Eleven years ago, I launched a series of Spotify playlists based on a simple premise (inspired by the oft-quoted Garden State proclamation that a song can change your life): The right melodies can change your entire day.

Even an “I’m not ready for the week to begin!” Monday morning.

I invited readers, strangers, anyone to share the songs that pump them up and help them feel ready to take on the day. Given the blog had just launched, it was mostly recs from friends and family—and admittedly, large swaths of silence—but I loved hearing new songs and getting personal glimpses into other people’s worlds.

The playlist links are all broken and seem to have been deactivated, so I decided to revive it, creating a Reclaiming Mondays playlist for 2026, based on some of my favorite songs and ones people have shared with me over the years. It starts with a Pound warm-up jam I recently got into—”World on Fire” by For King & Country—and ends with a nod to the life and legacy of Dolly Parton. Pouring a cup of ambition is a little harder without her sparkle, but man, if anyone can inspire you to take on the world, it’s her. (Seriously, to have acquired the awards, written all the hit songs and launched the businesses she did, and yet her generosity and kindness overshadows all of that as people remember her? Now that’s living.)

Listen to this playlist as you get ready for work, while you’re commuting, with one ear bud in as you wade through Monday-morning emails and sip coffee (if your office allows that sort of thing). And please, please, please send me additions to grow this list. (Comment, DM me @lifebetweenweekends on Instagram, send a carrier pigeon! I’m here for it all.)

Reclaiming Mondays: “The Ease Into the Week” Playlist

 

Lead photo: Candace Braun Davison

This article originally ran in March 2015. It’s been updated with a fresh playlist, because…well, did you even read the post above?!