Wouldn’t it be great to start Monday morning feeling like you are ahead instead of like you’re playing catch-up? Here are 7 quick tips for mastering Monday morning and getting the week off to a great start:



Respond to any unanswered email or voice mail messages: Not only will this give you a chance to clear your plate – it will also improve your response time to your co-workers and clients.
Clean out your email: Lighten your mental load by reducing the number of emails you have to scroll through. Go through all your folders and get rid of anything that’s over a year old and any non-work items from friends and family. Archive messages from old projects.


Clean off your desk: One sure way to intensify Monday morning anxiety is to walk into a pile of papers, a stack of folders, a hodge-podge of post-it notes, pens, paper clips, old coffee cups, and whatever else is covering your desktop.


Review your calendar: Don’t be surprised by meetings you forgot were on the schedule or meetings that overlap. If there’s information you need to be prepared for those meetings, put in a request now instead of leaving it until the next week.


Create a to-do list: Instead of spending the weekend reminding yourself of what you have to do on Monday, and then scrambling Monday morning to remember what you had to do, prepare on Friday.


Connect with your co-workers: If you were buried under work for most of last week, make sure to check in with your co-workers. Don’t minimize the importance of showing a genuine interest in people. It’s much easier to ask for help (and get it) when you have good rapport with them.


Start on Friday: Tie up any loose ends and stray projects that you can. This way they won’t be left-overs on Monday. And you won’t have to think about them over the weekend.