7 Steps to Starting Your Week Feeling Empowered
Make Monday a Power Day
The Sunday night blues are real! You know that creeping feeling of dread about the looming week ahead, that starts on Sunday evening. I don’t get it as much now as when I was an employee, but it used to hit me hard. Very often there is nothing particularly bad about the next seven days. Nonetheless, leaving the weekend behind and entering the working week routine can often trigger a decline in mood and increase in anxiety.
Imagine going to bed on a Sunday night feeling empowered, excited or at least calm about the week ahead, instead of dreading it. Rather than stumbling into yet another week, cringing at the thought and falsely hoping for the best, why not take control? Set yourself up for a week of met potential and march into it, with your head and vibe high.
If that sounds better, then apply these steps to enjoy your Sunday nights again and reclaim your week with positivity:
Beat the Sunday Night Blues
Set a positive intention: How do you want your week to go, feel, be experienced? You can choose a word, or a feeling, like ‘organised’, ‘peaceful’, ‘energetic’. Tune into it, articulate it, and remind yourself of it during the week, especially when you wake up each day. Going into anything with positive intention is a better step to success than blindly falling into things.
Journal: Journal on Sunday night or Monday morning about how you want the week to go. Get all your hopes, fears and plans out of your head and onto paper or an electronic document. Reframe your fears until you feel better about them. Use these questions: Are they true? Are they reasonable? Are they permanent? How can you manage them to affect you less?
Visualise: Imagine each day going ideally, according to what you’ve just journalled and your intention for the week. Feel the sensation of achieving an organised week, or the buzz of an energetic one. Think of the clothes you’ll wear, food you’ll eat, activities you’ll perform, and people you’ll interact with at their best. Mentally prepare in advance for any challenges you might face by visualising the easiest outcome. Repeat this as many times as you need during the week until it feels true.
Plan a celebration: How will you celebrate your progress at the end of the week? Having a reward planned for the end of the week will motivate you to get things done. Celebrations can be anything from lie-ins, to socialising or time alone, foodie treats or doing absolutely nothing. The important thing is you acknowledge it at the time as a celebration for your effort during the week.
Get organised in advance: Get clothes clean, ironed and ready to wear. You will look forward to the luxury of having these ready to go, and looking your best. Ensure you have enough food for enticing meals. Do you need to prepare for them in advance? Are you ready to meet deadlines and pay bills on time? What can you do about that now? Have your gym bag prepared to grab as you leave the house. Fill the car up with fuel. What other jobs need doing so you can sail into Monday stress-free and with ease?
Make Monday a Power Day: Get up early, meditate or work out or do your daily self-care routine; have the healthy breakfast, take the vitamins, dress well, leave the house on time. Do all the things the Ideal You would do. Starting Monday off well will encourage you to do the same the rest of the week. Even if you don’t manage it the other days, at least Monday was a success. Monday can become a day to look forward to, rather than dread. Again, it's all about the intention you set for it.
Get support: Share your hopes, fears and responsibilities. Let others know what your plans are for a successful week. Allow them to support you or even join in. If you live with others, prepare for the week together. Can they help out with the little tasks that’ll make the week flow easier for you all? Remember, there’s strength in numbers.
If you really want to amp up your week’s potential, try journalling every day. Mindset practice will greatly help you establish other good habits. Set your intentions daily and perform a mini-review at the end of each day too. Ask yourself: What went well? What could you improve? What will you do (differently) tomorrow?
Don’t overwhelm yourself with tasks; rather choose one-three important ones. Remember every week and every day is an opportunity to start again. It doesn’t matter how many times you fall off track. The important days are the days you get back on course again, and one is better than none.
Empowering routines are essential self-leadership practices. Contact me at siobhan@siobhangallagher.co to chat about what better self-leadership could look like for you.