Ah, Monday.
The day with so much potential, that can set our feet on the path for success throughout the week. Also the day that seems to get the most groans and complaints from students, corporate America, and beyond. I've been a student and also worked a few Monday-to-Friday corporate jobs, but now that I'm a self employed small business owner who works out of my home office, Monday is different. Monday is the day that sets the tone for my week, but since most of my progress is self-motivated and is 100% on my shoulders, I have a choice to make.
I can either jump into Monday with a spirit of thankfulness that I have a career I love, or I can adopt culture's attitude of OK. Five days till Friday. Recently in the ladies small group I lead at my church, we've been talking about how the world elevates negative attitudes as though they were virtuous. Integrity, a good work ethic, and self-control have been exchanged for deceitfulness, shortcuts, and and materialism. How in the world are we supposed to be successful business owners if we don't give it our all and strive to be the best we can be? To those of you working a day job that you feel is holding you back from your dream career, I highly suggest you hop on Amy & Jordan's blog and read about how they achieved their dreams. Hard work, a positive attitude, and embracing your day job and using it as a catapult to push you towards your future.
Back to Mondays... what sort of tone will you set for your week? I find that when I wake up Monday morning and make a list of tasks for the week, clean out my inboxes, and knock out a few of the things on my list all before lunch, I head into the rest of the week feeling in control and confident, which turns into productivity. A lazy Monday quickly descends into feelings of guilt, apathy, and just that general cloud of doom and gloom that keeps me from getting anything done. And then I wake up Tuesday with just as many things on my to-do list as Monday... but with one less day to accomplish them, and I just feel defeated.
Can you relate? If you can, then silence your phone, close the Facebook tab, find a notebook or a piece of scrap paper, and write down two things that need to get done NOW. Then grab your cup of coffee and DO THEM. You'll feel infinitely better, and hopefully those two things will push you on to accomplish two more, and then two more. So what are you waiting for?! Get moving!! :)