Start Your Week on Sunday
Monday can feel dreadful because all of your planning and execution is slated for that day as it kicks off your week. Try spending part of your Sunday setting up your week by mapping it out. It’ll make Monday better.
Kill Monday Morning Meetings
If you have meetings scheduled early on Mondays then see if your superiors and colleagues would be willing to shift them to the afternoon – or better still – Tuesday. Freeing up time taken by meetings gives you the opportunity to focus on your plans for the week before anything can derail you.
Be Mindful with Email
Instead of adding to others’ inbox overwhelm by sending messages that don’t need to be sent on Monday, defer them to later in the week. If that isn’t doable, then try batching your email messages so that the recipient gets everything you need from them in one fell swoop.
Spread the Work Out
Remember that Monday is just the beginning of the workweek. If you keep that in mind then you’re going to be better equipped to spread out the work you have on your plate throughout the week and prioritize better in the process.
Theme Your Time
If you define portions of Monday as moments when you’ll focus on specific types of tasks (communication work, research work, administrative work, etc.) then you’ll have something to anchor you when distractions steal your attention. Just place these “horizontal themes” on your calendar and allow them to guide your focus throughout Monday. (Hint: This tactic will work for other days of the week as well!)
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Mike Vardy is a writer, productivity strategist, and the creator of TimeCrafting. He is the author of the upcoming book TimeCrafting: A Better Way to Get The Right Things Done. Mike is also renowned speaker and has taught productivity on CreativeLive, Skillshare, and LinkedIn Learning where his courses are among the most popular in the business category.
