7 Work Productivity Tips That’ll Make Monday Less of a Mess

1. Clean Up Your Inbox

Most of us have come to associate Monday mornings with the inevitable onslaught of endless emails. For me, opening my computer to an abundance of unread messages is a quick recipe for overwhelm—and it might feel like you’re already behind before the week has even begun. And while “getting ahead” might feel like a losing battle, taking some time at the end of Friday’s workday to address and tie up any loose inbox ends can make Monday’s rush feel like a lot less of a whirlwind.

If you experience email anxiety like me (and many others), try scheduling 30-45 minutes on Friday afternoon dedicated solely to tackling your inbox. I started doing this a few months ago, and let me tell you, the ability to slowly sip my coffee at my desk on Monday morning—minus a barrage of emails—is well worth the minimal effort.

2. Know Your Calendar

To be clear, this doesn’t mean memorizing the exact days and times of the following week’s meetings. Instead, this tip is intended to help keep your meetings from catching you off guard. Set aside a few minutes (I’ve found that this only takes 10-20, depending on my schedule) and open up your Google calendar or planner to remind yourself of what next week looks like.

Do you have an 8 a.m. meeting Monday morning? (Evil). Is Thursday packed back-to-back with team huddles and touch bases? Do you need to prepare for a meeting on Wednesday with your supervisor? It’s not only satisfying but can be a boost for your confidence in knowing what to expect come Monday morning. What’s more, this has been key to keeping my Sunday Scaries at bay. Remember: Knowledge (and prep!) is power.

3. Tidy Up Your Desk

Every variation on the quote clean your space, clear your mind is absolutely true. If you’ve ever tried being productive amidst the chaos of a cluttered desk, then you know very well just how impossible it is. And, if you work from home like me, then the threat of a pile of dirty laundry, scattered papers, or a sink full of dirty dishes can set you off task in an instant.

The easiest way to combat these energy-sucking distractions? Schedule a weekly workspace clean-up! Could your computer screen use a good wipe-down? Are there crumbs on your rug from succumbing to a sad desk lunch? Is there a pile of clothes that could use folding and put back in their proper home?

Once your space is clear and sparkling, take it as an opportunity to fill it with things that bring you joy. Maybe that’s writing out an inspiring quote and taping it to your desk. Or, finding a new desktop background. Even placing a sweet-smelling, seasonal candle next to your keyboard and draping your chair with a cozy blanket can make work all the more enjoyable. There’s nothing better than returning to your desk with everything in its place—and it can make jumping into Monday’s tasks feel like a breeze.

4. Schedule Something To Look Forward To

I’ve found that my days are a million times more enjoyable if I have something to look forward to. While I absolutely advocate for embracing the present moment, knowing that I have a fun trip planned or tickets to a movie I’ve been dying to see or a reservation booked for my favorite restaurant can do a world of good in terms of keeping my spirits high.

When you’re looking at the next week’s calendar, be sure to weave in one or two fun and inspiring plans. Maybe that’s setting up a lunch with a coworker you’d like to get to know better or signing up for a webinar on a topic or skill you’d like to master. And of course, because filling your schedule to the brim can be a source of stress itself, how about booking a couple of nights with no after-work plans at all? A good book, a movie, and a healthy, comforting dinner can be enough to look forward to themselves.

5. Do A Weekly Recap

I’m a person who loves to reflect—it’s just my nature. Nostalgia helps me romanticize my life and diving into the past helps me experience gratitude for all the good there is in my life. I’ve found too, that by scheduling a consistent time to look back on my goals and accomplishments over the past week, I can feel proud of all the past few days have brought—and the steps I’ve taken to where I am today.

I do this one of two ways. Sometimes, I like sitting at my desk with my notebook, journaling for a few minutes about my wins and the week’s learning opportunities. Or, if I’m craving a little time outside, I like to take a walk to reset my headspace and mentally reflect on my Monday through Friday. Having these few short minutes helps you build a clearer picture of where you are in your tasks and how you’re progressing toward your goals. And with that strong foundation set, the path forward becomes all the easier to pursue.

