Monday: Ready or Not?
In almost every part of the world, every working week starts with Monday and ends with Friday. Monday is one day almost everyone dislikes , it is known for heavy traffic, lot of workload, long meetings and other activities people term as boring.
To many it is a new start, an opportunity to make a difference, have more productivity than the previous week and in most cases make more money. While to some, it is an end, they make reviews of the previous week, see what needs to be done from Tuesday to Saturday, plan for it and probably get some rest early. Regardless of whether it is a start or finish, it is important for you to plan your Monday.
It is another Monday again, one of the ways of knowing if you are ready for your Monday is by having a plan for it, not only the Monday but the whole week. Having a planned Monday helps you set your week on a pace you can handle. Mondays are usually very busy and if you don’t have a plan in place believe me it will be 5pm and you have achieved nothing for the day. You may tell yourself, tomorrow will be better but by Tuesday you will be trying to make up for Monday and before you realize it, Thursday is here and you are wrapping up for the week. Then it becomes another less productive week simply because you didn’t have anything in place for your Monday. And the only remedy is to plan!
Planning for the week is all about allocating time and resources to specific tasks within the week, it is having a direction on what and how to carry out activities. When you plan, you are being intentional about your activities, you know when you are shifting from the goal and it serves as check-list for you. Having a plan for your week makes it easier for you to crash those things that may seem as challenges to you. Planning also allows you know what and why you should invest your time and resources in the task you are carrying out. As an employer, planning helps you manage your employees effectively giving them a clear direction to follow and as an employee, you tend to carry out your designated tasks effectively.
When you do not plan your week, you are agreeing to everything that comes your way either positive or negative, you don’t have a guide on what to do and how to do it. You tend to do what seems less important at the moment. Lack of planning makes one waste time, energy and resources. In situations where one do not plan for the week, there is hardly productive outcomes even if there are, usually it is below average. There are more chances of overworking and getting stressed out if you are working without a plan. Everyone hates unnecessary stress and one way to avoid it is by having a plan for your Monday.
Now that you know how important it is to plan your Monday, let’s talk about how to plan. Just like life, there is no specific manual for planning, there is no book that says planning must be done in only this way or that way. Which means that your activities and time determines how you will plan. But regardless of the activity or time, you must stick to it in order for your plan to help you achieve your set goals and objectives. There is also no perfect time to plan, but it should be done ahead, before you start your day. It is best to plan ahead and also have an open plan so you can add and remove some items as life itself is dynamic, you never can tell what will happen the next minute.
To have a good plan, you should list out all the things you intend to do for the day or week, write them down in an order according to their priorities with the most important on top and less important below. Number them accordingly. Make sure that you know what they are and have a defined way of carrying them out. After that, ensure that you have an idea of the time frame; having a plan that is time bound helps you to manage your time effectively and achieve your goals at the desired time. Your plan should be open and ready to add items, the main aim of planning for your Monday is to enable you be on track. Most people do not work during the weekends and after two days of rest, the mind gets relaxed so it is important to have something written down that will guide you through the day.
After your plan is written, it should be where you can easily access it, it can be on your computer screen, sheet of paper on your table, on the top your phone screen, or in your diary. Make sure you can see it and stick to it. To most people, making plans is not the issue, sticking to them is. To stick to your plans, always check the activities you are doing. Are they in line with your plan or are they things that just pop up?. Also, do they make you lose focus from your set goals? When you identify that, filter your activities and see which ones are productive and which ones are not. Add the productive ones to your plan and stick to them.
Each time you don’t plan your day , you are planning for an unproductive day! Make plans and stick to it. A popular Nigerian Copywriter Emmanuel Akpe said “not planning for a week makes one weak”. The ball is in your court, you can either decide to plan for your Monday and see how it will change your entire week or not plan and get toss back and forth by everything. You get to decide what to do with your week, just make sure at the end of the week, when you look back, it will be full of rewards not regrets!
Are you still here? Come on go make some plans for today and if you do, stick to them!
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