It's a vicious cycle: you sleep through your alarm, your hot coffee was cold, you got toothpaste on your favorite shirt and the professor gives out a pop quiz over the ONLY chapter you didn't read. And it's only 10:30. Of course, this only seems to happen on Mondays.

If this happened on a Thursday, it would be a totally different scenario. You could find something good that would outweigh the bad. Even something that wasn't so bad. But not on Mondays. Even if something good happens, you'll still be staring at the toothpaste on your shirt. Because Mondays are just awful.

So, how do you deal with it? Because like it or not, 52 weeks out of the year are going to start with a series of unfortunate events and a bad taste of coffee in your mouth. But, conquering the Monday blues might just take a bit of practice. And probably more coffee.

1. Make a great Monday schedule

This means don't schedule all of your classes on Mondays, work a double and not see anyone you like all day. No. If you have to take off work, spread your classes out and make weekly lunch dates, then do it. Don't pack yourself so full that you aren't able to breathe. Also, Monday is the beginning of the week. If you start your week out right with your schedule, the rest should fall into place.

2. Zen yourself on Sundays

Take time on Sundays to organize your life. Do your laundry, check your email, make your plans and appointments. And if you're someone who has chapter meetings, let that be your motivation for the week. The more little stuff you can get done the night before, the less stress you'll have come Mondays.

3. Don't sweat the small stuff

Everyone has bad days. But if you're able to look past them and not be so overcome with how upset certain things are making you, you can see that everyone gets bad grades and spills stuff on themselves sometimes.

4. But let big things get the attention they need

If the Monday blues seem to go deeper than just Mondays, take some action. Take a different route to work. Think about changing your major. Think more deeply about how certain people in your life are treating you. Because the blues shouldn't take over all of your Mondays and certainly shouldn't take over your life.

Next time Mondays seem to be taking over, remember it's just a bad day, not a bad life. Don't let Monday take over.