6. Set New Goals For Next Week

Once you’ve done your weekly recap, this is a perfect time to set a few goals starting the following Monday. While you might be tempted to make a long list of all you need to accomplish next week, I encourage you to keep it short and sweet. To give myself direction, I structure this list based on three things:

1. My long-term personal career goals.
2. My organization’s big-picture goals.
3. Completing something that I either haven’t been able to get to or have been putting off.

From there, I write out 3-5 goals. With these guardrails set, I can feel confident that I’m pouring into my career and committing to my value of being a life-long learner. I also know that I’m framing my day-to-day tasks within the bigger picture of my organization’s own goals, and I know that I’m contributing to my coworkers and supervisor’s vision of what we’re creating together. Lastly, by addressing a task that I’ve been putting off, I can trust that it’ll get wrapped up shortly.

7. Remember Your “Why”

You’ve likely heard this tip before. It often comes up in everything from committing to a workout to building a company or carrying out any dream you may have. Personally, I’ve found that it’s one of the best ways to help me maintain direction at work. It’s similar to building your goals for the week, but it’s a shorter exercise that’ll let you reconnect to the reasons you show up each day, week after week (paycheck aside).

Like an affirmation, maybe you write out a single sentence that you return to every week. I like to lean on something that grounds me in my purpose and reminds me why I spend eight hours a day doing what I do. Examples can be:

• To build a brighter future for the planet.
• To share my love of learning with children.
• To inspire people with thoughtful content.
• To provide customers with a meaningful shopping experience.
• To keep public spaces clean for everyone’s use.

Of course, your “why” is personal and completely up to you! Try to distill it down to a simple, but far-reaching reason.

Americans spend a lot of time at work. In addition to a workday that averages 9.5 hours, the 2008 Sleep in America Poll found that Americans are spending more than four extra hours working from home each week. Unfortunately, more work often equals less sleep. This same survey found that respondents’ sleep time was reduced by an hour and a half during workdays, compared to their sleep on non-work days.

While work schedules and stress can affect sleep, the opposite is true as well. If you’ve ever nodded off at your desk or during an important meeting, you know that sleep loss can have a detrimental impact on work performance. Sleep deprivation can leave you feeling tired, less creative, and make it more difficult to stay focused on important projects.

Sacrificing sleep for work, then working more to make up for lost productivity can become an exhausting cycle. Fortunately, understanding the links between sleep and job performance can empower people with the knowledge needed to end this pattern. Creating a boundary between work and home life can be challenging in the beginning, but it’s an important step toward better sleep and more consistent job performance.

How Can Sleep Affect Work?

Sleep supports nearly every system in the body. When we fall asleep, our eyes close, our breathing slows, and our muscles gradually relax. Neurons in the brain switch to a sleeping state, beginning the innumerable biological processes that refresh our body and mind. The rejuvenation provided by sleep is vital for our cardiovascular and immune systems, as well as our ability to think clearly, learn new information, and manage our emotions.

It’s no secret that Americans are chronically underslept. While the National Sleep Foundation recommends that most adults need around 7 to 9 hours of sleep, almost one-third of Americans get less than 6 hours of sleep each night according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). This fatigue inevitably bleeds into the workplace and a 2007 study of U.S. workers found that almost 38% of employees experienced fatigue while at work during the previous two weeks.

Trying to work while underslept can significantly impact job performance. Without enough sleep, processes throughout the body work suboptimally. Neurons in the brain become overworked, impairing thinking, slowing physical reactions, and leaving people feeling emotionally drained. These short-term side effects of sleep deprivation can wreak havoc on a day’s work. Chronic sleep deprivation can have even more drastic consequences, including an increased risk of obesity, heart disease, cognitive decline, and dementia.

The Effects of Sleep Loss

Sleep loss can make it more challenging to maintain focus, attention, and vigilance. Feeling drowsy and trying to stay awake takes a lot of mental energy, making it more difficult to stay focused on long tasks and those that require concentration. This decrease in focus may be  related to the impact of microsleeps, which are momentary (0.5 to 15 second) episodes of non-responsiveness that cause lapses in attention.

