I always reconsider the list of carry-overs from the past week. Were some of the items carried over because they’re not that important? Then don’t put them on next week’s list. Were some major items that didn’t get enough attention? Carry them over and budget time to complete them. After considering the carryovers, look at the week and plan for customer meetings, travel, milestone meetings and staff sessions. I put my list for the week into priority order by day. Then I prepare my list to discuss with the team at our Monday morning meeting. Finally, I always look at my contact list, because I almost always find the name of someone I should plan to call during the upcoming week—and I add that to my list.

So you walk in the door on Monday morning, freshly armed with a plan for the week. What else makes for a great Monday? One of the best business traditions is a Monday morning team meeting. Nothing gets the week off to a great start like putting heads together with your associates, reviewing issues, asking for advice on big opportunities and bringing everyone up to date on activity plans. Everyone can leave the meeting ready to get things done, and getting things done is the final step. Accomplishments on Monday make the whole week run well, so my weekly plan always includes one task I’ll be able to complete before day’s end. Knowing this helps me walk into the office thinking, TGIM.