What do you do with your Monday mornings?
So many people I know sit down at their desks and mess around for an hour or two - reading news or catching up on email. Others grab a cup of joe and jump right into the project they left on Friday.
If you’re in business for yourself, mornings are often crucial to your workday. A well-spent morning can often mean the difference between a productive workday and not.
But what about Mondays?
Over the years I’ve tried lots of ways to get the most out of Mondays. I’ve tried to do first things first or focused on getting done that one thing that’s most important. I’ve taken a relaxed approach to Monday and have jumped right into working. I’ve even used techniques like visualization or meditation to try to set the tone for my week.
Many of the things I tried were helpful. Sometimes I’d jump right into the most important project of the week and try to get as much done as I could. This would be great because it would set up the week for me to make lots of headway on a project.
But nothing I tried was really setting me up for success - either for Mondays or for my week. So I sat down one Monday morning and forgot about getting things done. Instead, I decided to focus on how I wanted my days and my weeks to look. How did I want to manage my client’s needs, their projects, their communications with my needs to continue to develop and grow my business?
I looked in many directions. What I realized was that I’m most effective when I’m clear about what I need to get done. I keep a pretty good log of where I am on each project and where my client’s are in their process so that’s seldom been a problem.
What was a problem was decerning when to do what.
So I decide that every Monday morning I would take the first 60-90 minutes of the day and lay out my week. I started by looking at deadlines and comparing the progress on each client’s work I was doing. Then I started placing what needed to get done for the week into which days I needed or wanted to accomplish the next pieces for my clients. Then I leave those project parts attached to those days - and move on (I organize the day for 15-30 minutes each morning).
After I have a rough roadmap of my week, I then turn to Monday in general. Monday’s I seldom schedule calls with clients. I use Mondays to do various task that are important to my business - like accounting. I also use Mondays to working directly on my own business - where my business is my client. While I do work on my business throughout the week, I often don’t have as much time to work in blocks as I make on Mondays. This way, I make time for my business to grow and develop.
So for me, Monday mornings are all about setting some organization for the week. This has been so effective for me that I’m wasting less time and getting more done each week - which means more client work getting done - which overall means generating more revenue.
So how do you make your Monday mornings most effective?
My name is Dawud Miracle and I'm a
33 responses so far ↓
Stumbled.
Dawud, this is a great reminder to me. I typically take an hour or two on Monday mornings to plan my work week and refresh my charted course. The last few weeks I’ve let the temptation to “just dive in” get to me.
That’s really the big obstacle to doing this, I think - the urge to actually be “doing” instead of just “planning.” It’s only when we remember that planning IS a very important kind of doing that we can really harness its power.
One thing that always helps me plan is to shut off as many distraction channels as possible. So I try to get up well before anyone else in the house (I work at home with small children in the mix) and take that quiet time to plan, without email, without the news on, without music playing, etc. Just me and my mind and a place to write my thoughts down.
Thanks for helping me make sure this week will be more productive!
If you are really organized, everyday can be a week-end and every day can be productive.
It is easy for someone like me to pontificate, but I find no difference except in the level of difficulty in the crossword puzzles during week ends!
I also like Mondays for “laying out the week.” It seems to be a good day for steering the ship towards the week’s top goals.
First thing I do on Monday mornings is lay out the blueprint for the week. Go over the things that need to be done and then the things I want to get done.
Next, I break it down in down for Monday and then I dive in. Sometimes it goes quicker than others, but that’s the outline of most Monday mornings.
Easton,
I take the dive-in approach sometimes too. It’s amazing how it seems that I’d get more done that way and don’t.
And I, too, shut off a number of things while I’m working - Twitter, email, IM, etc - all get turned off when I need to be highly productive.
Home Recording,
Like the example. The difference, perceived or otherwise, for me is that I want to be completely out of my office on the weekends to spend time with my wife and kids. I resist the often temptation to sit down and get something done while they’re, say, napping.
Or did you mean something different?
Jason,
Me too. Any favorites for helping in that process?
David,
Sounds very similar to what I do. As I asked Jason, any favorite techniques?
I am enjoying your blogs. Today you hit me right on the head…I was in a Monday Funk… A runaway morning leads to the same kind of afternoon.
