We’ve all had that Monday morning feeling. A mix of tiredness, anxiety and resignation. Defeated before we’ve begun. Instead of being the worst day of the week, Mondays can (and should) be the best. Anything’s possible! Productivity awaits! This article explains how to defeat Monday morning.
- Try something new. Think about something you enjoy doing at work – for me it’s playing with new software and trying to make things work – and do that on Monday mornings. Maybe check out Pipedrive or Basecamp.
- Break a bad habit. If you start the day with a cigarette, a coffee and ‘doing’ your emails; don’t. Pick a habit you want to break and stop it. Dead. If Monday mornings are dreadful, giving up on something won’t make it much worse. It’s the perfect day for virtue.
Love your lists (or don’t)
- Make a list. Make a list of the big things you want to achieve this week. The stuff that is important rather than urgent. The things that move you forward. Brainstorm the ideas. Pick the most valuable. Begin. Just starting something creates its own momentum.
- Or throw away your list. If like me, you’re a listaholic, consider putting the list aside for a few hours on Monday morning. Your brain already knows what to do. Even if you stick to the list, change your list software. Pivotal Tracker is great for geeky types.
- Reach out to people. Go to Facebook, LinkedIn or your company intranet site. Find someone you haven’t seen for a while. Contact them and arrange to meet them in The Real World. Do analogue stuff with them. It takes a couple of minutes and it’ll give you something to look forward to.
Unbook some meetings
- Unbook those meetings. If your schedule looks like mine – wall to wall meetings – consider unbooking some. Can they manage without you? Do you need to be there? Could you go, make your report and leave early?
- Meditate. Meditation is a great way of adjusting your attitude in a positive way. I use the meditation timer on our Articulate Marketing site to help me concentrate on my meditation and my work.
- BANJO. Bang Another Nasty Job Out. Just do something you’ve been putting off. Then make yourself a nice cup of tea. This week I’m mostly drinking Assam from Tea Palace on the Kings Road in London.
- Get up earlier. Here’s how I learned to get up earlier. I can’t tell you what a difference it makes. I recently bought a Philips Sunrise Simulation wake-up light and it seems to be making it easier to wake up without feeling grumpy.
- Exercise. A short run or a light workout completely changes my mood (mainly from ‘not wanting to do it’ to ‘happy it’s over’, but still). RunKeeper is a great app for tracking exercise, or try C25K if you’re just starting out.
