Monday, 4/21/25: Talking about thinking in terms of weeks not days

Happy Monday!

It’s a new week, which means it’s time for your next Monday motivation newsletter.

Read on below for some steps to a happier Monday and some positive thoughts to get your week started.

Three Steps to a Happier Monday

Each newsletter starts with three prompts to inspire gratitude and simple intention setting. Take a moment and jot down answers to these three questions. To give an example, I share my answers below.  

Step 1: What are three things I appreciated from the weekend? 

Step 2: What is one thing I can be excited about today?

Step 3: What is my intention for this week? 

GRATITUDE: From my weekend, I am thankful for time with my parents, beautiful sunny weather and starting a new book. 

TODAY: Today, I’m most excited to have some quiet time before the workday begins. 

INTENTION: My intention this week is to think about the week as a whole (more on this below!).

Okay, your turn! And if you want to share your three steps, I am all ears. 🙂

Meaningful Musings: Thinking In Terms of Weeks, Not Days

One of my favorite time management lessons – which I remember first reading in Laura Vanderkam’s 168 Hours and I Know How She Does It – is to think of time in terms of weeks, not days.

As Laura writes, “Any given 24 hours might not be balanced, but the 168-hour week as a whole can be.”

Last week ended up being a great reminder of this principle, and it helped shift my perspective.

I was working from my parents’ house in Florida, which was lovely. But Monday through Wednesday were very busy workdays. I had more meetings than usual, tight deadlines, and a fair amount of stress. I found myself feeling down about spending more time working than with family while I was home.

But then I challenged myself to reconsider this perception. When I zoomed out to consider the entire week, I realized that yes – Monday – Wednesday were work-heavy, but the rest of the rest was much more balanced:

• Thursday: I was able to flex my hours and enjoy a morning drive to pick up Matt from the airport. I also caught up with a friend on the phone and had a great dinner outside with my parents and Matt.
• Friday: I logged off right at 5 p.m. and enjoyed happy hour al fresco.
• Saturday: Spent a great day in the sun at the beach.
• Sunday: Enjoyed sunrise Easter service, breakfast, and then travels back to Chicago.

As Laura points out:

“We often think of our lives in days, but we live our lives in weeks, and looking at the whole of the week gives us a more holistic perspective on time. For one, it shows that a full-time job doesn’t actually take the full amount of one’s time. If you work 40 hours a week, and sleep 8 hours per night (56 per week), that still leaves 72 hours for other things.

This is good to know for those of us who want full lives outside of work. But beyond that, thinking ‘168’ not ‘24’ reminds us that things don’t have to happen daily in order to count in our lives. Three to five times a week is often plenty—and that removes a lot of pressure.”

One of my favorite ways to keep this principle in mind is with a simple weekly reminder I’ve set on my phone. At 12 p.m. every Thursday, it goes off and says, “You’re halfway through the week!”

It’s a small nudge that reminds me that from Thursday afternoon to Sunday night, I still have the same amount of time as from Monday morning to Thursday afternoon.

So, as we head into this new week, I hope this perspective shift is helpful for you, too. Let’s be a little gentler with ourselves, and remember that we can find balance over time, not just in a single day.

Wishing you a great week ahead!

Picture of the Week

That’s all for today! I hope you found something in today’s newsletter that sparked motivation, made you smile or inspired a positive Monday thought. Don’t underestimate the power of starting small… a fulfilling week starts with just one fulfilling day. You’ve got this! 

Let’s make it a great Monday!
Megan