick up merchandise as well as running racks. You need those comfy shoes to just make these tasks as easy as possible so as not to overwork yourself.

• The fifth and final way is to at least try to enjoy yourself. That is the best advice I could give to my fellow retail workers. I know it may be slow and the store is a bit dead, but try to look on the positive side which is that you don't have to deal with long lines and the store being packed to capacity.

I know these are not the only ways to survive Monday mornings in retail but these are the ways which have worked for me so far. This list is open to suggestions as I too would like to know other ways to survive Monday mornings.