3 Ways To Make This Monday Rock.

I have this problem. When I wake up Monday morning (around 4:15 AM), I don’t feel the happy, energized, and focused self most of my clients, colleagues, and friends see when they encounter me later in the morning. At least not until I’ve taken my meds. : ) A lot of people I know feel this way in the morning and unfortunately, it extends into most of the day and it is especially more intense on a Monday.

It could be for many reasons, you had too much fun on the weekend, you hate your job, you hate your commute . . . a myriad of rationales.

Mondays suck. So what do I do to immediately turn them around?

1. I Say To Myself: “It’s not going to last.”  Usually when I am up and taking a shower in the morning, I start thinking of all the BAD things about my business, career and life.

For me, I call it the ‘Morning Seritonin Slump’. It’s my initial body chemistry starting to rev up and it’s going to take a little while to get my car into 5th gear. So I let the bad thoughts wash over me and say “It’s not going to last.” — and guess what — it goes away as fast as it came.

2. I Plan Ahead.  I usually make a list of things I need to get done the night before. Not a huge checklist which would choke a horse, but a simple list of 3-5 items I know need to be attacked first thing in the morning. This immediately give me purpose and focus, two things I desperately need in the morning.

Also — dive right into work. Take action and stop obsessing how bad the day is or will be. Once you start attacking your to-do list, you begin to feel better immediately.

3. I Stretch and Smile.  The physical affects the mental. If you are feeling down, don’t focus on the stinking thinking zipping in your head, get physical. Even if it’s five minutes of stretching in your bedroom, a run outside, or a quick trip to the gym, physical activity gets the blood flowing and the mental malaise changing.

In addition, make yourself smile — we tend to go through life with a flat or angry look on our face and candidly, it affects our mood. Try to make yourself smile, hum, move your head to music, sing in the shower! You’ll feel a major sea-change in your mood immediately.

How do you make your Monday ROCK?

Are You Wasting Your First Impression?

First impressions occur in the first seven seconds of meeting someone. Here's something even scarier — a series of experiments by Princeton psychologists Willis & Todorov uncover it takes is a tenth of a second to construct an impression of a stranger from their face. Longer exposures don’t significantly alter those impressions (although they might boost your confidence in your judgments).

Like it or not, judgments based on facial and overall appearance play a powerful role in how we treat others, and how we get treated.

The moment a person observes you, their brain makes a thousands of calculations —  are you someone to like or to dislike? Can you be trusted or feared? Are you important or are you a lackey?

Each calculation is made at lightning speed — making major decisions about one another in the first seven seconds of meeting.

Let's break it down to each individual item:

Body Language/Body Image:

• What is your posture like when you walk? Are you hunched over? Are you straight and proud?
• Do you walk like Jason Bourne — A bit faster and with purpose?
• Are you shoulders square and are you looking straight ahead?

Facial Expression/Eye Contact:

• Are you smiling? Not a fake smarmy smile — a REALLY big smile?
• Do you 'brighten' your eyebrows when meeting someone?
• Are you looking them right in the eye?

Voice & Tonality:

• Do you introduce yourself energetically? "Hi, I'm Rich Gee. What's your name?"
• Do you say it with pride and enthusiasm or low and weak?
• Do you punch key words and emphasize your phrasing?
• Do you follow up with additional questions, "Tell me more!"
• Do you take a SINCERE interest in what they have to say?

Dress & Appearance:

• Are you wearing a sharp & clean uniform (suit, skirt, slacks, shirt, tie, jacket, etc.)?
• Does it suit your size? Age?
• How are your shoes?
• Are you wearing too much makeup? Cologne? Perfume? Jewelry? Accessories?

Handshake:

• Are you actually taking their hand and shaking it? Or just letting it lie there?
• Is it a firm (not killer) handshake? Is it a dead handshake?
• If you know them well — are you grasping with two hands? Giving them a hug?

Your first impression is so important. Practice, Prepare, and Present! They're going to LOVE you!