It happens to all of us—we’re making our Monday morning commute, mentally reviewing our to-do list for the day, and we feel completely overwhelmed. There’s no way we can accomplish all these tasks in one day. This is the feeling that gives Monday its unpleasant stigma. Mondays make up 1/7th of our lives, and there’s no sense in feeling unhappy and overwhelmed with the start of a new week.
You’ve probably heard some of the same tips over and over again: wake up earlier; stop procrastinating; plan your week; develop a positive attitude, etc. We wanted to find some simple, not-so-obvious tricks to help us kick our week into gear. Here are some tips we discovered:
PLAN YOUR EMAILS
When you start sending out emails on a Friday, you can probably hear crickets chirping in response. Everyone has either cut out early for a long weekend or is simply mentally checked out. This inevitably leads to another email you have to worry about on Monday that goes something like: “Hey, just wanted to follow up on my email from Friday.”
There’s a more efficient way of handling these Friday emails. Type out the emails and schedule them to go out Monday. You get your side of the work done, and your chances of receiving a reply increase when everyone is back in work-mode Monday morning.
AVOID MONDAY DEADLINES
Nothing ruins a weekend more than worrying about Monday. If you know you have a project due on Monday, you’re either going to throw away your weekend by sitting at the office or sitting at home worrying about the week to come. Obviously, some deadline dates are unavoidable, but if at all possible, push those deadlines to later in the week. A Wednesday or Thursday deadline will make for a more enjoyable weekend, a more enjoyable Monday, and probably a better end-product once you reach your deadline.
USE YOUR FRIDAYS WISELY
Everyone wants to take it easy at the office on Friday, and that is totally understandable. Use some of your down time on Friday to start thinking about Monday. We’re not saying you have to dive head-first into the complicated spreadsheet on your agenda for next week. If nothing else, simply glance through your calendar for the upcoming week and know what to expect. Make some lists, set some goals, maybe even clean up your desk.
It seems as if Mondays, like most things in life, are best handled with a little bit of preparation. Mondays are never going to be as enjoyable as your Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays. However, we’re better off if we find ways to make our Mondays a little easier and more enjoyable. These are a few ideas with the potential to make that happen.
For more ways to make your Mondays more productive, check out these resources we found. Click here, here, here, or here.