I am retreating to the gym for an hour to refresh and get the most out of the rest of the day. Because my problem is the same, exactly, What Now? I will know in an hour for sure.
Thanks for reminding to find a way out instead of waste time.
Laureen
Good points, Dawud. And something Easton said really resonated:
‘That’s really the big obstacle to doing this, I think - the urge to actually be “doing” instead of just “planning.”’
I remember my 8th-grade English teacher, Mrs. Kent, giving us a pop quiz early on in the year. It was one of those time-delimited dealios with a bazillion items and upfront instructions that read: “Read ALL questions before starting this test.”
And of course, the very last “question” was “Put down your pencil; you’re done!” Which 99% of us didn’t get to, b/c at some point, we saw how long it was going to take to read all the questions, and realized we wouldn’t have time to take the test.
33 years later, and I’m still taking that damned test. Thanks for the reminders, guys.
I do Monday Motivation. I need the biggest kick in the butt I can give myself on Mondays.
This is probably the first Monday in a long time where I have actually stuck to my plan. Monday’s is actually my day off, so it would be (and has been) very easy for me to be lazy and do much of nothing all day long.
But since following along with Wendy Piersall’s Monday Motivation posts and now yours, I’m happy to say that my Monday tasks are mostly complete and I still have the rest of the day to do whatever I want. Like Twitter.
Dawud,
First of all let me say that I find your blog so very refreshing!
I can identify with the Monday morning blues but I have taken some very important steps to get rid of it because unfortunately when I suffer my team’s productivity also suffer.
Disclaimer I am not encouraging weekend work here but I do take a couple hours on Sunday evenings prioritize projects for my team.
That way everyone knows what is expected for the week ahead. I try to get a big a picture a possible and do leave a little room for adjustments. I have found that too often little things crop up and distract from the ultimate goal so it is important for me to prioritize.
But I digress.. Whereas on Sundays I plan the work for my team on Mondays I completely switch off from 10:00am to 5:00pm. This is when I spend time outlining future plans for my business, working out the smaller details for getting there and redefining my purpose if need be.
I also do this for my clients. I like to also get a picture of their ultimate goal and try to work out the best way for getting there (it makes my life easier).
So with all these very important things happening, it is essential (for me) to turn off emails, phones, IM and shut the door to my office.
The short of it is that I now look forward to Mondays because at the end of the day (when I get back into the world) I feel like a artist that just created a masterpiece!
There I rambled on (as usual) and forgot to close my bold tags after Disclaimer!
Laureen,
Happy to help. How’d the gym time go?
communicatrix,
Hey, I’m taking the test still too. It’s just I try to remember that I’m the proctor of my own exam. Does that change the perspective at all?
Wendy,
And your suggestions are often really helpful. But how do you get off working weekends?
Lin,
Why do you think today was productive when other Mondays are not?
Crystal,
One question, could you do your Sunday work in the last few hours of Friday? If not, what could you outsource so that you could get your team planning done M-F?
Dawud,
Good little read.
What do I do on Mondays? Today is typical. I put my lunch in the fridge, get the computer on, catch up on emails and voicemails, then poof, I dig in.
By then hopefully the caffeine starts to kick in. About 45 mins. in I usually get me some breakfast, and continue working while I eat.
Overall though what do I do? I pretty much pick up where I left off. I try to keep the flow from the previous week, and avoid stops for email and phone calls.
I’m trying to improve my routine to work a solid two hours between breaks. I rarely plan days except at the beginning of a day to prioritize for the day.
I list down things I need to do on Friday - before I go home. In that way, when I sit on my desk, still half-asleep on Monday, I already know what I am going to tackle first.
Great post. Stumbled.
When i was working in an office, i used to get to office early because i liked to get in an hour or two of work before everyone else arrived. I found that that time used to be my most productive time of day, because i was rested, alert, fresh, concentrated and quick at that time of the day.
Monday… I think that’s the day I planned what to do for the entire week .And that’s the best start day to start working.
We don’t have to do planing only on Mondays.
I suggest at the end of each day one can spend about 5 minutes writing a quick schedule of the next day. This accomplishes two primary goals for me.