People who are sleep deprived are also more likely to make errors and omissions, partially due to increased reaction times. This means that tired employees take more time to react in critical situations and may be more likely to make a mistake. In some professions, impaired reaction times may mean missing an important phone call or not responding quickly in conversation. In other professions- like doctors, first responders, and truck drivers- slow reaction times can be the difference between life and death.

Working while underslept can leave people feeling more irritable, angry, and vulnerable to stress¹. In stressful or negative situations emotional reactions are amplified, leading to overreacting at inappropriate times. Stress and irritability felt during the workday can then carry over into home life, making it more difficult to fall asleep. Over time, chronic sleep loss increases the risk of more serious mental health conditions, like anxiety and depression, that can make being productive at work even more challenging.

The Economic Impact of Sleep Deprivation

Fatigue has a massive economic impact, costing employers billions of dollars a year. It’s estimated that reductions in productivity, motivation, and health care costs related to fatigue cost individual employers around $1,967 annually per employee. When these losses in productivity are added up, fatigue at work costs U.S. companies around $136.4 billion dollars a year.

Blurring the Line Between Work and Home

Increased connectivity has made it easier than ever to work outside of an office, often blurring the line between being at work and being at home. Without a sufficient boundary between work life and home life, people may sacrifice personal needs to complete more work tasks. In fact, research suggests that being able to psychologically detach from work after clocking out decreases the negative effects of work-related stress.

Many jobs blur the line between work life and home life, either due to high demands on employees or because of the nature of the work itself. Doctors, on-call workers, and work-from-home employees are often available by email, text, or instant message around the clock. Industrial workers, nurses, pilots, and other shift workers are often required to work at times that overlap with a normal sleep period, sometimes resulting in sleep disorders like shift work disorder.

Sleep deprivation can affect all employees and has even been linked to several infamous workplace accidents, including the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the Exxon Valdez oil spill, and the Challenger space shuttle tragedy. Knowing the risks of sleep loss on job performance, it’s important for people in all fields to find ways to get consistent, quality sleep.

Improving Job Performance

If sleep loss is causing you to be excessively tired at work, it might be time to make some changes. Getting consistent, quality sleep can help you perform better at work, reduce your reaction time, and leave you feeling more motivated during the day. Here are a few tips to start improving your work performance by prioritizing your sleep.

• Reassess Your Priorities: It’s common to sacrifice sleep in order to finish work, watch television, or socialize. Consider the ways you justify staying up past your bedtime and ask yourself if these activities are really worth the side effects associated with sleep deprivation. If you’re regularly prioritizing other activities over sleep, maybe it’s time to reassess your priorities and create more of a boundary between work time and personal time.
• Find Some Wiggle Room: If your work schedule is causing you to lose sleep, it may be helpful to discuss this issue with your boss, your labor union, or your company’s human resources department. Research shows that allowing for psychological detachment after work hours and supporting employees’ needs for consistent sleep pays dividends by improving concentration and productivity during the workday.
• Be Realistic: Not everyone can change their work schedule and many people need to work shifts that conflict with their ideal sleep-wake cycle. If you can’t find any wiggle room in your work schedule, consider some tips to stay awake during night shifts.
• Improve Your sleep hygiene: Sleep hygiene is all about fostering good habits that promote restful sleep. Make a personalized plan for optimizing your bedroom environment, nailing down a consistent sleep schedule, fine-tuning a bedtime routine, and eliminating any daytime habits that are making it more difficult to sleep.
• Talk to Your Doctor: Doctors and sleep specialists are experienced in helping people who are having sleep problems. Your doctor can help you create a plan for improving your sleep and offer personalized tips for managing work-related fatigue.

Work-life balance addresses how an organization’s workforce prioritizes their personal and professional activities. Work-life balance is a timely matter given the increased amount of technology used to complete work activities and its ability to interrupt home life.

Each employee defines their ideal work-life balance differently, depending on commitments to family, work priorities, health, and leisure.