Miscellanous Monday - start your week off right

[Kai Becker]

It's Monday - start your week off right

Mondays, some people love them and others hate them.

As a rule, I always try to start Monday in a relaxed way. At least that usually means that our daughter starts kindergarten in a good mood
Then it's off to catch up on emails with a hot coffee and then the first meetings of the day start.
I'm already looking forward to it getting warmer again soon and being able to cycle to the office in a relaxed manner.

Do you have a typical Monday morning? Or is every Monday different for you?
What are your do's and don'ts on Mondays?

[Rebekka Heilmann _viadee_]

Monday Morning rule: Never have meetings scheduled before 9 am!

When working from home, I usually start around 9, never later than 9.15 . Meetings earlier than that are fine, but I need to be reminded the day before. As I don't check my calendar or emails on Sundays, being on time for Monday 8 am meetings is mearly luck :D

[Sam Nadarajan]

This is a good tip

[Ankush Bora]

For me, no early meetings on Monday morning. Everything else, falls through just alright.
Personally, I don't fuss much about Monday 'blues'. It may put me off at times in isolated cases.
Overall, I feel Mondays need more love. :)

[Amanda Barber]

At my current job, there's no more "Sunday scaries" which helps my Mondays start off on a better foot. I try to have the kids' school things ready the night before to help ease the morning slog! On a personal level, I also like to make sure I start the week off with a good workout. While waiting for my kiddos to get off to school, I like to check in on emails and check off any small tasks, then I go to the gym, and start the rest of my workday a bit later. 

[melissa_hedge]

My Monday alarm goes off 30 minutes earlier than the rest of the week. My girls and I watch funny videos on during that time. It's our way of spending just a little more "fun" time before the craziness of the week kicks off. After I drop them off for school, I go through my notes for the previous week and then my to-do's for the upcoming week. 

[Ananjan_miniOrange]

Happy Monday Everyone! 🌟

My go-to Monday ritual is pretty simple: I jot down my focus points for the week and make sure I kickstart the day with a soothing cup of tea.

Mondays are usually a routine, but let's be real – if it follows a long weekend, it's a bit of a challenge to get back in the groove. Can you all relate? 😅😅

Thanks, @Kai Becker for the engaging post! Have a cheerful week ahead everyone✌️

[Andy Gladstone]

DO's: Make sure I have a good breakfast and get that first coffee bright and early. Also, make sure to go to sleep on Sunday night at a decent hour so I don't ruin my Monday before I wake up on Monday.

DON'T's: Schedule any meetings before 12:30PM. Monday's always have a way of surprising me, and the more prepared I am with a clear schedule and mindset, the better I can react and reset!

[PJ Zaiac]

I love how many folks here have 'no early Monday meetings' boundaries! 🤩

For me, I kick Monday mornings off with a look at what's coming up this and next week, planning out some priorities for the week, and starting with something small & achievable to get that first 'win' in by lunch - it gives me momentum for the rest of the week! 

[Shawn Doyle - ReleaseTEAM]

Monday brings a unique vibe, but I start with positivity and a clear plan. My do's include setting clear goals for the week, an unhealthy breakfast, and a moment of gratitude.

[Janice]

Mondays are a focus day for me, I spend a chunk of the morning resetting weekly priorities and adding any carry-over items from the previous weeks to-do list to prep for a smooth week. I try and not schedule meetings on Mondays, most people like a no-meeting Friday but I am the no-meeting Monday type. >.< I don't mind if there are meetings, I just try and keep it minimal to increase focus time.

As far as start the day morning routines go, everyday is pretty much the same (WFH) - let the doggos out, make a cup of coffee (any other Nespresso fans here?), and then catch up on personal & work emails before sliding into "work" mode.

[Summer.Hogan]

Great conversation you have created here @Kai Becker! I'm with @Rebekka Heilmann _viadee_, and I never schedule meetings before 9 am on a Monday. I start off my day with coffee, a meditation session and then I look at my calendar and plan my week. At this time, I will confirm any meetings I haven't already and figure out when my focus time will be. I also confirm any pending deadlines I have. Then I move on to checking emails and doing actual work. I find when I take my time on Monday mornings prior to do any actual work and follow my routine, it is a lot easier for me to get through the week. 

[Barbara Szczesniak]

I try to start with a good night's sleep, followed by a good breakfast with 2 cups of tea (3 if the sleep is not so good). It also helps if no one else in my house tries to talk to me while I am eating—for some reason that throws me off. There's no reason for the other 2 people to be awake at the early hour.

Once I start working, I check whether anyone on my team that is 6 hours ahead has requested anything from me. This is followed by email and then trying to remember what I was doing the previous week.

[Janice]

I identify SO MUCH with the 'try to remember what I was doing last week'! I started keeping weekly notes in evernote, just adding to it through the week on threads or items to track and it's helped my ADHD brain be less of sieve. >.<

[John Funk]

I don't have a set schedule for Mondays any more. Every week is a new adventure!

[Jimmy Seddon]

Sorry I'm late to the party.  Mondays are my "old" (preferred) routine where I'm working from home and able to get the dog out for a morning walk and help my wife get the kids out the door to school/daycare.

I have also, started setting aside blocks on Mondays and Fridays (since those are my at home days) to have focus time to get work done.

Tuesday - Thursday I'm in the office so I try to make sure meetings are scheduled during these days as I'm going to be less productive anyway.

[Caity Belta]

Celebrating Miscellaneous Monday on a Thursday! Better late than never. 

My Monday philosophy is similar to @PJ Zaiac  @Ananjan_miniOrange and @Janice - planning for the week ahead. I engage in daily planning (for work and personal!) for 15-20 minutes every morning with my coffee, but on Monday I also look at the week. 

I do have a favorite part of my planning ritual: writing out one thing I am avoiding and indicating whether or not I will take action on that thing today. It's usually a task in my personal life, but it helps me set an intention and follow though! If I don't intend to take action on the task, it gets carried over to the next day in the same fashion. After about three days I get annoyed writing the same thing over and over :D

[Josh Shepherd]

Coffee. Copious amounts of coffee. Does that count as the Monday ritual?