Did you know that if you want to do something every day of the week and you start it on Monday that you are 80% more likely to keep up with it?
Actually, I just made that statistic up, but I am pretty sure it would be true if there was a way to prove it. Mondays are my favorite day of the week because on Monday I have the entire week ahead of me. I literally have the most potential to have an awesome week on Monday. I find that if I start well I will have a good week and if I have a good week I will have a good life! Therefore, Mondays are super important to me and I am totally on Team Monday!
If I eat healthy on Monday, I am more likely to eat healthy throughout the week.
If I exercise on Monday, I am more likely to exercise throughout the week.
If I spend time with Jesus on Monday, I am more likely to spend time with Him throughout the week.
If you are one of those people that say, "Ugh Mondays... <insert meme of cat unable to get out of bed>" STOP! Mondays are freakin' great and the sooner you fall in love with them the sooner you will realize the potential of what an awesome Monday can do for your week and life!
Here are my 10 steps to help you FREAKIN' LOVE MONDAYS!
1. Try to enjoy them.
Do me a favor on a Monday. Just try to be positive about it. Don't wake up and grunt like your life is going to end. Even if you have to force a smile on your face. I double dog dare you to just try to have little tiny bit of positivity about the day, even if you have to fake it at first.
2. Start them well.
Get up earlier than you normally would on a Monday. This way you can set yourself up well for the first day and in turn the entire week. Mondays shouldn't be a day where you are rushing out the door. Give yourself enough time to have a good breakfast and enough time to get out of the house in a calm manner. If you start your week off in a stressed-filled-panic-swirl-of-chaos how do you expect the rest of the days to turn out?
3. Protect them.
I rarely schedule meetings, lunches or anything else on that might disrupt my Monday. They are valuable to me, and the success of the rest of my week, so I protect them. I want to utilize every possible second of a Monday to maximize the start of my week!
4. Don't Let Monday Haters Get You Down!
If people in your office are talking about how tired they are, or how Mondays are such a bummer, you should hit them right back with pumped-up-positivity about how excited you are to get back into it! Talk about how the week is full of potential and how living out that potential starts on Monday! Enthusiasm is contagious and the sooner you join Team Monday, the sooner your office mates will join!
5. Don't start with E-mail.
I never start Monday with e-mail. I always try to start with something that I am really excited about doing even if it's only for ten minutes. In fact, today is Monday, so I am starting with this blog post because I was super excited about it when I had the idea last night! Try to start your Monday workday with an aspect of your job that you really love.
6. Add Awesomeness.
If you love coffee, then Monday should be the day you treat yourself to an extra cup or a special kind. If bagels are more your thing, then give yourself time on a Monday to swing by Panera. If you start making Mondays special then, guess what?, they will actually start being special!
7. Add music.
Monday should be the day you have an killer playlist. You should be singing Firework by Katy Perry as loud as you can in your car while you drive to work or school. You should do whatever you can to fire yourself up for the day! I really like trying to find new music on Mondays because new music inspires me. Right now I am listening to a new band I found called The Shires. They are pretty good and are doing exactly what I wanted them to - inspiring me!
8. Write down your goals for the week!
What do you want to do this week? What do you need to do this week? Will it be a dreaming week or a grinding week or a combination of both? Have goals because they will help you stay focused, engaged and excited!
9. Change your desktop or iPhone background.
Sometimes changing my desktop and iPhone background on Monday helps give it that little extra umph it needs. It's a way to set the week apart. Sometimes I try to find something really encouraging and inspiring for my background, and sometimes it's just a new photo of Brooke or June. It depends on what I need that week. There is a site called Simple Desktops that has some really clean and simple backgrounds for your computer. You can also use the VRSLY app to create inspiring wallpapers for your iPhone everyday!
10. Set yourself up for success.
Maybe you should clean your desk every Friday before you leave so when you come back in on Monday it is beautiful, clean and ready to go. Or maybe it's doing the dishes every Sunday night so you don't wake up to a messy kitchen. You gotta set yourself up to have an awesome start to your week, and sometimes that starts before the week even begins.
You have a choice every single day. You can choose to be a grump that no one really enjoys being around or you can choose to live with passion, energy and excitement.
I hope you choose to live with passion - especially on a Monday.
