Mondays are tough.
After an epic weekend of rest and relaxation (or drinking and debauchery), that infernal alarm clock always seems to wake you up far too early. The temporary relief from seven minutes of snoozing quickly turns into half an hour.
Arriving fifteen minutes late to work – using the side door, of course – your first few hours are spent messing around on the internet rather than getting anything productive done. Your food (or drink ) hangover from the weekend carries over to your meal choices for the day, and “just this once,” fast food is your choice.
After work, working out is the last thing on your mind as the day has already felt like a waste. Come 11 pm, you are lying in bed, and you finally come to the realization that you know all too well:
“I didn’t really DO anything today!”
No more.
Today I’m going to issue a challenge that will change the outcome of your week, every week.
Always dominate Monday.
Why Monday is crucial
Never underestimate the power of momentum.
It will work FOR you if you let it, but it will also work AGAINST you if you let it.
Let’s look at a bad Monday…
If you skipped your workout on Monday, it will be so much easier to skip your workout on Tuesday. Since you probably took Saturday and Sunday off (and maybe even Friday), Monday quickly becomes the most important day of the week.
You didn’t really eat healthy on Monday, which means it’s easier to tell your yourself “meh, I can start tomorrow” and not eat well on Tuesday or Wednesday.
When your Monday routine is thrown off, you might forgo your routine for the rest of the week, which results in, “well I already missed a day, no point in starting a day late…I’ll try again NEXT Monday.”
If you snooze on Monday, then snoozing on Tuesday is just a little bit easier.
You were unproductive on Monday, which stresses you out and you have to play catch up during the rest of the week.
Instead…
You dominated your Monday workout, setting the tone for workout domination for the whole week. “This week I am going to hit new records with my workouts. I already kicked ass on Monday, let’s keep it up!”
You dominated your Monday with healthy food choices and meals, setting the tone for continued healthy eating all week. Your brain permanently stays in “I’m making healthy choices this week” mode.
You popped right out of bed on Monday without snoozing, so snoozing becomes less of an issue with each passing day. It’s not a question of willpower, it’s just “what you do.”
You were incredibly productive on Monday, which makes the rest of your week much less stressful.
So stop sucking and start dominating.
Slackers vs. Rebels
I want to tell you the tale of two groups: Slackers and Nerd Fitness Rebels.
Slackers skip Monday workouts because they “didn’t have time.”
Rebels make exercise a priority, and plan their day around their workout.
Slackers let their food hangover sabotage Monday.
Rebels make extra sure their Monday calories are healthy.
Slackers waste their Mondays with unproductive behavior.
Rebels suck it up and turn Monday into the most productive day of the week.
Slackers snooze.
Rebels get out of bed and get their workouts done before the rest of the household is awake.
Slackers complain.
Rebels shut up and take care of business.
Slackers find excuses.
Rebels find solutions.
Slackers suck.
Rebels dominate.
How to Dominate Monday
I challenge you today to start looking at Mondays differently.
It’s not the start of a long week. It’s not the worst day of the week.
Monday is the most important day of the week, so do it right:
- Plan out your meals for Monday on Sunday night. Where, when, and what will you eat? Can you prepare any of that the night before?
- Plan out your workouts for the week, and put them in your calendar. How many sets, reps, what time, and where. GET SPECIFIC!
- Put your alarm clock across the room. Set it for the correct time you need to wake up, and when it goes off, GET UP.
- Get to the office on time, and get through one important task before checking email.
Are you a slacker or a rebel?
We have a community of rebels – and we have room for you.
We are starting a new 6-week challenge today on the Nerd Fitness message boards, and we’d love for you to participate – it’s free to join, free to participate, and you’ll probably make some kick ass friends along the way!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a Monday to dominate.
-Steve
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photo source: snooze button, sunset run, fist, old clock
