I’m thinking about Monday. Where will you be?
Under blue skies, with a warm breeze stirring the trees into Spring? A hint of optimism. Or, leaden skies, windy, heavy rain, trapped in a cold snap. Dragging winter into a new week.
Alas, the forecast is not good. But, in a sunny corner of the garden the daffodils have inched their way into the year and are determined to show us their gold.
According to the Christian, Islamic and Hebrew calendars Monday is the 2nd day of the week, but according to ISO 8601, the international standard, it is the 1st day of the week.
What kind of a Monday do you think you will have? A lot of it will depend on what kind of Friday you have.
For sure, declutter on Friday. Nothing worse than coming in on Monday to a desk full of left-over Friday. Make a list of to-do’s. Not for Monday but for the week… then prioritise. Don’t give yourself a marathon on Monday.
Will you have a mountain to climb on Monday? A Blue Monday? Cold weather, resolutions starting to fray, Xmas overspend, plans starting to unravel?
Actually, there is no such thing as Blue Monday. It was invented by a travel agent, to sell us holidays. It doesn’t have to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
What about Saturday and Sunday? Supermarket, car, kids to football, ballet, judo, family, friends… taxi service? Be sure to carve out some me-time. Plan down-time, as carefully as up-time.
Have something new; socks, tie, underwear, handkerchief, earrings, hairdresser, nails, bag purse, pen… doesn’t have to be expensive… and wear it, use it on Monday. Cheer yourself up, you deserve it.
Because… Mondays should be magic.
Start the week by being with the people you want to be with. The people you enjoy, call them ‘my-people’. Remember, you are who you hang-out with.
Avoid the moaners, the nay-sayers and the negatives. Try and meet for a coffee. Ten minutes with positive people who enjoy success, achievement, completion and the sense of a job-well-done. The can-do’s, who find the ways to-do.
Put some ambition into Monday. Set some goals for yourself, your career, family, relationships. Goals are good, targets are pointless. Use Mondays to see how far you’ve come.
Make Monday the day you say ‘thank you’. Show some gratitude.
‘I wanted to say, Diane, you did a great job last week, with xxx so, thank you.’
Use the day to make someone’s week.
Talk to someone in the organisation you haven’t spoken to before. Initiate a conversation.
‘Hello, I’m John and I work in XXX, what do you do?’
Create networks, friends and your matrix of people. Someone to smile at, later in the week and who knows, one day you might want to pick-up the phone…
What did you learn from last week? Spend a moment, on yourself, thinking about it, in contemplation. Think though what worked and what didn’t. What were your strong points. What could you have done better.
You are 100% responsible for your career, your job and the next five days. Take the best of the past into the future.
Monday isn’t going away. If you start with My-People, be Ambitious, show Gratitude, Initiate a conversation and Contemplate the bits of last week you want in this week… you’ll have a Magic Monday. Have a good weekend… see you Monday!
News and Comment from Roy Lilley
Contact Roy – please use this e-address roy.lilley@nhsmanagers.net
Reproduced at thetrainingnet.com by kind permission of Roy Lilley.
