Those first few hours after the weekend are critical. Start your
week off right.
By Jacquelyn Smith
Monday
mornings are the most critical time of the workweek, as they set the stage for
the day and week ahead.
Most
successful people are keenly aware of the typical Monday morning workplace
dynamic of unanticipated events, overflow of communications, and general chaos. But after weathering hundreds of them, they realise they must gain
control and stay upbeat. They take extra steps to
compensate for this busy time of the week, and apply their best management
skills to ensure that the day unfolds as smoothly as possible.
Here
are 15 things successful people do on Monday mornings:
They wake up early and exercise.
This
gets your circulation going and helps you stay alert, putting you at an
advantage for a productive week ahead. You'll get your endorphin rush,
which will help your mood, too.
They eat a healthy breakfast.
On Monday morning, you want to handle everything you have
control over. Eating breakfast is one of those things. You don't want to
be staring at the clock, awaiting lunchtime as your stomach growls at morning
meetings.
They
arrive early.
Do
not succumb to the snooze button. Commutes are bad on Monday, so beat the
odds. Plus, getting in earlier than others will help make
Monday morning seem more like the afternoon, because you'll have had a chance
to breathe before responding to the barrage of people and issues. Being
an early bird will give you some wiggle room for the unexpected at work, not to
mention any important personal matters that may arise.
They clear their desk and desktop.
Hopefully
you already did this before you left on Friday. But if
you didn't, get this out of the way, or you might add to Monday stresses in a
sea of disorganisation. Organise and prioritise your files. Put aside
unimportant paperwork, and keep critical files easily accessible. You want to
be prepared when you, your boss, or colleagues need something at the last
minute.
They carve out time for unexpected projects and tasks.
Successful
individuals expect the unexpected on Monday. Your boss, team
members, or staff may have remembered some loose ends over the weekend, so you're wise to build in some extra downtime on Monday
morning.
They
greet their team and boss.
This is important to do first thing every morning to keep morale high, but on
Monday it's particularly valuable, as your team needs a special boost. Ideally, you'll spend an few extra minutes with your colleagues on Monday
mornings. It reinforces a sense of purpose and
community for everyone, including you.
They update their to-do list and goals.
Get
yourself current on priorities and tasks, then set five
to eight goals for the week.
Accomplished
professionals have several goals in mind for the day and week. They know that if all goals aren't achieved, they can take pride in
accomplishing most of them, and there's next week to achieve additional
objectives.
They visualise the week's successes.
By
envisioning the positive outcomes of various projects at hand, you can work
backwards and determine the necessary steps to get your desired results.
They screen emails for urgent requests.
You
can sink into email oblivion if you don't scan your inbox for urgency. Star emails that are priorities, and think quality, not
quantity.
They tackle the tough challenges first.
The
least desirable but critical projects are easy to put off, but your energy is
stronger in the morning, so that's the ideal time to confront the most
difficult assignments.
They make an extra effort to smile.
It
might be the last thing on your mind, but overcompensating for the
pressure-cooker morning will help you get through it. You may
well stand out in the crowd, but your smile will likely be contagious, helping
both you and team members relax.
They
add a "blanket of humanity" to their emails.
It's
tempting to power through all your emails in the most efficient way on Monday
mornings. But before you hit Send, read them over to ensure that they're
friendly and clear. Put yourself in the recipient's shoes. It's relatively easy to appear curt when you're in a hurry, along
with the impersonal nature of emails and texts. You want to mitigate false
starts and misinterpretations. One way to do this: Start the email by
saying "Hi" and "I hope you had a great weekend."
They're
able to say no.
"On
Monday mornings, there will be many distractions--from people to emails to
calls, meetings, offers for meeting in the break room, and so forth. "Successful people can diplomatically and politely say no
to colleagues by offering to engage at a later time."
If
your boss needs you, that is clearly an exception. However, if you have crucial
calls to make or meetings to attend, give your boss the heads-up. It's
stressful to be a people pleaser, particularly on Monday mornings.
"Generally, no one ends up being pleased, as you can't do your best work
with conflicting priorities."
They stay focused.
Successful
people don't dwell on any challenging events that occurred over the weekend or
other frivolous thoughts. Compartmentalize by putting them in a separate
box as you start your week.
They
remember that there is Tuesday.
In
all the chaos, it's easy to believe that the world will cave if you don't solve
all Monday's problems on Monday. "But when the dust
settles at the end of the day, you may realize that certain tasks could have
waited." Sometimes, you obtain more information over time that enhances
your decision-making process. Or you may find that certain problems you're
pondering will resolve themselves.
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