5 Ways to Make Monday Your B!tch for Executive Assistants

5 Ways to Make Monday Your B!tch for executive assistants Blog

Some Mondays should come with a warning.

It can be REALLY hard to find the motivation you need to get everything done on your to do list.

But Monday can be a great day to hit the reset button. That’s why we’ve put together our favorite ways you can take the reins on Monday and make it your best day of the week!

Want the latest industry news, reading and listening recommendations, tips and tricks, and more straight to your inbox? Officials all over the world love our newsletter, The Dossier. Sign up now to receive stories just like this one delivered straight to you.

Sign me up

Take magnesium before bed to wake up refreshed

Taking magnesium before bed can help you sleep better

Reports show that magnesium can help the body in many ways by making you calm and relaxed. “Magnesium is an important player in many of the steps that allow you to take protein and convert it into the chemicals that help you feel sleepy,” says Dr. W. Christopher Winter, author of The Sleep Solution and a board-certified sleep specialist at Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine.

According to Women’s Health, magnesium can help calm your nervous system down, relax your muscles and increase your dopamine intake. Magnesium is typically paired with another compound so you will find different types on the market. This guide from Mind Body Green can assist you in determining if and what magnesium is best for you.

By pairing magnesium with an 8 ounce glass of water right before bed you also ensure you wake up hydrated. Experts report that while for the first few nights you may have to wake up to pee in the night, in time your body should learn to adjust and hold the water until the morning.

The combination could help make the most of your rest at night, feel refreshed in the morning and prevent dehydration to set you up for a clear mind with loads of energy.

Use a power playlist to trigger positive vibes

The Officials Hype Work Playlist on Spotify for Executive Assistants

According to The Guardian, “Beyond providing background noise, music has been shown to improve both productivity and cognitive performance, especially in adults. Listening to music can help people manage anxiety, become motivated and stay productive. You just need to know how to make the right playlist.”

That’s right! Music can help trigger your mind into productivity mode.

Need a playlist? We’ve got you covered. Check out our blog on our favorite productivity playlists. We’ve even made you one on Spotify to bop along to while working.

Do it. Delete it. Delegate it. Schedule it.

Task Triage to help you process your tasks as an assistant

Being an executive assistant can mean that your inbox could have 50+ new emails in it at 9am on Monday.

Each email comes with a new request to add to the to do list. That is a lot of tasks to process and can quickly become overwhelming.

Triaging your tasks can help you quickly sort through them and get you out of your inbox and onto making real progress.

All it takes is four simple steps.

Do it

If it can take you 2-3 minutes just do it. This may be to forward an email, share a contact or just point someone in the right direction to help themselves.

Delete it

This one is specific to email. When you are triaging the requests in your inbox there is bound to be some junk, spam, and random emails that you don’t need cluttering your inbox or archive. Delete it! Even better if you can unsubscribe or set up a filter to auto archive or delete.

Delegate it

Ask yourself, are you the appropriate person to do this task or can it be delegated? “Your job is to make sure everything gets done, not to do all the things,” says Lauren. Delegating is a part of leadership and should be wielded more often by assistants.

Schedule it

This step is so important to being able to track your time better as well as where you are spending it. If a task cannot be done in 2-3 minutes, deleted or delegated then schedule it. This means estimating the time it will take to complete the task (padding the time just in case) and finding the appropriate time to put it in your schedule to complete it by the given deadline.

Balance routine with response

Create a Monday routine

Mondays can be very reactive days so try to make it easier on yourself by creating a simplified Monday routine, a checklist of the basic processes you need to complete to make Monday a success.

Even the most seasoned assistant can get lost in the day where there is so much to keep on top of from meeting requests, actions to follow-up from the board meeting, updating the all-hands meeting presentation, handling at least two inboxes, etc.

A morning routine will help ground you when you are looking for what you need to do next. When making your Monday routines it’s important to remember to keep it simple. Your time will likely fill up fast with on the fly requests today so save your power productivity days for the middle of the week.

Looking for an example routine? Check out our Remote Assistant Success course where Ebony Belhumeur shared her productivity routine that keeps her going.

Remote Assistant Success Course

with Ebony Belhumeur

Remote working has never been more necessary than it is right now. And while remote working has its benefits it also has some unique challenges. Current predictions are that at least 30% of the global workforce will continue to work from home at least one day a week.

It’s time to embrace your future and get the skills you need to become a successful remote assistant.

This course is our first official collab at The Officials and we couldn’t have teamed up with a better person. Ebony Belhumeur of The Assistant’s List is the ultimate remote assistant.

Learn more
Remote Assistant Success Course

Set your intention for the day⁠

Executive assistants should set an intention for the day

“One of my favorite routines in the morning is to set an intention for my day. I was given the idea from a morning mediation video on YouTube and have been obsessed with doing it ever since,” says The Officials founder, Lauren Bradley.

According to Forbes, “In order to achieve optimal success and stay in alignment with your values, your goals should be accompanied by daily intentions. Setting a goal is black and white—you either achieve it, or you don’t.”

The article continues to say, “Intentions, however, come from a growth mindset, and they set the standard for how you live and act, regardless of whether or not you achieve a set goal.”

Lauren reports that she loves writing her intention for the day in her gratitude journal The 6-Minute Diary or in one of her Papier notebooks. “It helps me feel calm and relaxed to help prevent the initial overwhelm when thinking of all the things I need to do that day. I highly recommend it,” says Lauren.


How do you feel about Mondays? Below, let us know your tricks to staying productive and motivated on Mondays.

Like this article? Sign up now to receive stories just like this one delivered straight to you. Or if you found it helpful, share it with a friend. Don’t forget to check out our membership for switched on assistants just like you.

Please note this page may contain affiliate links that support us to do what we do best. We only partner with products and services we love. You can read our Affiliate Disclaimer for more information.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*
*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.