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January 10, 2022 5 mins

How you spend Monday can transform your schedule

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is that Monday mornings aren't a great time
for figuring out your week. When you track your time,
Ideally you should see a big chunk of time on

(00:26):
Monday morning devoted to your most important projects. If there's
a lot of running around or dithering, then maybe something
needs to change. When this episode is first airing in January,
I am leading a time tracking challenge where hundreds of
people are logging their time for a week. We are

(00:48):
all trying to figure out where the time really goes
so we can make wise decisions. If that sounds good
to you, then feel free to join in. You just
write down what you're doing as often as you remember,
and keep going for a week. Then you can celebrate,
reflect or change. My weekly time logs start on Mondays

(01:11):
at five am. Now. I know that Monday is seldom
anyone's favorite day of the week, but what you write
down about how you spent Monday morning can provide important
clues to whether you are maximizing time or whether there
is an opportunity to make steadier progress toward your goals.

(01:32):
Many people show up at work on Monday morning and
then figure out what they intend to do with the day.
Some industrious folks use this time to figure out the
rest of the week as well, and it makes sense.
But here's the problem. Most people have more energy at
the start of things then later on. If you make

(01:54):
a New Year's resolution to go to the gym, you
go more times during the first two weeks of January
than you do any other fortnight. If you decide to
clean out the garage, you tend not to gain momentum
as you go. Instead, you start strong and then have
to keep yourself motivated through heavy bribery later. This means

(02:18):
that even though many people show up Monday morning a
bit sleep deprived, they still have more energy for executing
on things than they will on say, Friday afternoon. If
you spend Monday morning deciding what you need to do
for the week, you will miss out on that initial
burst of motivation. Plus you just have less time to

(02:41):
work with. If Friday afternoon will be a bit of
a wash, then losing Monday morning for execution too really
starts to trim down the work week. The solution is
to decide how you will spend your time during a
low energy time. I recommend Friday afternoons. It's during business

(03:03):
hours so you can make appointments and send meeting requests.
But most people aren't doing much of consequence during this time.
It is hard to start anything new. It is easier
to start something new on Monday morning. So choose on
Friday what you will tackle on Monday morning. That way

(03:26):
you can make the most of both blocks of time.
And if you really want to level up your game,
assign yourself either your toughest task or your most important
task for Monday morning. That way you can use that
start up momentum to plow through it and then it

(03:48):
is done. You have already won the week by lunch time.
So as you track your time, look at how you
spend Monday morning. Is a big, solid chunk devoted to
one substantial task or are you all over the place?

(04:08):
Choosing the former rather than the latter can make you
a lot more productive. It's worth giving it a try.
In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
here's to making the most of our time. Hey everybody,

(04:33):
I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
your tips, your questions or anything else. Just connect with
me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod.
That's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
podcast at iHeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is

(04:56):
spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I
look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a
production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I
heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

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Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam

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