Happy Monday (On-Day)! Sure, we all love the classic movie Office Space because of the great one-liners throughout the movie. Especially, this one:

“Looks like someone’s got the case of the Monday’s.”

Although this scene is very funny, it is actually a reality most people are living. The very thought of starting a new week has the ability to completely undermine their motivation, plans, desires, and overall capacity to get anything done at work/school/etc. Does this sound like someone you know? I am willing to bet you know at least 4-5 people that are falling into this trap.

I used the word trap for a reason. Because the fact is, success, goals, your back account, and life in general don’t care that its Monday. The things you truly value in your life have no knowledge of what day it is or the particular time you’re concerned about.

“Ugh, it is 5:45 am and to make things worse–today is Monday! Is this really worth doing today or should I wait until Tuesday? I’m sure these opportunities will still be here tomorrow.” – you talking yourself out of being productive.

So yes, the day of the week can be a trap because your mind is hung up on a name of a day and not what’s actually important. When you have goals and priorities, the day of the week should be irrelevant. You must learn to train yourself: While other people are complaining about the day because they don’t want to give up what they did over the weekend, you are focusing on dominating it!

When your focus is calibrated, you don’t allocate any of your time on complaining about things that don’t produce results.

If you want to dominate your Monday, you need to be aware of what your goals (targets) are and how you plan to achieve them. If you don’t have a target, I promise you, you will miss it every time.

“How can a man hit a target he cannot see? That’s a pretty good question; here’s another one. How can you hit a target, you do not have?” – Zig Ziglar

Knowing what your target (goals) actually are will help you implement a plan that will make your Monday (and every other day) successful. This is a big reason why I personally love Monday’s because I know that it sets the foundation for my entire week. When you are committed to making the best of your Monday’s, you’re already ahead of 50% of the people you work with or even attend a class with. Is it a competition? Yes – with yourself.

But how do I remember what my goals are when I’m always going 90 mph, all day? Here is a simple solution: write them down. (Here is an example)

1. 0500 – Wake up
2. 0615 – Workout
3. 0730 – Breakfast
4. 0900 – Work day begins
5. 11:30 – Lunch
6. 1:00 – Miscellaneous meeting
7. 2:30 – Make miscellaneous call
8. 5:30 – Drive home
9. 6:30 – Eat dinner
10. 7:00-9:00 – Family time
11. 9:00 – Read**
12. 10:00 – Write**
13. 12:00 – Go to bed

It may seem silly to plan out your entire day in an example format like this but it identifies the key events (targets/goals) throughout your entire day. It shifts your focus to what really matters.

The Challenge: Embrace Monday. It is the perfect opportunity for you to take control of the week from the very start (business/work day). Will it be difficult? Yes, at first. Will each Monday produce different obstacles? Always. It doesn’t matter though. When you train yourself to focus on what really matters, the day of the week no longer matters.

“Rise and Grind!” – Eric Thomas