Take on twenty percent of your week on Monday

I've always noticed that Mondays are treated like mountains in our business life. They are tall, you can't go around them and they are always there to stand in your way on the way to next Friday.

We charge inand try to do 100% of our week's obligations on Monday. One person recently told me that he was going to "cut a swath through a big field at work on Monday" -- meaning that he would probably work 100 miles per hour from 8am to 6pm to try and get a huge headstart on this week. Ouch.

I've learned that if you try and split your week into five equal segements or workadays, you will produce higher quality work throughout the week. To overproduce Monday and chill-out on Friday is no prescription for mangaing your personal capacity.

For now, just scale Monday to be a single day. Just one day in your week, 20% of the pie. Accomplish modest, but not disproportionate results. You'll find that this plan will help you have more zip for the critical Thursday and Friday units of your business life.

This is especially true if you had a relaxing, fun weekend or just came back from a vacation. Just take it easy, it is only Monday.

Suggested: Take 10 minutes to look at this week's obligations and determine the LIMIT to what you'll try to do today.

Comments

[Tony]

Monday is a huge day, but I think going in with a strategy is more more important then pushing the pedal to the floor and plowing through the day. I look to do more than 20% on a Monday, but not everything. I focus on making my Fridays as productive as Mondays which is still possible if you plan correctly.

[mike mcallen]

Just ease into your Monday workday like sailing out of a safe harbor of the weekend. If the winds are right you can sail away fast and furious. I think Christopher Cross said that nicely a while back. If the winds aren’t right you will just capsize and die. Unless Kevin Costner and Demis husband get there first. They are like vendors in Helicopters. But that’s a different post.

[Crawdaddy]

But Monday is the most important day of the work week. Emails or calls to others have the greatest chance of getting a timely response on Mondays. Emails or calls sent on Thursdays and Fridays are competing with too much stuff people are already trying to finish in that week, and they are much more likely to be ignored. Monday isn't just 20% of the work week, it's the KING of work days. All important stuff put off 'til Tuesday has already been procrastinated for a day and it starts to reek and get stale....