Yippee; It's Monday and we're back to work!
Okay, so probably not the chant that most working folks are yelling on a Monday morning. It’s probably more like “Good Grief!”, “Ugh” or “OGIM! (Oh God, It’s Monday)”
You’ll find those who are complaining the weekend was too short. There are those who will spend Monday trying to impress you how they worked all weekend? (Maybe they need a productivity lesson) Most are preparing a To-Do list the length of a roll of toilet paper; of which they will accomplish about one square’s worth by Friday; and will need another roll of toilet paper next Monday to continue the never-ending list of stuff that might not even matter. The best of intentions are always railroaded by the unforeseen circumstances, meetings (don’t forget the Meeting Playce Mat ) and interruptions that will come up during the week. Yes, it’s Monday; the day we reset the clock and look forward to bagels, donuts, extended lunches, half-day workday, or a bit of office socializing. Are you excited? It’s just five days from now. Will it come soon enough?
Did you ever wonder why people are nicer and more giving on a Friday? Is it that they are so happy to be rid of you for about 60 hours? Co-workers smile on Friday – even the most miserable of the bunch. People bring in treats as we head into the weekend. It’s often times a party atmosphere as we count down the hours until quitting time, Miller time, or whatever time you choose to call it. Plans are being shared. There is excitement in the air.
Isn’t Monday when we need that party atmosphere? Isn’t Monday when we need to do all the nice things which help improve teamwork, employee morale and communication? Isn’t Monday the day we need to see how we can make that miserable co-worker just a bit less miserable (which in turn makes everyone a whole lot less miserable)? Isn’t Monday the day new people often start………………And they get to see this? What happened to the fun work environment they were told about during the interview? Oh, that only happens on Friday. We’re fun 20% of the time. It was in the disclaimer in the employment contract.
Have you ever thought about sitting down and sharing that To-Do list with others to see what REALLY needs to be done; what really is not important or perhaps looking for possible opportunities to help one another? Shouldn’t we be saying Yippee, It’s Monday!
We tend to do things backwards. We reward ourselves for a week of deadlines, meetings, technology challenges, and other office inconveniences after the fact. Is it possible that if the right tone was set at the beginning of the week, these would be anything but deadlines, meetings, challenges and inconveniences?
I just took one square of Toilet Paper from the bathroom. It is hanging on my computer monitor. Attached to that piece of TP is a Post It Note with three things I want to get done this week. I’m excited about getting done that which I know I can and having tossed aside the ridiculous, unimportant, and unnecessary. Now don’t get me wrong; they’re big tasks; but at this ripe old age of 46 I have learned how to use history to my advantage. Stuff is going to come up this week. I don’t know what, but stuff is going to come up. Stuff came up last week. Stuff came up the week before, the week before that and the week before that. Get the point! And if by some miracle stuff doesn’t come up, I’m sure I can find another task to complete. And then I can thank god on Friday.
Well that’s it for today; I’m off to have lunch with a colleague; perhaps even an extended one. After all it is Monday, I’ve set my week up for success and I’m happy about it.
