10 Things You Should Always Do on a Monday
Updated: Feb. 21, 2024
From scheduling a surgery to buying a house, the first day of the week offers significant perks.
Fill up your gas tank
If you drove a lot over the weekend and need to fill your tank, wait until Monday morning to hit the gas station. If you do, you’ll almost definitely get a better deal, according to research from Popular Mechanics. While the exact prices and “best days” vary by state, the overwhelming majority listed Mondays and Tuesdays as the cheapest days to buy gas. Of course, if you’re driving by the station later in the week and see a price drop, feel free to deviate from this pattern! This is the best time of year to buy absolutely everything.
Start a diet
No matter how tired you are on a Monday morning, you’ve got to admit—the first day of the week provides a built-in opportunity to start anew. That feeling is particularly helpful when it comes to starting a diet, according to The Healthy. The trick is in not tiring of your new plan by Wednesday. And if you do fall off the wagon, don’t wait till the following Monday to restart. Jump right back in the next morning. Read more about the best (and worst) days to start a diet.
Schedule a surgery
Researchers already know that the morning is the safest time of day to go under the knife. It’s when hospital staffs are most alert and least likely to make a mistake. That same earlier-is-better approach applies to days of the week as well. The risk of death after undergoing a non-emergency surgery is lowest on Monday and goes up every day of the week thereafter, according to a report in the British Medical Journal. But don’t panic if your surgeon has spots only on Thursday. The increase is a mere fraction of a percent—from 1 percent on Monday to 1.44 percent on Friday. We probably can’t help you get a deal on healthcare, but here are the cheapest days of the week to do anything.
Gossip with your coworkers
The Monday blues are real, and scientists guess that one reason we get them might date back to caveman days. “Humans are social animals, and to feel happy we need to feel comfortable in our place in a ‘tribe,’ so to speak,” writes Mental Floss. “Even after just two days away, according to scientists, we need to make sure our place in our work environment is secure. Gossiping with your co-workers is an important part of gearing up for the workweek, and if you don’t do this, you might feel out of sorts.” It’s an interesting idea, and at the very least, you’ll value the catch-up time. Before you start sharing secrets, however, you’ll want to look out for the signs you can’t trust your co-worker.
Dine out
Mondays are stressful enough without the need to prepare a homemade meal—and deal with the resulting dishes. Let someone else handle the cooking and enjoy the fact that Mondays offer the best deals at restaurants, according to Nasdaq. After the weekend, which is the busiest time of the week for restaurants, they’re likely to offer a discount or promotion to keep diners coming through the doors. If you want to stack the savings, go out a little earlier and take advantage of happy hour deals in addition to any Monday promotions.  Just don’t make any of these common restaurant etiquette mistakes.
Buy a house
If you’re in the market for a new home, you’ll want to be strategic with the day of the week you close the deal. It could mean major savings—or major losses. Monday is the best day to close, according to MoneyWise. People who seal the deal then tend to get prices that are an average 2.3 percent below market value. Thursdays are the worst. Closing then will get you a price just 1 percent below market value. Experts say it’s because sellers are less likely to get amazing offers early in the week, which means they’re more inclined to consider mediocre ones.
Invest in the stock market
There are many things you need to know before investing in stocks, including that the key is to buy low and sell high. And it turns out, because of a slew of market factors, stocks have a tendency to drop on Mondays. That’s bad if you plan to sell, but if you’re in the market to add to your portfolio, you’re likely to snag a bargain.
Wash your hands
For one reason or another—and we won’t begin to speculate—Mondays are the most common day of the week for calling in sick. In fact, according to one British study, more than a third of all sick days take place on the first day of the week. It’s hard to say whether that’s because Monday is truly the day you’re most likely to fall ill, or because a stunning number of folks want a three-day weekend. Whatever it is, we’ll leave you with this advice: On Mondays—and every day—wash your hands. You’ll also want to be sure to wash your hands immediately after touching these 10 things.
Head to the gym
For similar reasons that Monday is a great day to start a new diet, it’s also the perfect opportunity to hit your goals at the gym. The Atlantic found that Monday is the most popular day of the week for gymgoers. And while that might mean you have to wait in line for the best machines, it also means you’ll start your week on a healthy footing. We can’t argue with that. Of course with Monday being the busiest day at the gym, you’ll want to be extra careful to avoid any faux pas. Steer clear of these 16 things to never do at the gym.
Make the ultimate to-do list
When it comes to goal setting, what better day of the week to lay things out than Monday? Research published in Psychological Science suggests that we may be more likely to follow through with our professional goals if we start on a Monday rather than a Thursday. And while there are a ton of ways to make the perfect to-do list, we like this goal-setting idea from Peter Gasca. “I make it a point to set one new and aggressive personal goal for the week, such as trying a new exercise, reading a book, or learning a new song on the guitar,” he writes on Inc. “The point is to provide you motivation during your busy week to pursue an interest that you enjoy outside of work.” Now that you know what to do on a Monday, check out the 10 morning habits of all highly successful people.
Sources:
- Popular Mechanics: A Reminder: Always Buy Gas on Mondays
- The Healthy: The Best (and Worst) Days to Start a Diet, According to Science
- British Medical Journal: Day of week of procedure and 30 day mortality for elective surgery: retrospective analysis of hospital episode statistics
- Mental Floss: 6 Scientific Reasons Mondays Are the Worst
- Nasdaq: The Best Day of the Week To Score Discounts at Restaurants
- MoneyWise: What Is the Best Time of Year to Buy a House?
- The Atlantic: Everyone’s a Health Nut on Monday
- Inc: 8 Monday Rituals to Get Your Week Started Right
