Ah…. Monday. We dread it over the weekend, but when it arrives it can be a huge time management asset. We are recharged from two days off, and haven’t become frustrated by a busy week quite yet. Here are three ways to make the most of your Mondays.

1. Do your most important thing

What are your highest priorities for the week? Try scheduling them on Mondays. Early in the week, you have less chance of a last minute task derailing your plan and you can capitalize on what little focus you have before mid-week burnout sets in.

2. Don’t schedule meetings

Monday meetings sound like a good idea to make sure everyone is on the same page before beginning the work week, but they eat up valuable focus time you can be using elsewhere. Try using Mondays for your priorities and schedule your planning meetings later in the week.

3. Get up early

It may be difficult to drag yourself out of bed on a Monday, but you’ll feel even less like getting up early after a few exhausting days of work. Take advantage of your two prior days of relaxation and set your alarm clock earlier to maximize your Monday productivity. Get the week started off on the right foot.

All three of these tips assume that you’ve taken at least a little time over your weekend to enjoy yourself and unwind. Make sure you enjoy a few “desserts” on your off days to keep you Time Diet balanced!

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More books by Emily Schwartz: How To Speak So People Will Buy

Time management is hard enough when it’s just us. Throw a kid or two into the mix? Your schedule just got a whole lot harder! Many of you know we had our first child this year. Here’s what we’ve learned about time management in the past 9 months.

1. Start the day ready

My husband and I both work full time, and we would both be in a perpetual state of “trying to get to work” if we didn’t do EVERYTHING the night before. Bottles made, lunches made, clothes picked out, computer packed up, etc…I hate doing this the night before, but when I wake up and don’t have to worry about it, my stress level instantly decreases. It sets the tone for the rest of the day.

2. Understand when it’s OK to be flexible

I hate being late. I love having a plan. When we had our daughter, I had to quickly realize that plans are great but not EVERY plan is a life or death situation if it doesn’t happen perfectly. Whenever I sense that a plan is about to derail, I think, “Am I mad about what’s happening right now? Or am I just mad that my plan didn’t work.”

3. Allow more time

After a few months of being upset that “unexpected” things kept making us late, I realized I needed to start expecting the unexpected. A sudden screaming fest, or outfit change isn’t a surprise anymore. Instead, it’s a welcomed surprise when it doesn’t happen and I have a few extra minutes of breathing room. It’s all about adjusting expectations.

4. Change your mindset

Finally, “busy” and “rushing” are a mindset. I don’t want my daughter to think we just rush around all the time. I want her to know that you can get a lot done and still smile about it and stay calm.

Now, lest you think my home is always perfectly organized, we’re always on time, and we never get upset…let me assure you that is NOT the case. However, I’ve found that the days we’re able to achieve the four things listed above are FAR more organized than the days we let them slide.

Check out other publications by Emily Schwartz The Time Diet: Time Management for College Survival on Amazon.com

Time Management Book for Students

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Rough day? Busy season? Rewarding ourselves for a job well done is a great habit, but I’ve found that the WAY we choose to reward ourselves can say a lot about our time management. Here’s why…

Things and Experiences

We often reward ourselves with tangible things. We’ll earn a raise, and buy ourselves a new watch. We’ll have a stressful day and pick out a new outfit. There is nothing wrong with this, but rewarding yourself with an experience can be even more meaningful. Be it a weekend getaway, a fancy night out to dinner, or even a movie night in at home, experiences are memorable and enrich our lives.

No Time!

Perhaps you’ve caught yourself passing on an experience because “I don’t have time”….THAT is precisely the problem!

I enjoy fancy things as much as the next person, but I think it’s easier for busy people to buy things for themselves instead of experiences, because things don’t require time out of our day.

I challenge you to make the time for experiences. It’s the best reward you can give yourself. Not only is it a reward for a job well done, but it’s a break from the work you put so much time into.

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