Mondays on the Doing Path

A simple way to get your week off to a great start.

I’ve posted about the Doing Path and Journal Tickets in the past. Here’s a good scenario to apply them: Mondays.

Mondays are great because (hopefully) you’ve taken time away from work over the weekend and have a fresh start for your week. Now is a good opportunity to resume what you were working on from your previous week as well as set new short-term objectives.

Make a Journal

On Mondays, I open the journal ticket from the previous week and see what tasks I have not completed yet. I copy those tasks to a new journal ticket for the current week. For example, today I created a ticket called "Week 37 MD". This means it is the 37th week of the year (you can also use project weeks or weeks-to-launch numbers) and MD are my initials. I use initials because I share the ticketing system with other team members and we can see each other's journals.

A good way to start your week is to set realistic and achievable goals for yourself. You don't have to do everything at once, but you should have a clear idea of what is important and urgent. To avoid missing any tasks or deadlines, you should review your communication channels regularly: email, tickets, pull requests, notes, messages, etc. These are the places where work can pile up and cause stress. You should also check if anything has changed since you last worked, especially if your coworkers have been working on the weekend. This will help you stay on top of your projects and collaborate effectively.

A famous person once said “The great things about work, that that there’s aways more of it!”

Publish your plan

After you have established your weekly goals, the next step is to communicate with others. Make sure you align with your direct leader (if you don't have one, choose someone on the team, that's a separate issue). Depending on your position in the organization, you can coordinate with your superiors, subordinates, or peers. I don't make a big deal out of coordination, and rarely schedule a meeting, I usually share a link to my journal ticket in the comms with "These are my goals for the week, let me know if you need to modify them."

This is a great time to:

• Let folks know when you will be unreachable

• Your target hours for the week ( expecially for contractors)

• Link to other artifacts (like the actual work tickets)

Why we Do?

This ritual is about creating space before you begin your weekly journey to work with purpose. Reviewing your mental map for the week helps you feel less anxious because you have a clear sense of where you are and where you are going. Sharing your intentions helps others understand your work-load and avoid unnecessary interruptions like the annoying "What are you working on?".

Screenshot above: special thanks to local heroes Constructor, Inc makers of the Flat app that I use for managing my journal tickets.