The Reason I’m Not Crazy For Loving Monday
Now, wait and hear me out . . .Monday is special because it does something no other day of the week does.
It gives you a fresh start.
Even if you know you have a new start everyday, we all still feel how Monday is the psychological starting block for the week.Today is the day!
It’s your chance to be a slightly better version of who you were last week.
It’s your chance to experiment and try something new.It’s your chance to recalibrate your goals.Today is the day.Let’s roll this into action.
Most peoples’ goals center around 3 things:
Fitness, Career, Travel/Bucket list.Here are things you can do to move toward any of those in 2 minutes or less.
2 Minute Action
Do pushups, burpees, or lunges for 2 minutes.Set up a meeting with your supervisor (or mentor, or colleague, or professor, etc.) to talk about your future and how to get where you want to go.Look at your calendar, pick a date in the future (it can be really far in the future, that’s fine) for your bucket list item. Create a savings plan, invite your friends, and make it real!Today is Monday!Get out of the gate strong, today.
Wait, Why Do The Minimum??
Okay, so lots of people don’t know what they’re doing—but that’s no excuse.
Thinking through every problem and trying to solve it perfectly before you start will only prevent you from ever starting in the first place.
What is the minimum amount you can do to get your point across, deliver on the promise, or get into the market?
Do that.Start.
Now consider this caveat . . .
Fields where this approach works: business, marketing, manufacturing, event production, software development, and many others.Fields where this approach does not work well: surgery, rocket development, neuroscience, quantum mechanics.The point is, unless your work requires a rare skill set that takes years to develop through academic and professional training, you are probably just getting in your own way.
2 Minute Action
If your goal is to get fit, do 2 minutes of burpees. That’s enough to start.If your goal is to build software, just wireframe up your concept on a PowerPoint presentation and demo it on a sales call. That’s enough to make a sale.If your goal is to write a book, write a blog post or an article first. That’s enough to get feedback from others.
Get Past The Whole "Less Is More" Thing . . .
Most things aren't essential.
And we're all accustomed to the idea that "less is more."And we all agree that "quality is better than quantity."And we are all aligned with the idea that we should "work smarter and not harder."But yet we revolve back to the idea of doing more, outputting more, and producing more--at least, I certainly do.
So what to do?
Reflect.You can allocate 20% of your time (or less at first) to not "doing" things, but taking in new information, verbally processing your thoughts, or giving yourself space to think. The other 80% can still be allocated for good, old fashioned hard work.Structured reflection time is valuable because it can help you zoom out, look at the big picture and remember WHY you're doing what you're doing.It affords you the time to observe your own narrative, question yourself, and refocus on what's important to you in your current stage of life.Working hard in one direction is no good if you find out it's the wrong direction 20 years later.
2 Minute Action
Try a few of these quick methods to get out of the noisy, in-the-trenches work and recalibrate on what's essential.MediateWrite in a journal about what's going on right now.Plan a day-long (or longer) time to turn off your phone and draw out your current goals or visions for the future.Mark off a regular time to read a helpful book or listen to a useful podcast.