Monday, 8/24/20: Talking about 5 Monday morning tips (that you can do right now)
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, a short story and a roundup of 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 catching up with two best friends, trying a new workout class with Maddie and funny conversations about a podcast.
TODAY: I am most excited about the iced coffee I am going to treat myself to today.
INTENTION: My intention for this week is to focus on finishing strong. I am taking some time off work next week, so need to concentrate on tying up loose ends. Okay, your turn!
And if you want to share your three steps, I am all ears. 🙂
Lesson of the Week: Five Things You Can Do Right Now For a Happier Monday
I was doing some research for work this weekend and came across an article titled “8 Tiny Things I’ve Tried To Make Mondays More Pleasant.”
Obviously, I loved the article and knew I wanted to include in this week’s newsletter. And while the tips are great (I personally am going to test out #1 and #2 on Friday), a lot of them need to be done in advance of Monday.
But I didn’t want us to have to wait until next Monday to have a great day. I want us to make this Monday a great day.
So, I put my own spin on the idea. Below is a list of five things you can do right now to create a happier Monday… today. No prep work needed and no planning in advance. Oh, and even if you do all five things, it will take only 30 minutes max! Let’s jump in.
5 Tips For Cultivating a Happier Monday (in 30 Minutes!):
- Brain Dump
- Take One Thing Off Your Plate
- Mise En Place
- What Are You Excited About?
- Phone a Friend
1 – Brain Dump (10 minutes). Set a timer for 10 minutes, take out a piece of paper (or open a document on your device) and start writing down all the to-dos swirling around in your head. And I mean all the things: the work to-dos, the friend you need to call back, the subscription to cancel, the book you want to read, etc. Don’t overthink it and don’t worry about following a specific pattern. The goal is to get all these random to-dos out of your head and onto a piece of paper. Once you have your list, go back through and start grouping things by category. Once grouped by category, decide which things need to be done today. As the week goes on, reference this list and give yourself a pat on the back every time you chip away at the to-dos.
2 – Take One Thing Off Your Plate (3 minutes). This is a fun one. Take a few minutes to look at your calendar or reference your to-do list (see above step) and pick one thing to cancel today. Maybe it’s a meeting you can get out of or a call with a friend you can push back to later in the week. Or maybe it’s even deciding to order takeout so you don’t have to grocery shop. Like the above step, don’t overthink this or get too emotionally invested. Just pick one thing, make arrangements and cross it off the list for today. And enjoy the glorious sense of freedom for a moment.
3 – Mise En Place (10 minutes). This is a French cooking phrase (pronounced MEEZ-ahn-plahs) that means “put in place” or “everything in its place.” It refers to the gathering and arrangement of one’s necessities for cooking (think of the ingredients prepped and ready on cooking shows). For this step, set a timer for 10 minutes again and then look at the space around you. How can you “mise en place” your surroundings for your day? Maybe it’s clearing your desk. Or it’s unloading and loading the dishwasher because you are working in your kitchen. You only have 10 minutes, so this can’t be a big project (save that for another day!). Instead, focus on quickly tidying up and “putting things in place.”
4 – What Are You Excited About? (2 minutes). If you’ve already answered this question at the beginning of this newsletter, skip ahead and clock in at under 30 minutes. 🙂 If you haven’t, here’s your second chance! Think of one thing you can be excited about today. This can be something like treating yourself to a manicure after work, ordering a new book to read or asking someone to meet up for dinner. And don’t underestimate the small things! You can be excited about treating yourself to a coffee (mine today!) or even wearing an outfit that makes you smile. No matter what else happens this Monday, at least you’ve built in one positive thing.
5 – Phone a Friend (5 minutes). “Phone a Friend” sounds catchy, but in reality, I really mean “Message a Friend.” This is one of my favorite ways to start the week. Simply send a quick message to a friend, family member, co-worker, etc. and let them know you are thinking of them and hope they have a great week. I promise you this quick message is going to make their Monday happier, and as a result, brighten your day too.
What do you think? Let me know if you try one or all of these tips and if they helped. And I am always on the hunt for new tips, so if you have something that is working for you, please pass along! Promise to share what I learn. 🙂
On My Monday Radar
Sometimes we just aren’t ready to jump into our Monday to-do list right away. In case you want some content to procrastinate with, here is a roundup of a few positive things on my radar:
- Enjoyed this reflective Instagram post on lingering. Are you following Ingrid Fetell Lee (@AestheticsOfJoy) on Instagram? If not, you should :). She is the author of Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things To Create Extraordinary Happiness (I’ve talked about the book here and here) and her posts always add a pop of happiness to my feed. Her post this weekend about “lingering” definitely made me stop and reflect. Highly recommend as a quick read.
- Gina Julian’s Small Op Art paintings collection is coming soon. Working, living and being in my apartment a lot more has definitely made me think of a few re-decorating projects I want to take on. One is finding some art to add a pop of color to my walls. I have admired Gina Julian’s colorful art for a while and am excited that she is releasing a collection of Small Op Art paintings next week!! Anything “small” sounds like it may fit in my decorating budget. Can’t wait to check them out!
- Did you know Daily Harvest has ice cream? On a walk this weekend, I saw that Daily Harvest is opening a shop in Chicago! So excited! I’ve seen plenty of people talk about this frozen meal delivery service, but I’ve personally not tried it. As I was doing some research to find an opening date for the shop, I noticed that they (recently?) launched a dairy-free ice cream line. I’m considering testing out a month of the delivery service because how fun and delightful would it be to receive a package of ice cream?!
- These are the sneakers I am eyeing. Last time I included shoes in this roundup (the white Birkenstocks!), I received so many helpful notes and tips about the shoes. Happy to report you all were so right. I actually went with the Target version because they were a better fit for my feet (it’s always hard when shoes don’t have half sizes). They are truly my “shoes of the summer” because I haven’t stopped wearing them. Next on my radar? These adorable sneakers. Or these (can’t decide what shade of pink I like better!). They would be a splurge for me, but I’m so close to pulling the trigger. Has anyone else bought Veja sneakers before?
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
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