How To Cope With A Monday Morning Hangover At Work

I see you have had a rough night. ‘Sundaze’ has fit right up your ally and the hangovers just don’t seem to call it quits. Monday has come faster than you thought it would and you have a meeting in 15 minutes with your manager, who hates your guts.

Now, I’m sure that these are thoughts that have entered your head more than one time, but you just don’t want to give up the weekend lifestyle. Unfortunately, along with this lifestyle comes incomplete sleep, dullness, fatigues and a big cup of exhaustion, which sadly just doesn’t go with your Office Culture and its norms.

As much as you want to find yourself sinking into your warm cozy bed, you have less than 10 minutes to go before the meeting begins. So, here’s a quick read as to what you should do to get through the Monday morning blue. Keep your focus and every ounce of energy that you have left because the clock is running out.

Uncomfortable-Ness Is Your Friend

For starters, sit yourself down in the most uncomfortable position possible, stand right at the back of the room if you have to, but whatever happens, do not sit down in a recliner because you will send signals to your mind and body that are inclined towards comfort. Keeping your body active will keep your mind active and the main aim of this is to make sure you don’t doze off.

Maintain a good relationship with a fellow colleague, so that you can find out about the meeting, in case you have missed out. Use every excuse in the book to keep yourself standing as it will at least save you the trouble from passing out.

Enjoy Participation. Or At Least Pretend To!

Keep nodding and using words such as Hmm, Yes, I agree, and so on. This is an aspect of participation. So, even though you might not have much to contribute, it will at least show that you are alert and ready to work. Making notes and paraphrasing what the speaker is saying in your mind is a healthy and tested activity to keep your mind active.

Munch Your Way Through

You are running out of time and that meeting is just about to start in a couple of minutes. If the caffeine isn’t helping find the first thing you can snack on. Whether it’s full of sugar or has it’s fat that you want to avoid, you need to forget the diet because the more the calories, the longer you can stay awake.

Escapism Is The Last Resort (Sometimes)

If none of these last minute tactics are working, and you just can’t seem to stay awake, excuse yourself from the meeting. It’s better to miss out on a meeting then fall asleep in front of your CEO because you had far too many shots last nights. If you are sure that you can take more of the day, wash your face, drink a cup of coffee and continue.

But if you can’t, just step out and send in an apology email to your manager. Please don’t mention that you were hung over and do catch up on what you missed.

In Conclusion

All said and done, it’s never cool to be coming hungover to work the next day. It reflects on your professional ethics and ownership towards your work. Do you really want people to question that?

No one’s stopping you to party hard. That’s what Saturday nights are meant for. And Sundays are meant for you to curse yourself for partying like an animal the last night! But make sure you are good to go by the Monday morning.

[This post by Priya Ranga – blogger and writer at Piwipie.tumbler.com – first appeared on Jobspire and has been reproduced with permission.]

Note: We at Inc42 take our ethics very seriously. More information about it can be found here.