Monday Mayhem

5 Minutes to get ahead of the game.

It’s Monday

Arguably the most annoying day of the week. Spoiler alert, I don’t have a tip for that beyond retirement. Sorry.

But here’s the deal, it’s a LOT easier to conquer Mondays, when they (the Mondays) have their sh*t together. So let’s do it.

I am on the brink of permanently rebranding myself as a Systems Management Coach. Which is a CV ready catch phrase meaning…”Bossy about ways to do things, Coach”, but minus the bossy, cuz nobody likes that term.

Make Your Monday Morning Routing the Same As Your Friday Night Routine. Short and Sweet.

In my long career as an independent business owner and shorter career as a Mom, i’ve learned that clutter is the stuff of the devil himself and I can’t get anything done when it’s within eye shot.

So the first thing I do on a Monday morning (or any morning) and the last thing I do on a friday night (and yes, every night) is, to borrow a term from chefs everywhere… to get my mis en place. That’s French for “sh*t in order” (or thereabouts). What does that mean?

For a work from homer that means, dishes in the dishwasher, laundry in the bins, counters clean, desk tidy. If that seems extra to you, it may be! I admire the person that can do anything while seeing an unfinished bagel on the counter or laundry on the floor on the other side of the room. That’s not me. And i’m willing to bet, not you either if you’re reading this.

10 Minutes of Tidying Can Equal 8 Hours of Peace.

There are numerous methods for “blitzing” your house as my mom calls it. There’s the Ski Slope Method, a la Anita Yokata of extra super gorgeous “Home Therapy” fame, where you zig and zag gleefully across a room tidting as you go, there’s the Penicillin Method where you clean just one small area a day and eventually the tidyness spreads like the happiest little mold spore, or the regular shmegular set a timer for 10 minutes and just do what you can method.

The common thread between them all is the bite sizedness of them (no not an actual word). But with this tiny addition to your daily routine, suddenly, the path to the promised land is clear, literally!

Take 5 minutes before you sit at your desk, whether that’s at your kitchen table, your home office, or an office office to do a quick sweep of the space, garbage into garbage can, pencils into drawers, dishes into sink/dishwasher etc. then settle into your work space. Repeat this process at the end of your work period, quickly putting everything back in it’s place.

As you start this daily routine, you’ll find everything just miraculously gets cleaner. Add it to your cooking routine, rinsing dishes into washer as you cook, and you’ll find just plates and one pan in the sink at the end. Do a 5 minute sweep of the living room with your kiddos before books and bedtime and you’ll wake to a cleaner living room.

And remember, perfection isn’t the goal. No need to set ourselves up for failure, just make small improvements.

Have a great Monday night friends!

Hilary