My colleague and friend Aimee Deziel is featured in this article that appeared on the front page of the Globe and Mail Careers section on Friday.

Aimee has been working with Eileen Chadnick of Big Cheese Coaching for about a year now and has gone from dreading Mondays to looking forward to them. 

“I called it the Sunday night dreads,” Aimee said in the article. “It got to the point that I couldn’t enjoy half my weekend…”

She then goes on to say, “I feel completely different. I am energized and excited. It is 180 degrees from what I used to feel. In fact, now I feel a Sunday night enthusiasm.  My focus is on coming back to a community, rather than thinking of the office just as the work at hand. I look forward to seeing my co-workers. We have a planning meeting for the week on Monday morning and the first 10 minutes or so is devoted to catching up on what people did on the weekend.”

The article by Wallace Immen also included the following tips from Eileen Chadnick, who also has a blog called TGIM Work-Life!

• Organize ahead. Before you leave on Friday, clear the clutter and write down an agenda for the next week. This way you can know where you left off, and start with a clean plate on Monday.
• Focus on the positive. Think of at least three things you look forward to at work, such as camaraderie with colleagues, meeting clients or learning something new.
• Make the mountain easier to climb. Break down looming projects into small, manageable tasks, which will help you feel like you can move in on Monday and achieve success.
• Write it down. To create a sense of progress, make a “to-do” list and check off tasks as you complete them.
• Keep it simple. Don’t schedule a big meeting on Monday and keep your morning agenda light.
• Find a challenge for the day. Having something you want to accomplish makes it more interesting and easier to get back to work.
• Encourage interaction. “If people are fired up about working with others as a team. it adds a lot more meaning to the day,” Ms. Chadnick says.
• Renew and review. Make Monday morning a time to meet informally to go over progress and plan the rest of the week.
• Create variety. Think about ways to make your work different and more creative. Ask your boss if there are new projects or initiatives that will help you stretch your skills.
• Anticipate good times. Have something to look forward to by planning a lunch or a special evening event during the week.
• Make down time your time. A dinner with friends, a movie or other diversions on Sunday evening will keep your mind off the work week ahead.