the watch of time

Even though I’m no longer part of the active workforce, there’s something about Monday, especially the morning, which still gives it a uniquely discomfiting feel compared to any other day of the week.

Moreover, when you couple that with dreary weather, the palette for a picture to make the day worthwhile has some duller colours to work with.  Of course, more creative artists can still find ways to carve out a pretty picture.

Indeed, anyone who has had the opportunity to watch the sadly missed wet-on-wet painting icon Bob Ross at work knows that a scene exuding idyllic charm can be created with a palette limited to only two or three colours, even only monochromatic ones.

Being able to mimic that positive mentality by working through the grey or bluish casts of Monday felt by many of us at times should be achievable.

From either a business or personal standpoint, there are a couple of easy disciplines which can turn Mondays into days of accomplishment and value, if not exactly TGIMonday.

Having a plan for the day is a simple way to ensure that the new week gets off to a good start, practically and thus psychologically.  This is why many people have the habit of sitting down Sunday evening and setting their specific daily goals for the upcoming days.  Having meetings of importance on Monday clearly helps one make the day one of accomplishment.  I remember a highly successful former colleague whose activity resolved to make a ‘sale’ on Monday, so as to take a little pressure off the week, not to mention the motivational reinforcement.

Recognizing the challenge for those subject to the Monday blues, made even less bright by the impact of grey skies (or the white skies of a snowfall), many sales organizations arrange for meetings with staff early in the day, usually complete (if not replete) with some intonations along the ‘rah-rah’ side.

Mind you, the nuances of the business environment could make the demands even tougher starting out the week.

For a few years I worked in the RESP (Registered Education Savings Plan) industry, specifically offering scholarship trust plans to families for their minor children.  These were in the days before the CESG (Canada Education Savings Grant) and flexible contribution options; the main attractions were the tax shelter and deferral, plus the psychological boost for children to pursue higher education.

One of the least appealing aspects of that occupation, at least based on the policy of the local distributor, was that we were expected to make Sunday night phones calls to prospects.  This was a really tough assignment on a few levels.

First of all was the psychological: shifting from the generally more relaxed mode of the weekend as it’s winding down, to putting on the sales rep hat with phone calls on Sunday evening.  This was deemed a good time to call, because of the greater likelihood of reaching families versus other times in the week.

Second, even if one did reach a parent, or periodically a referred grandparent, the reception could be a frosty one, exacerbated by the usually unexpected nature of our call – often unwelcome simply because of the timing from their perspective, attempting to enjoy their own relaxed Sunday evening.

Third, due to the limited nature of the investment we were offering, the vast majority of our calls were colder prospect calls.  Our potential repeat business would depend on either there being additional children to enrol, or their being a desire to increase the amount committed to the savings plan.  There was not much involved on the servicing side once a plan was set up for a child.  Most of the time we were fishing for new clients.

Therefore, notwithstanding the challenge for many in the workforce of facing Monday, which could include the Sunday night anticipatory blues, the modus operandi of the occupation could be even tougher if it really started on Sunday evening.

To the more optimistic, Monday could be seen a time to count one’s blessings.