As Garfield would put it, “I hate Mondays”. Or at least I used to dread coming to work on Mondays. While Friday is the most anticipated day among employees, a day which brings hope, excitement and a sigh of relief and Sunday is the time when we brace ourselves for the work week ahead of us, Monday is the most hated day of the week. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you the same thing.
However, I’m here to tell you that there’s no reason to dread Mondays, especially if you go out of your way and do these five simple things:
1. Give yourself enough time to prepare. As a businessowner, it’s pretty easy, if you plan on having a day full of meetings. While I usually meet with the senior executive staff early in the morning, I consider that taking some time off to do some thinking is equally as important. You could schedule your day in such a manner that you always have a blank spot open on your calendar that is reserved for that all-important creative brainstorming. However, don’t use that time to work on actual office-related products or the almighty Facebook procrastination. Just go ahead and try it for yourself and see what it will lead to.
2. Incorporate physical activity. How many times do you use the snooze button on your phone on Monday mornings? Who doesn’t want to just kick back and relax, wishing they could turn back the hands of time so that it’s still the weekend. However, we live in the real world and we don’t want a lackluster Monday on our plate. Do some physical activities. Go for a run, do some yoga and start off your day with a good and needed dose of health.
3. Karma can be a mean old lady. I’ve learned that the hard way. So why not start with an act of professional kindness? While life tends to throw a curveball from time to time , the good news is that there are some elements that are entirely in your control. Make a habit out of starting the week by sending a nice note to one of your employees which during the last week have registered tremendous results. Acknowledge those results and show them why their work is so valuable. Moreover, never forget to say those magic words (i.e. “thank you”). Don’t think that you’ve just lost five minutes, regard this situation like you’ve just made somebody’s day.
4. You should also get up from your desk from time to time and just walk around. Take a stroll around the office and see with your own eyes how things are done. Also, be observant to the behavior of your employees. Do they seem full of energy, happy or under the weather? As a leader, you have the possibility to open the door for even more conversations even with a simple “Hello! How’ it going?”. By having casual conversations with your employees you are able to build rapport, thus laying the foundation for more substantive conversations later. Simply by having a ten minute conversation with employees and asking them what they are working on and listening to their response will become extremely significant. You can thus see what makes a certain person tick, his or her approach on projects and what difficulties that person may encounter.
5. Last but not least, you should frame your week. An old friend of mine had a boss that recommended to all his employees to think of a desired headline before they create a pitch. That’s smart not only for you, but for me as well. If you were to think about a desired headline by Friday, what would it be? “New Vice President Kicks It Into High Gear, Company Founder Kills It With Awesome Presentation”. By framing your entire week’s work in just a concise and powerful headline, you will excel and exercise in clarity.
