We’ve all experienced cases of The Mondays Blues. After a well-spent weekend, we dread heading to the office but it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, Monday should be the day that we set a productive tone for the week. It is the day you decide the path of your week. Starting the week with healthy habits to drive workspace productivity will likely spread and encourage your motivation effectively in the coming days. Having said that, here are 8 ways to start your Monday productively:
1. Take on issues as opportunities
The real issue isn’t how many problems you encounter, but how you deal with them. Rather than confront problems with a negative attitude or anger, leave your emotions behind. Other than changing your outlook, this can also make it easier for you to handle each problem. When you approach a situation with anger or frustration, your emotions cloud your judgment and often leads to insecure decisions. This could lead to you feeling worse and end up making your problems harder to deal with. A positive attitude can contribute to a task completed more efficiently resulting in better quality work.
2. Write down a to-do list
Get in the habit of writing down your to-do list. When you write something down, it serves as both a physical and mental reminder of the tasks at hand. In addition, it motivates you to achieve your goals and creates a sense of commitment to getting them materialised. Also, writing down your goals allows you to conceptualize them and break them down into smaller and more achievable pieces. Even if you don’t accomplish your entire to-do list, having one means you are more likely to finish more tasks during the day. It also reduces the amount of mental energy you have to spend thinking about what to do next. If you don’t like using a pen and paper, you can always use a collaboration platform like Trello to track your tasks for the week.
3. Establish a Routine
A routine gives you more freedom as it reduces the psychological impact of changing your environment and making decisions.
Creating a routine allows you to easily switch from your weekend mindset to your weekday mindset and the alternative. This will help you improve your concentration, mood, and focus.
4. Develop an Attitude of Gratitude
Scientists have discovered that giving thanks and practicing gratitude can make you happier. If you want to get productive, you should write down or state aloud the reasons why you are grateful. Instead of focusing on feeling unhappy about returning to work, you can think about the positive things you enjoyed over the weekend. Spend your week focused on how amazing you felt while going out to dinner, seeing a concert, or relaxing with friends. During your weekend, it’s far too easy to focus on how you don’t want to go to work. This can easily cause you to feel negative and set your Monday up for instant failure. Instead, develop a sense of gratitude for your wonderful weekend and focus on all of the positive experiences you enjoyed.
5. Give Yourself a Moment
Take a break. You deserve it. More importantly, working hours on end without a break is never healthy. You end up working slower and slower as more time goes by without a break. One of the best and most enjoyable productivity tips you can use is to give yourself a brief rest at regular intervals. During your break, spend a few minutes focusing on your breathing and letting go of any negative emotions. A few minutes of silent meditation will help you process any negative feelings and boost your concentration. It will also help you focus and become more productive.
6. Lead a Healthier Lifestyle
One of the reasons why people despise Mondays so much is because of how they lived over the weekend. If you ate too much, have a hangover, or didn’t sleep properly, you aren’t going to feel your best on Monday morning. To start enjoying your Mondays more, try eating a healthier diet and getting some exercise. Even consider cutting out unhealthy activities like drinking or smoking. For an extra boost, you should always eat breakfast because feeling full will help you focus and be more productive.
7. Establish Workplace Camaraderie
A sense of camaraderie within a workplace is proven to increase levels of efficiency and productivity. It is office space camaraderie that keeps colleagues on good terms during challenging work assignments. A team that spends a lot of time pursuing a common goal can cultivate the quality of camaraderie, not only when celebrating a win, but also loss, defeat, and setbacks can draw a team much closer together. This will also keep you accountable for tasks that are unfinished within teams. Setting up an office in a coworking space also encourages workplace camaraderie within the internal community. With energy and motivation from one another, your efficiency levels are sure to increase.
Want to feel part of a community to motivate you on a Monday? Join us at Co-labs Coworking. After the MCO is over, book a tour here with us here.
