It’s no secret that Mondays aren’t the best day of the week.
After two full days of doing whatever your heart desires, the alarm clock sounds, and you’re back to the daily grind.
But one manager says she’s managed to boost morale for her team, by introducing ‘bare minimum Mondays’.
TikToker Caitlin Winter, who says she works in a ‘management position’ in marketing, says it’s one of the ‘best things’ she’s done in her role leading a team.
She said that when she became a manager, she realised it was an opportunity to ‘stop some of the things I really hated about work’ and to tackle the ‘hustle culture.’
She said: ‘We have no meetings, except for a whip in the morning… to check in from the weekend.’
She adds it gives her and her team – who seem to be WFH – a chance to get personal stuff done. She explained: ‘It gives me and my team the opportunity to do a few things we didn’t get to on the weekend.
‘We don’t have to think about packing our lunches for the week, we can put some washing on… we can take our dogs for a walk, have appointments.
‘It’s a really nice way to ease into the week… we’re not in the era of girl boss culture anymore, thank goodness.’
In a nutshell, bare minimum Mondays are all about taking it slow – or soft-launching – on that first working day.
Work from home, keep your to-do list short, and do the ‘bare minimum’ to ease yourself into work, rather than bursting through those office doors, all systems go.
It’s a phrase that seems to have been coined by TikToker Marisa Jo, after she employed bare minimum Mondays to tackle the anxiety she felt on a Sunday evening.
‘I decide on Sunday what are the bare minimum work tasks I have to accomplish tomorrow, and then I only hold myself accountable to those tasks,’ she explained.
‘Then I get to decide how I spent the rest of my Monday, and that usually looks something like self-care.’
She says this has helped her feel less stressed, and more productive for the rest of the week.
And, she says it’s not just for the Monday WFH-ers – as it’s really all about your mindset.
She says: ‘Once you’ve condensed your to-do list as much as possible, the rest of your bare minimum Monday happens in your brain.
‘One thing I know would have helped me when I was in corporate is to think to myself: “Where might I be putting unnecessary pressure on myself?”
‘What are you overly stressed about that you just don’t need to be stressed about? What can you choose to not care about today?’
And it’s a concept that’s backed by experts.
Charlotte Davies, career expert at LinkedIn, says that bare minimum Mondays can make those dreaded end-of-the-weekend blues that bit easier.
‘Burnout is leading people to experience the ‘Sunday scaries’ and a cycle of stress and pressure that makes many feel daunted by the start of the week and what it brings,’ says Charlotte.
If you are experiencing feeling burnt out, talk to your employer about hybrid working and the option to soft-launch your week.
Charlotte says: ‘It’s important to address how you can avoid feeling this way in the first place, firstly by speaking to your manager about your workload and taking steps to help balance out your working week.
‘From setting realistic to-do-lists and implementing boundaries, to taking frequent breaks, there are many ways you can take back control and feel confident in the week ahead.’
How to make Mondays feel less stressful
Charlotte shares her top tips:
- Plan ahead. Taking the time to review your upcoming week in its entirety, and plan a day-by-day schedule, will help you feel more in control. It will remind you of the bigger picture and allow you to break things down into more manageable tasks. This can make you a lot more productive and will help minimise the risk of feeling overwhelmed.
- Set realistic to-do-lists. When planning your to-do-list, consider all factors that will impact the time you have available to get things done – from meetings to answering emails – and adjust things accordingly to ensure it’s realistic and doable. Don’t forget to build time slots into your schedule for completing each action – helping manage expectations of yourself and your colleagues.
- Reassess boundaries and take time out. Ensure that you have healthy parameters in place to safeguard your time. During the working day, ensure that you take a lunch break and properly switch off. Outside of working hours, set up ‘do not disturb’ on work apps and limit notifications and access to emails. Communicate these boundaries with your colleagues. For example, put your working hours on your email signature, so that it sets an expectation of when they will (and won’t) receive a response.
- Outside of work is just as important. Break up the week by scheduling activities that you enjoy, but be sure not to over-do it and max out your diary. Take time for yourself and leave ‘blank spaces’ so that you’re not constantly running from one thing to the next. The LinkedIn Headspace Guide to Everyday Stress is a great course for learning how to use on-the-go mindfulness to manage stress, whenever you need to take a step back from the day. The course is free on the LinkedIn Learning platform until April 15th.
- Speak to your boss about flexible working arrangements. Do your research first and come prepared to put your best case forward, demonstrating how it will benefit both yourself and your employer. LinkedIn research reveals that compressing hours across a typical working week can boost workplace productivity, as over a quarter (26%) of employees believe working fewer hours across a working week would in fact motivate them to get more done in a day*. It’s about striking a balance between both yours and your company’s needs.
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