Unlike summer, fall is the time when we take work seriously. After all, there are fewer places to go and fewer people to meet as the weather gets colder. So it’s only logical that we put more effort into our careers and say goodbye to summer Fridays. The problem with that? The five-day workweek is an outdated concept. It often depletes our mental resources, which prevents us from performing at our best. The only logical solution to this, in my opinion, is to further streamline our work weeks. Of course, we now have to be online on Fridays, but that doesn’t mean Fridays have to suddenly go from days off in the sun to days filled with tasks.

Fortunately, continuing to have stress-free Fridays is not that complicated. You can actually achieve all your goals and finish the year successfully by implementing a few simple resolutions from Monday to Thursday. Below we’ll show you how to maximize your productivity and efficiency so you can optimize your work and enjoy a relaxing Friday at the office.

1. Plan your week before it even begins

Before you leave work the week before, during your Sunday reset, or before you clock in on Monday morning, you need to create an action plan for the week. Ask yourself what’s next and what needs to get done before you call it a day on Thursday. Be sure to take a look at your personal and work calendar to see what meetings or appointments might take up some of your time. Doing this before your week starts will help you hit the ground running on Monday morning and not waste any of your precious time.

Planning will help you manage your time better, increase your focus, and get your tasks done smoothly and efficiently. And if something comes up at the last minute, you’ll already have a complete picture of your week, so you can decide where to put it, rather than letting it completely mess up your week or become a Friday task.

2. Shorten meeting times

While meetings are important for building rapport and making sure everyone is on the same page, long meetings are unnecessary, and yes, some meetings really could be just emails. Not only do some meetings cut into your day and prevent you from getting things done, but they can also be mentally draining and make it harder to be productive. To combat this, identify meetings you can shorten and meetings you can cut altogether. Shorter meetings will give you more time during the week to do tasks you need to get done before Friday. Plus, your meetings will be more productive because you won’t have time for long digressions and chatter about the latest TikTok trend before diving into the meeting agenda.

3. Focus on your work every morning

We’ve all had mornings where we rush into work because we overslept or got stuck behind a school bus on the way to work. And on those mornings, we find it harder to stay focused. There’s a reason for that, apparently. Studies show that the secret to higher work engagement, better use of work resources, and increased positivity is to take the time to refocus on work in the morning. Essentially, this means that we’re more likely to get something done when we take a few minutes to tune into our workday. Try a career meditation, visualize a positive workday while sipping your coffee, or journal before you call it a day. Likewise, you can visualize how you’ll spend your after-work hours knowing you’ve checked off everything on your to-do list. This always motivates me to get more tasks done, as I’m rewarded for my hard work.

Get plenty of rest and recovery while you’re away from your desk so you can perform at your best when it’s time to get back to work.

4. Implement monotasking

Monotasking is essentially the antidote to multitasking, emphasizing the need to focus on one task at a time until it’s completed. While this isn’t a groundbreaking concept, it’s difficult to master. We live in a world full of distractions that cause us to take two to three times as long to complete our tasks as we need to. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have time for that when I’m trying to have relaxing Fridays anytime soon. To avoid distractions and use monotasking to your advantage, you need to remove anything from your work environment that might interfere with your concentration. I put my phone in another room during my workday or put it on Do Not Disturb. You can also wear noise-canceling headphones to block out outside noise, or even set parameters on your phone that don’t allow you to check social media.

Different tricks work for different people, but try your best to play to your strengths and weaknesses. If you can hear a notification on your phone without picking it up, maybe you can put it on Do Not Disturb or leave it on your desk. Implementing this trick has completely changed my ability to cross tasks off my list before Friday. I get things done so much faster when I don’t have to stop every 10 minutes to refresh Instagram. Who knew?

5. Consider extending your working hours

If you’re struggling to get the majority of your work done before Friday, consider extending your working hours from Monday to Thursday. Of course, this doesn’t mean you have to work all day – because you definitely shouldn’t, and that would be detrimental to your mental wellbeing. It’s more like taking a paid holiday on a Friday. You work a little longer so that everything that needs to be done gets done before you’re away.

Instead of working four eight-hour days, try working four ten-hour days, especially on the weeks when you’re insanely busy. On the less busy weeks, you can adjust your schedule accordingly. You can start and finish work half an hour earlier or later on one day, clock out normally on four days, and so on. Longer hours may not sound ideal, but starting work earlier in the morning is always worth it when Friday rolls around. It allows me to get all of my tasks done without sacrificing my mental health and wellbeing, and for that reason, I highly recommend it.

6. Your well-being is a priority

Your life outside of work affects your life at Work. It’s almost impossible, at least for me, to do my best work-related work if I don’t put in the effort outside of work. We all have a lot of personal and professional commitments that take up our mental resources (or sanity, depending on the week). By making time for yourself during the hours you’re not working, whether it’s a yoga class after a long day or (dare I say it??) sleeping in on the weekend, you’ll have a better chance of getting all of your tasks done.

It’s not always easy to get all your work done in four days, but it’s a lot easier when you don’t feel so exhausted all the time. Get proper rest and recovery during the time you’re away from your desk. That way, you’ll be able to perform at your peak when it’s time to go to work, and work will be less likely to spill over into your precious Fridays.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Arianna Reardon, contributing writer

Arianna is a Rhode Island native, professional blogger and freelance writer dedicated to helping women develop a healthy relationship with money, become financially independent and invest in themselves for the future. Arianna is a firm believer in pursuing what you want, taking your time and smelling the roses, and the importance of a good cocktail.