Five ways to work the week well

Fired up for action on a Monday morning, or bedevilled with the blues? Depending on how my Sunday went, I’ve done both. Here’s a quickie to guide you through your likely mood-swing mode throughout the week:

Monday:

Most likely day for calling in sick. Whether it’s post-weekend hangover or sheer IDon’tFeelLikeIt-itis it has a real name: Seasonal Absence Syndrome.

So no, you won’t have a a full staff complement on the first day of the working week, and the consequences are that those of you who pitch up will be more stressed. And, because your body clock’s re-tuned over the weekend, you’ll be off-sync for the day.

Apparently, 33% more people have a heart attack on a Monday, perhaps due to the finding that Mondays make people more aggressive.

Cure? Delegate, make lists and avoid anyone who’s likely to cause trouble. Take it easy.

Tuesday:

Get things done day, preferably between 10h00 and 12h00, when you’re firing on all cylinders. This is the day for meetings, decisions and innovation. It’s also the day when most people extract digit and look for career opportunities, so clever companies make sure they’re doing something interesting and effective with the people they want to keep rather than letting them surf the alternatives.

Cure? Job-change time, get a wriggle on. Happy in job? get those snarly decisions made and moving.

Wednesday:

Breaking the back of the week. Unless you’re a saddo with no social life, this is the day you clobber the week’s work so you can coast a bit Thursday and Friday. Transition from tough Monday/Tuesday, but still very much an action day.

Because you’ve made space with getting the difficult stuff out of the way, this is a good day for being creative and thinking ahead.

Cure? Well, if you didn’t do the difficult stuff Monday or Tuesday, you have to get it over with today. And if you did, you can have a jolly day doing the creative, day-dreamy stuff.

Thursday:

You’ll be open to negotiation, according to the boffins on this. So if you want something resolved, this is the day to put it forward or to chase it.

Apparently, dominant behaviour is on the wane by Thursday, so you’re more likely to reach an accommodation with people, even adversaries.

Cure? Only needed if you’re a scary type A personality who’s still living in Monday.

Friday:

Aaah. You’ll be in risky mode, apparently. No, this doesn’t mean you’ll be heading off to the bar with a load of strange men who’ll importune: just that you’ll be more likely to experience a mishap because you haven’t been paying attention properly. You’ll be tired, not concentrating, and likely let things slide where you’d normally stick to your guns.

Which is why some firms make people redundant on a Friday.

ure? You can take chances, but only if you keep awake. If you can’t see a problem coming, you’re probably a Friday person. In which case you need try to think like Tuesday.