If you're a mom, you may dread Sunday nights. We know the feeling. You have to get everything ready for the coming week, and let's face it, it can be a lot. There are lunches to pack, folders to check, dryers to run, and shoes to find. And that's on top of mentally and physically preparing for what you must do with your life for the next five days. Guess what? Those "Sunday Scaries" are real, and you're not alone.
Marisa Jo Mayes, @itsmarisajo, is a TikTok influencer encouraging moms to help ease those overwhelming feelings from Sunday night to Monday morning by keeping it simple. Mayes calls this "Bare Minimum Monday," and it is a TikTok trend that a lot of moms are here for. Mayes wants us to look at our Monday schedule, pick out essential things we absolutely have to do, and then add some self-care.
This sounds like a dream come true. But is it feasible? Can moms balance work, home, and kids and throw in self-care on a Monday? Lots of moms say yes, and it is making their lives better.
Bare Minimum Monday went mainstream in 2022.
Mayes posted a TikTok about Bare Minimum Monday in April 2022. She explains how Sunday evening caused her typical mom anxiety, and that she needed to get some relief. Mayes decided to give herself a break and put together a list of what she had to do on Monday to get through and decided to let the other tasks float throughout the week. She claims it has made the rest of the week much more productive. And supporters say she is right.
"I do same. The only two tasks I have to accomplish on Monday are to: survive and take my trash out. That's it," someone wrote.
"I guess this is sort of what I do but I never gave it a name before now. Going to be embracing it now though " another person commented.
This sounds all fine and good, but it seems to cater more to the stay-at-home mom. What if you have to report to someone else?
Mayes claims it is possible to be bare minimum in the working world, too. She says you can "overachieve" on Tuesday but condense the list on Monday. She explains that it is all about looking at the additional stress you put on yourself that you can lessen. "What can you choose to not care about today?"
Someone in the comments asked if this is similar to quiet quitting. They might be pretty close.
Not everyone in the workforce embraces Bare Minimum Monday.
Search social media, and you will find plenty of people who are not fans of the idea of Bare Minimum Monday. They think it is just people being lazy and looking for any reason not to work. There are some pretty funny takes on the trend. One TikToker asked what's next? "Tired Tuesdays? Why are we here Wednesdays? I'm through with Thursdays? And, Thank God it's Fridays."
"Everyone complains about these 'bare minimum' co-workers and now it's a trend! " someone wrote.
What if you have a job where you can't do that bare minimum?
There are plenty of professions in which you don't want to do the bare minimum. Think of the mechanic working on your car, the teacher educating your children, or the surgeon replacing your knee. Those people are all in, all of the time, and kind of have to be. So shouldn't everyone have to be, too?
Many critics think that Bare Minimum Monday is just an excuse for people to slack off. Others say it's another way for millennials to live out a stereotype of being lazy and entitled.
One Gen Xer tried it, and it was more challenging than you might think.
Rebecca Knight wrote a piece for Business Insider detailing her attempt at a Bare Minimum Monday, and she admitted it wasn't that easy. Knight attended a morning meeting, looked at her checklist, and crossed a few things off. She was ready for an afternoon of relaxation and found, "Having an amorphous blob of an afternoon should have been liberating, but, I admit, I found it stressful."
That seems pretty on point. If you constantly grind and suddenly take a step back, it makes sense that you might feel like you are falling behind. And you might even experience a tinge of guilt.
Knight explained that, like many other Gen Xers, she is pretty darn productive and feels the need to get it all done. Even after a walk, she had to get back at it and said her skin "began to itch."
"I checked my email on impulse, and my queries from the morning yielded a promising lead. Did I have time to hop on a quick call to discuss? You bet!" she wrote.
Is it worth a shot?
Sure. There is nothing wrong with giving yourself a break every once in a while. Plenty of people love Bare Minimum Monday and swear by it. Find your balance and do what works for you. And look out … "Done at 2 Fridays" are coming soon.
