Bare minimum Monday
Etymology
Coined by content creator Marisa Jo Mayes, who described the practice on TikTok in late 2022; it spread in early 2023 as a named reaction against hustle culture and Sunday-night dread.
noun · /bair MIN-ih-mum MUN-day/
Easing into the work week by doing only the essentials on Monday, to reduce start-of-week stress.
What it names
It names a deliberate anti-hustle ritual: treating Monday as a soft launch into the week rather than a sprint, on the theory that a gentler start prevents burnout and proves more sustainable than front-loading pressure.
Example
She protects her bare minimum Monday fiercely — no meetings before noon, just email triage and coffee.
Related idea
A gentler cousin of quiet quitting: quiet quitting sets an ongoing ceiling on effort, while bare minimum Monday is a scheduled easing-in aimed at working better, not withdrawing.