5 Tips for a Less Manic Monday

Everyone dreads Mondays. It’s quite a task to get up and moving again after a long, leisurely weekend. When Sunday rolls around, it can feel like the work week is a dark, stressful cloud just looming over your head. Instead of spending your Sunday evening putting off and dreading the work week ahead, jump into it full force. Here are 5 things you can do Sunday night that will make your Monday a little less manic.

1. Run Your Errands: Have bills to pay? Need groceries? Is your laundry pile growing out of control? Take care of it on Sunday. Don’t let your productivity at work become stifled because you’re splitting your attention between your work projects and worrying about the tasks you have waiting for you when you get home. Get it all out of the way on Sunday so you can devote your full attention to the projects at hand.
    
2. Get in the 'Work Week' Mindset: Set up a time on Sunday night to refresh your memory on the items you left off with on Friday. Take inventory and mentally prepare yourself to meet your goals. Review the previous week's emails to ensure you’re up-to-date on the projects you left off with on Friday.
    
3. Plan for Your Day: Pack your lunch and pick out your clothes the night before. Plan what you will have for breakfast and even pre-make it if you can. The more you do on Sunday night, the less you’ll have to do Monday morning. Planning ahead decreases your chances of becoming flustered and running late. Smooth mornings will make for a more productive day.
    
4. Update the 'To-Do' List: Cross off any items on your list which you have completed. Prioritize the remaining items, and add a few additional items and goals that you plan to tackle in the week ahead. This will set your focus and reduce the time you spend transitioning between all of your tasks and projects.
    
5. Go to Bed Early & Get up Early: Get to the office early on Monday morning. Not only does this set the tone for the rest of the week, but if you are able to go to bed early and get to the office early, you can spend that extra time doing some housekeeping tasks at your desk. Clean up your inbox, desktop, and desk. Doing this will make everything go more smoothly in the week ahead.