I’m posting this on Sunday. Hopefully some people will read it today. Most will read it Monday. Then, over the course of weeks, many will read this post.
When you read it doesn’t matter. Apply the words to any Monday.
Monday. That’s the day we’re always extra busy. Mondays are accepted as the worse day of the week. No, not just because Monday is the first work day after a relaxing weekend. Many people don’t have relaxing weekends. They work at home or on the home. We face Monday at least 50 times a year if you assume a couple are missed because of vacation.
No, after repeating this pattern so many times, Mondays can’t be lousy just because they come after Sunday. Mondays are the busiest days according to most people. But why?
Few people are in work that ‘piles up’ over the weekend.
Mondays are busy for two reasons. First, we add extra, unnecessary tasks to Monday. Why are most weekly staff meeting held on Monday? Sales meetings? Sure, the theory is that a team meeting held on Monday will get the week off to cohesive start by getting everyone on the same page. That doesn’t work but we still do it. Why?
Business doesn’t run on a 5 day cycle. It only feels like a 5 day cycle because we schedule that way. We start the week in stress and chaos, plan the big stuff—outside meetings, big deadlines, etc. around mid-week. Then it’s catch up time on Thursday.
Then we land on slob Friday. Nothing gets done by people in shorts or sweatpants who are already halfway to being off work by noon Friday.
The other reason Mondays are ‘busy’? I touched it above. It’s because Fridays are the least productive day of the week. And because we pile the stress onto Monday; Monday is the second least productive day.
So if you’re “slammed” on Monday, why don’t you do something about it? Take a good look at why you’re slammed (I hear ‘disorganized’ when people say slammed) on Monday and do something about it.
This Monday or whatever Monday is approaching when you read this can be different. Put in the effort to think. Thinking takes effort. More effort than most care to expend. But if you will make the effort to look at what you are doing on Monday, perhaps keep a log of your day, and then change the rhythm of Monday, amazing results will follow.
Examples? Spend the first hour organizing your week. Don’t turn on the computer until you’ve spent an hour planning and prioritizing. Spend the next hour answering email. Then turn off the computer monitor and spend an hour getting things done. Talk to people, make calls, gather information, organize paperwork, clean up your desk. Then, back to normal.
In the course of the day think about where the time goes and when stress is the highest. Fix those. You can. Getting more of the stress stuff done on Friday will make Monday much more enjoyable. Too often people bail on critical tasks on Fridays only to get ‘slammed’ on Monday with the loose ends of Friday. Make better use of Friday.
Finally, I really hate slob Friday. When people dress like slobs, they work and act like slobs. I’m repulsed to go to a business on a Friday to be greeted by a receptionist in sweats. Seeing the sales manager or buyer in shorts and flip-flops makes me want to cover my hands with sanitizer.
Casual Friday started as the day you didn’t wear a tie. Now it’s “come to work in your pajamas” day. It hurts productivity. So dress up on Friday. You’ll stand out and get more done. Monday will be easier.
Chris Reich