Why do Monday’s always feel so blehhh. The quick answer to that is – “Because my weekend was awesome, relaxing, easy, fun, productive, exciting, etc.” Or another answer is – “I Hate My Job.” I’m not saying all Monday’s are bleh, but lets be honest. Although I do not have any scientific facts or surveys to back this up, I have read that over 70% of Americans hate Monday’s more than any other day of the week. There is a lot that is super scary about this, but it is not just that people hate it.
Monday is the day of the week to get things started off right. When you look at Monday’s, it should be a fresh start, a day to start off with a new mind. If you work a typical Monday-Friday, 9-5 job, then Monday should be the day you plan your week, push hard to start tackling your goals, and excite your brain cells so that you don’t dread every hour at your job. Living for the weekend is how most people get through their week. They get to work to make some extra $$ to spend on the weekend. If you are living that way, I promise you that you are not pushing yourself to your full potential.
I know that this does not apply to all jobs, but I have put together a list of 6 ways to Crush Your Monday and Win Your Week. Take this, use this, crush your Monday.
1. Make your bed.Â
In his book, The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg writes that getting into the routine of making your bed every morning is correlated with increased productivity. This is not just to make your spouse happy (although it will :)) but instead your are tackling your 1st task of the day right after you wake up. You are showing yourself that you are going to have a great day. Don’t believe me? Try it for a week and find out for yourself.
2. Clear your Desk.
Monday is a great day to start off fresh. Last week may have been bad. Last month may have been horrible. And who knows, maybe your last year at work has been a disaster. The only way to overcome that is to leave it behind you and focus on what is ahead. In the workplace, you can usually tell a lot about a person by how their desk, toolbox, or cubical looks. If you can relate to the example I used above about having a bad week, I can guess that your desk is probably a disaster. You have copies of paper spread out across your desk, you have old coffee in your mug, and everything is out of place. Don’t worry about it, take 5 minutes to sort the paper, clean your coffee mug, and put your pens back where they belong. Crushing your week starts off with a clean desk.
3. Re-Engage with Co-Workers.
Although this may not be the first thing you think of doing on Monday, I would say that it is very important to get your brain-juices flowing again and thinking about work. This does not have to be an annoying walk around the office talking to everyone you see, but instead an intentional walk to fill up your coffee and talk to whoever you see in the break room. Most of the time you are going to re-engage your brain and remember something you forgot over the weekend. If you see “little Timmy” from the accounting department, it may spark your brain to remember you forgot to submit your expense report from last week. If you happen to cross paths with your manager, it may spark you brain to remember to respond to his email asking you to get him a report. Anyways, you get the point. Re-engaging with co-workers will really help your brain get focused again on work-related thoughts and tasks.
4. Email – Clear it or Blow it Up.
The reason I say “clear it or blow it up” is because a lot of us have different roles in the workplace. We have email takers and email senders. I know that doesn’t sound fancy and it doesn’t even sound right, but that is the truth. If you are an email sender, blow it up! Send out those reminder emails, send out the marketing emails, and respond to all of the requests from the weekend. Most people spend most of their Monday mornings checking and refreshing their emails. If you are an email taker, clear it out!! As I just said, all of the email senders are going to be sending out all of their important emails, and those can get cluttered into the mess of emails from last week. When you roll into your office on a Monday morning, spend time clearing out your email. Flag the important ones, delete the unimportant ones, and respond to the ones from last week that you refused to do because you were to focused on your Friday night activities. This simple task will really help you crush your Monday.
5. Have the right attitude.
I’m not going to elaborate too much on this one. If you come into your Monday with the right attitude, you will not only crush your Monday, but crush you week. A good attitude that wants to work hard and get things done will succeed in the workplace.
6. Be motivated
When you look at your job, is it just a place to make money? Or is it just something you do because it is easy and pays the bills? This is so frustrating to me these days. When people go to work just because they feel like they have too or just because its easy. If you want to scoop ice cream because you have a passion for it, do it! Make the best ice cream cone you can, and push to be the best ice cream scooper in the world. You know someone is, why can’t it be you? If I had a passion to scoop ice cream all day but I was stuck behind a desk inputing numbers into a computer, what do you think my motivation level is on Monday morning sitting in front of my computer? Probably 0%. Although that may be a lame example, just think about it. Do something you love. It really is worth it, and once you do, you’ll realize that Monday morning’s are awesome. Why? Because you get to wake up doing something you love. Be motivated. Crush you Monday.
I hope these 6 things will help you crush you Monday, crush your week, crush your year. You deserve to wake up Monday morning and be excited about your upcoming week. Maybe your week was horrible last week, but who says this week has to be the same? Wake up, make your bed, clear your desk, talk to your team, clear your email, have the right attitude, and be motivated. CRUSH YOUR MONDAY, WIN YOUR WEEK.
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