1. Because I did my plan for the next day I don’t sit there thinking about work for the rest of the day. I’m free from it.
2. It allows me to stay on target and focused when the next day starts. I’m not wondering where to start. I can get right to business.
Todd,
Have you thought about putting off your voicemail/email until late in the morning? I started doing that a while ago and it’s changed my productivity because I don’t have anything more to cloud my mind in getting things done.
grace,
Like your strategy. I think setting yourself up on Friday can be really helpful come Monday. And thanx for the Stumble.
Nicole,
Sounds like a great use of time. How did everyone else in the office respond?
Phil,
Nice. Are you able to stay pretty much on your weekly tasks?
Yetti,
Oh, certainly. I suggest starting with Monday to plan out your week. Then each morning looking at what needs to be done for the day and creating a bit of a plan to do so.
Anything else you’d suggest to making the most of your workday?
Yes and no. You need to be organized every day of the week. If on the weekends you wish to be 100% for that and the whole world should know that you are not available for anything else. If you are organized thus, you will spend quality time with them and get to get a lot done during the week end. My experience has been that my time is taken up by a lot of people who keep popping in and out without proper appointments. It took a great deal of effort and time to learn to say no without offending anyone. If your problem is also the same or something similar, that needs to be tackled first.
Communicatrix, my comments to Dawud are as applicable to you. I had a Supervisor when I was just starting out, who kept hammering at me to “Plan your work and work you plan”. He was such an influence on me that I continue to do that even now!
Monday is a perfect plan-then-produce day for me. I outline all my projects so I don’t leave any of them out in the upcoming week. Also, since I try not to work on weekends, it’s good to refamiliarize myself with where I was.
The programmer I work with has Mondays off, so I can’t get much technical stuff done, but on the other hand, Mondays are also so quiet that I can get a good head start on my projects.
Mondays are always our busiest day for internet leads, so no matter what I plan, I never seem to finish it. My plan is to stay close by the computer so that I can capture them quickly.
Home Recording,
It does take a good deal of effort to become organized. But once you have a system that works, things go much more smoothly. For me, it always comes down to what’s one thing I have to accomplish today.
Chadwyck,
Sounds similar to me. I often take Mondays to work on my own business - rather than my client work.
Safety Harbor,
Any way you can be more streamlined in how you capture leads so you can create more time to get work done?
Luckily people used to respond by continuing to come at the appointed time and leaving me with solitary time to get on with work!
Brilliant post! Love it.
I am going to use your idea of organising the week, on Monday mornings.
I do remember doing such a thing on Sunday nights so I “didn’t waste time on Monday and I could dive straight in”. It did not last long!
Thanks again.
Andrwe
Hi Dawud - this is interesting. And organisation is definitely key. I personally need to do things the opposite way round and plan my mornings the evening before. Mind you - I’m not a naturally organised person.
But whichever way you do it - organisation is definitely key. And Monday’s set the tone for the whole week don’t they.
Nicole,
That’s changed today, hasn’t it?
GreatManagement,
So, as we move into Tuesday, how’d it go?
Cath,
It is. And I agree it’s about finding the way that works best for you. Any other things you do that are paramount in staying organized?
I was travelling this Monday on the train into London so it was a great opportunity to give it a go.
I now have an organised week of what to do.
It is now Wednesday and all is well so far but I do think I have been a bit optimistic in completing everything this week!
Andrew
GreatManagement,
Thanks for sharing your experience. What’s been the greatest difference to your work planning in this way?
What was a problem was descerning when to do what. Yeah, I’ve run into that myself. In fact, I sat down Saturday and made a list of everything I need to accomplish before the end of the month. It’s quite a list, as I’m sure you can imagine. What I did after that was create a time table of sorts - a rough schedule. I still need to refine it. But I think I’m on to something. I hope I am!!
Mari,
One hint…prioritize. Prioritize what’s happening in your business and prioritize your list for getting that done.
Just the other day I posted on my blog a list of the book reviews I need to finish / do and in the order I need them completed in. That went a long way. It encompasses this month, June, August, and October, if I’m remembering properly.
But yes. You’re absolutely correct. I certainly need to get my priorities straight. First thing in the morning - after a long sleep.