Have you asked your team how they really feel about Mondays?

Maybe not directly, but ask what days of the week they feel most productive. For me, Mondays were the worst. I used to feel that Sunday evening dread creeping in, knowing what Monday had in store: endless meetings, tough decisions, and a drained feeling by day’s end. 🥶 And guess what? Most of the team felt the same way.

So, I ran an experiment to change my Mondays, and it worked wonders. Not just for Mondays, but for my Sunday evenings too.

Here’s what I did:

1. No meetings on Mondays: Blocked off the entire day for “Flow Mode.”
2. Moved sprint planning to Tuesdays: This helps the team ease into the week and avoids the temptation to work over the weekend. Plus, one-third of all sick days happen on Mondays—so attendance issues are less disruptive.
3. The dev, support, and mkt teams can use Mondays to solve possible issues generated during the weekend.
4. Made Mondays a day for reflection and solving issues: Use the day to gather insights from the weekend, summarize last week’s learnings, and prepare for informed decisions.

Paul Graham says it best: “Don’t your spirits rise at the thought of having an entire day free to work, with no appointments at all? Well, that means your spirits are correspondingly depressed when you don’t.”

My Sunday nights used to be filled with anxiety, but now I look forward to them—because my Mondays are mine.

Am I moving my worst day from Monday to Tuesday? 🤷‍♀️

Well, yesterday was Monday and I felt super productive. Today is Tuesday, and I’m here super excited about sharing this with you and eager to get things done.