Start Your Week on Sunday
Monday can feel dreadful because all your planning and execution is often slated for that day as it kicks off your week. Try spending part of your Sunday setting up your week by mapping it out.
Kill Monday Morning Meetings
If you have meetings scheduled early on Mondays, see if your superiors and colleagues would be willing to shift them to the afternoon — or better still, Tuesday. Freeing up that time gives you an opportunity to focus on your plans for the week before anything can derail you.
Be Mindful with Email
Don’t add to other people’s inboxes and overwhelm them with messages that can be deferred to later in the week. If that isn’t doable, try batching your email messages so the recipient gets everything in one fell swoop.
Spread Out the Work
Remember that Monday is just the beginning of the work week. If you keep that in mind then you’re going to be better equipped to disperse your work throughout the week and better prioritize in the process.
Theme Your Time
By defining portions of the day with specific types of tasks (communication work, research work, administrative work, etc.), you’ll have something to anchor you when distractions steal your attention. Place these themes in your calendar and let them guide your focus through the day.
Writer, speaker and productivity strategist Mike Vardy is the founder of productivityist.com and the creator of The Productivityist Playbook and TimeCrafting.
This article is from the August/September 2018 issue of Douglas.