Weekday Morning Instagram Is a Lie
Ah, Monday morning. Those precious hours when your day, aka your Instagram feed, is filled with color-coordinated gym clothes followed by perfectly-foamed lattes and artfully arranged acai bowls.
Let's correct that picture. Weekday mornings are not fun. Even if you are a morning person, Monday mornings are not fun by virtue of being Mondays. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings are less than fun because they're not Friday morning, which at least brings with it the promise of sleeping until noon the next day. Saturday and Sunday morning are tolerable because they come with the promise of a carb-packed brunch of eggs Benedict, avocado toast and other photo-worthy menu items.
Weekday mornings filled with those kinds of impeccably groomed items? Nope. Not buying it. Not at all.
Work mornings are when you drag yourself out of bed to the gym or to the nearest espresso machine before taking a shower and joining the throngs of commuters who are also still trying to wake up (and probably in a sour mood because of it). Science accounts for these foul attitudes: While people between the ages of 60 and 80 tend to naturally wake up earlier, most young adults are night owls.
Of course, lies on Instagram are nothing new. But if you're going for likes with those gorgeous morning shots, you're fighting a losing battle: Research has shown that few people are liking photos during the hours of 7 am to noon, so why bother putting in the effort?
Unless you are one of the lucky minority of morning people out there, no one — including us — believes you woke up looking as well composed and cheerful as your picture suggests. Here are a few of the top offenders.
The Coffee Shot
Maybe we can believe that you just got a manicure the day before, hence the lack of chipping, but a peaceful Monday morning with heart-shaped cocoa on your coffee? Please. Everyone knows that most 9 to 5ers take their coffee to-go in an unattractive paper cup or steel thermos.
The Gym Flat Lay
$10 says this photo actually took an hour spent arranging on a Sunday night and was held until Tuesday morning for posting.
The Makeup Table
Oh sure, we keep fresh flowers laying out next to our pastel makeup, too.
The Breakfast Spread
Doesn't your significant other present you with breakfast in bed every Wednesday so you can eat while reading the news? Let's amend this shot to show the unglamorous yogurt you grabbed from the fridge as you rushed out the door.
The Cheery Message
Scratch that. That note should actually read: Screw you, Monday. Don't even try to pretend you're not pissed that it still isn't the weekend.
We're ready to start seeing weekday mornings as they really are: harried, messy and often not pretty. A post showing your spilled to-go cup of coffee paired with the uncoordinated outfit you threw on after sleeping through your alarm? Now that's something we'll like. And trust us, when it's time for your beautiful (and slightly more believable) weekend shots, they'll be that much sweeter because of it.
