It was brought to our attention this morning that today is officially known as Blue Monday – ‘the most depressing day of the year’. The day (typically the third Monday in January) is awarded this title for several reasons:
- Time since Christmas;
- Time since failing our new year’s resolutions;
- Debt level;
- Weather conditions.
- And the list goes on…
There have been a number of articles promising help on how to ‘beat Blue Monday’ published this morning, ways to keep a positive outlook for the day, things to be cheerful about and even Tesco handing out free food in an effort to lighten the current mood.
The day was actually the brainchild of a travel company who created an ‘equation’ of sorts based on the depressing elements of the month and the effect these have on our likeliness to book a holiday. The maths is questionable, but it makes for an interesting read. People, it would seem, have embraced the idea now and a sense of dread has been drummed up amongst the masses… an ‘anti-placebo’ of sorts.
It seems many a marketing team has jumped on the blue wagon and used the marked day as an excuse to run a prize giveaway or post humorous photos on twitter – and why not? Whether you believe it or not, there’s not really an excuse needed to lighten the mood and it seems just acknowledging the day has managed to keep the grumps at bay at XP HQ… at least, a little more than any normal Monday.
Share this