I have this problem. When I wake up Monday morning (around 4:15 AM), I don’t feel the happy, energized, and focused self most of my clients, colleagues, and friends see when they encounter me later in the morning. At least not until I’ve taken my meds. : ) A lot of people I know feel this way in the morning and unfortunately, it extends into most of the day and it is especially more intense on a Monday.

It could be for many reasons, you had too much fun on the weekend, you hate your job, you hate your commute . . . a myriad of rationales.

Mondays suck. So what do I do to immediately turn them around?

1. I Say To Myself: “It’s not going to last.” Usually when I am up and taking a shower in the morning, I start thinking of all the BAD things about my business, career and life.

For me, I call it the ‘Morning Seritonin Slump’. It’s my initial body chemistry starting to rev up and it’s going to take a little while to get my car into 5th gear. So I let the bad thoughts wash over me and say “It’s not going to last.” — and guess what — it goes away as fast as it came.

2. I Plan Ahead. I usually make a list of things I need to get done the night before. Not a huge checklist which would choke a horse, but a simple list of 3-5 items I know need to be attacked first thing in the morning. This immediately give me purpose and focus, two things I desperately need in the morning.

Also — dive right into work. Take action and stop obsessing how bad the day is or will be. Once you start attacking your to-do list, you begin to feel better immediately.

3. I Stretch and Smile. The physical affects the mental. If you are feeling down, don’t focus on the stinking thinking zipping in your head, get physical. Even if it’s five minutes of stretching in your bedroom, a run outside, or a quick trip to the gym, physical activity gets the blood flowing and the mental malaise changing.

In addition, make yourself smile — we tend to go through life with a flat or angry look on our face and candidly, it affects our mood. Try to make yourself smile, hum, move your head to music, sing in the shower! You’ll feel a major sea-change in your mood immediately.

How do you make your Monday ROCK?

I was flying the other day to the midwest and read this article: "39% of hiring managers say Tuesday is the most productive workday. Nearly two-fifths of managers polled deemed it the day to get things done. But beware of hump day, which grabbed just 14% of the vote. To avoid a midweek nosedive in efficiency, take a look at the big picture when planning your workweek, and truly recharge over the weekend. Too many of us fall into the trap of doing chores and running errands instead of spending quality time with loved ones." - From Spirit Magazine, Southwest Airlines

There's a few salient items in that quote:

Monday is your Jump Day where you plan your week and catch up on any tasks not accomplished the week before. Make sure you take time first thing in the morning to lay out a reasonable and accurate schedule. Block out all of your meetings, activities, and heads-down work time. Be honest and add in flex time in-between in case something happens.
If Tuesday is your most productive workday, come in early and get a jump on your colleagues. I used to arrive around 6-6:30 AM and immediately start banging out work where my colleagues would wander in around 8:30-9 AM. I would get 2-3 hours of work in before they even unpacked their briefcase.
If Wednesday is truly your 'hump' day at the office, try to plan to get out and meet new people, host a lunch at a restaurant, or even telecommute. If your colleagues are cranky, keep your door closed and stay internally motivated — no drive-by's around the office to say 'hi'.
Play on the weekends — don't spend the entire time food shopping, running around with errands, and working around the house. Have fun! Spend some time catching up on your reading, go hiking with your family, hit a trendy new restaurant with your loved ones. These are the reasons why you work — to enjoy your life!

Take each day as it comes, but have a plan to leverage each day!

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P.S. Want to be more productive? Let’s talk. I’ve worked with thousands of people who wanted to take assertive steps in this area — call or email me to schedule a complimentary session.

Image: Royalty-Free License from Dollar Photo Club 2014.