Monday isn't that many days away and as much of a fact as that is, it will still throw people off. I realize that this is being posted on a Wednesday, but that's kind of the point. My hope is to provide some effective tools to help you think through your Monday when it does come around.

For me, Monday is my favorite day of the week. There's something about that morning routine that helps me get ready for the week and helps me to get everything in order. I also fully understand that things don't always go accordingly to plan, things can pop up at the last minute, or emergencies surface. In essence, what I wish to share isn't bullet proof and it'll be pretty general, but that's where you come in. Only you can fill in the specifics.

A Monday routine doesn't have to be bad, desensitized, or leave you feeling like you're behind from the minute you wake up as long as it's done with intention. So, here are 3 things you should start doing in order to reclaim Monday mornings:

1. PRAY

Monday, for many, is a fast paced day filled with several task lists, deadlines, and schedules. Rather than jumping into the deep end hoping you remembered how to tread water, begin your day with prayer. This may mean that you need to wake up earlier (remember, we're going for intention).

If your Monday's are quickly filled with work, supervisors or staff calling and texting you right at 8:00 a.m., and utter chaos then hear me out: that's simply not sustainable. We'll get to the chaos in a bit, but by beginning your morning in prayer the hope is that you will find yourself in true communion with God, remembering the truth about God and who you are through His word. Inevitably, this will lead you to worship God. It's a routine with intention that strengthens a relationship.

After praying, Monday should now become a catalyst for planning and prioritizing.

2. PLAN

When you begin to plan your day or the rest of the week, put it all on the table. I mean it: put everything on the table (goals, tasks, meetings, date night, time with the kids, going to the gym, alone time, etc.). EVERYTHING.

When everything goes on the table, you're able to begin to put things in their proper category so that you can more effectively take on your day or strategize your week. Additionally, this will help you to prioritize what's urgent, what's important, and what can wait.

3. PRIORITIZE

Out of the 3, I think this is the hardest for many. Prayer is wonderful because it helps us to strengthen our relationship with God during a time where no one else is awake or when the phone hasn't started ringing. Then when it comes to planning, many don't have trouble putting everything on the table because it actually helps them take a view of all that they have to do. But then the question where do I start? hits and it's all downhill from there.

To begin prioritizing here are my top 3 things to consider: Be Realistic, Be Intentional, and Say "NO" to things.

Putting everything on the table should help you to see that there are simply not enough hours or days in the week to accomplish everything so this is the part where your planning has to be realistic--both in terms of your responsibilities and capacity.

Once you've begun to collect some realistic goals, meetings, and plans for the week the next step is to be intentional. In other words, when you're with your kids, be PRESENT. When you're on date night, be PRESENT. When you're meeting with someone new or a client, be PRESENT.

And finally, say "NO" to things. If you're saying "yes" to everything then chances are there's a ton of work and/or people slipping through your cracks, items and tasks that aren't being fulfilled, and work piling up because you simply can't get to it. In the end, you will burn out and you'll be so emotionally disconnected that you'll affect your family or those around you.

If you wish for your productivity to increase then handle one (task, meeting, goal, etc.) by one. Do NOT move to the second or next thing on your list until the first one is complete. Do this and watch your productivity increase by at least 50%.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

This is more of a section with my top 4(ish) tools that help me not only get organized, but help me stay organized.

• Calendar: I can't stress this enough. Get a good calendar and stop telling yourself that scheduling is so constraining because you're so "organic." You're not 12 anymore. Whether it's a hard copy or an app, get a good calendar with some reminders. Personally, I'm a fan of Google Calendar because it syncs with all of my devices, it's easy, and I've been using it for 10 years.

• Organization: I'm always writing things down during meetings, blog ideas, sermon prep, leadership jazz, etc. I use Notability and Evernote and absolutely love them. They help me to jot notes down, stay organized, color code all of my thoughts, and I can easily share everything with my staff.

• Paper: While I love me some organizational apps, I love paper even more. I always have either a Field Notes pocket notebook or a Moleskin journal with me. The Field Notes pocket notebook is in my wallet and trust me you run into those scenarios where you wish you had a piece of paper for some notes, details, or a quick thought more than you think. When that day comes, your million dollar idea will have vanished into the depth of your brain all because you didn't fork a couple of bucks for a Field Notes pocket notebook.

• Invitation: Whether it's your calendar, your weird apps, or whatever system you decide to adopt in order to help you reclaim Monday's, I would encourage you to invite someone (friend, spouse, staff member, etc) into your planning and prioritization to not only be held accountable, but if it's something you really struggle with, then they could be someone to provide insight.

Again, Monday doesn't have come with a swift kick to the head. It can be reclaimed through intentionality. It may mean a little more effort, but it'll be effort that’s efficient not exhaustive. Give it a shot. I'll love to hear how it goes and if there's anything that I can help with. Leave it in the comments!