Ahhh, Monday. Manic Monday. The worst day of the week. No sleep-in, lazy coffee and brunch with friends, or even lazier long lunch with a glass of wine (or three).
Don’t you just hate it? Well, you’re not alone. Whether you simply hate the weekend being over or you’re just dreading the work week ahead — or both — there are things you can do ahead of time to help you hit the ground running and tackle Monday head on.
Use the weekend to get ahead
Before you get started on your fun weekend, try getting any work, or pre-work preparations, out of the way so that your weekend can be 100% enjoyable.
To do this, create a to-do list for the following week so you can do as much preparation for those things as you can before your weekend starts.
Wake up early and don’t hit snooze
Getting up early can help you get a head start on your day and week ahead as it will get you into the right frame of mind to power on.
To develop this habit, figure out when you need to wake up in the morning, and therefore when you should go to sleep, and set your alarm to that time — but without the snooze alert on.
Exercise
Yes, I know you can exercise anytime, but the best habits happen every day.
Getting your day started with a regular exercise routine, even if it’s just a brisk morning walk, will help you hit the ground running for the work week ahead because it will help you relieve any stress and clear your mind.
So figure out a daily exercise regime that suits you and that will help you perform better at work — and don’t skip it on Mondays.
Make a game plan/to-do-list for the week
Making a game plan, or to-do-list, for your upcoming week can help you keep your mind and schedule organized for what you have to do and when it needs to be completed.
Doing this means you will be — and stay — one step ahead of the game.
Leave with a tidy house
Leaving behind a clean house can help your mind stay clear for the week ahead because no part of your brain will be nagged about the housekeeping tasks left undone. And yes, that also happens in a subconscious way even if you’re not actually thinking about it.
Just put a little time aside on the weekend to take care of as much as possible – and enjoy having it in order.
Attend to small things first
The little things can make you stress out about getting everything done on time, so getting them out of the way early — even though they may be less important than more time consuming tasks — and won’t take long to complete –.
So to figure out what the ‘little things’ are, have a look at your to-do list and organize it so you do the little, easy to do things first and then the important things.
Focus on the task at hand
Similar to ‘leave behind a clean house’, get rid of any distractions in your surroundings to help you focus on the task at hand and get through them all during the week.
This will involve going through your workspace to tidy it up and removing the things you don’t need or that might be a distraction so that you can focus your energy on your work.
Screen emails for urgent requests and get their inbox under control
Like getting rid of distractions, de-cluttering your email inbox and checking for urgent requests can help you hit the ground running for your week ahead because, even if you do it throughout the week, you will know about all the important things that are coming up and be able to keep them under control.
Be able to say ‘no’
Being able to say ‘no’ will help you keep on pace because it will set a boundary between you and your colleagues asking for help because, while you don’t want to be unhelpful towards them, your work is important too and you need to get it done.
So don’t be scared of the word, just be mindful of how and when you use it.
Remember that there is Tuesday
You don’t have to get everything done on Monday.
If you can, push some of your work to Tuesday, and perhaps even later in the week, to help yourself complete all your work with as little stress as possible.
