Does the thought of Monday morning send a shiver down your spine? It’s time to banish the Sunday Scaries and embrace Monday motivation. Episode 6 of Stories, Success & Stuff is all about getting the most out of your Mondays and setting yourself up for a great start to the week. In this episode, Kristelle and Jace share their experiences with managing Mondays, the “Sunday Scaries” and creating a routine that works for your team. They discuss how setting expectations in advance, taking care of your mental health and diversifying your “time portfolio” can help you make the most of your Mondays. Listen in for tips on how to set yourself up for success and manage stress levels on Monday mornings!

Join us as we uncover the secret of combatting that dreaded burnout and sustaining productivity by prioritizing fun and a work-life harmony. This episode is packed with light-hearted debates, personal experiences and tips for mastering Monday. Tune in!

A Siarza Production
Hosted by Kristelle Siarza and Jace Downey
Executive Producer: Kristelle Siarza
Producer: Jace Downey
Videographer/Editor: Justin Otsuka

Get the downloadable audio version of this episode at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1913667/episodes/13091495 or listen on your favorite streaming platform!

See all episodes at siarza.com/siarza-podcast
Follow us on FB, IG, TT, YT and TW @siarzatheagency
Follow Kristelle @kristellesiarza
www.misskristelle.com
Follow Jace @jacedowneyofficial 
www.jacedowney.com

About Stories, Success & Stuff:

Are you feeling stuck in your career, relationships, or life in general? Join Siarza CEO Kristelle Siarza and adversity alchemist Jace Downey as they explore the bullshit of success and excitement of failure. They’ll dive into stories from their own lives to provide a glimmer of hope and a reminder that whatever you’re experiencing, you are not alone. Through funny anecdotes and compelling conversations, they’ll show you that you have the power to create your own destiny. Tune in and learn how you can explore and shift the paths of life that lead to true fulfillment. This is an inspiring podcast about shifting paths, stumbling to success and creating a life you can fall in love with. So grab a cup of your favorite brew, put on your comfiest clothes, and prepare for untamed stories of success and stuff!

Episode Transcript (unedited)

Kristelle: 0:00

I think starting on a blank slate is sometimes you said it actually best focusing on one little thing at a time. For example, i just started using an AI app called Reclaim And when I started using that app, it was great because it was helping me focus on my tasks. It was like you, contrary to popular belief, i’m not just sitting here with RBF all the goddamn time. I am here freaking out about the next task that I need to do, the next obligation, the next message I need to send, the next little item. I need to do Like I freak out about it all the time. So the point where I had no, i would just stare at my inbox and I’m going what the fuck am I supposed to be doing? next, i would look at my task list. I’m like I don’t want to do any of this today or I don’t know where to start, et cetera. Spencer wasn’t. It was really funny. So on Mother’s Day, his mom and I went to dinner or we went, we all went to breakfast with his mom And he’s like oh, he’s a cancer. And his mom sarcastically and unsurcastically said he’s a crab. And I was like, yep, he’s a crab. All right, like in my head. I was like he was bitching and complaining that morning And then he was already red because of the fact he went golfing like the day before, and then Spencer and then Jonathan was So he’s living into it. I know, really living into the term crab I died. I died when I was like, yep, i’m gonna use that, he’s a crab. So and they were like, oh yeah, we almost named him Sebastian from the little mermaid. 

Jace: 1:38

I was like yes, now I think is Sebastian a crab, cause he has a head like a lobster. 

Kristelle: 1:43

He’s a crustacean. 

Jace: 1:44

And he walks like and he walks more like a lobster. But even I was watching Aladdin last night. Yes, as a 35 year old person, I was rewatching Aladdin And Jeannie is like going through the cookbook on, like how to make a prince right, And he’s like makes a comment on crab And then he pulls out Sebastian and like shakes it off. He’s like, hey, when that happens. And I was like, is he a crab? That feels like very like Disney official that there he said the word crab and he pulled Sebastian out on his hand And I was like so that feels like Disney is calling Sebastian a crab, but he does not look like a crab. 

Kristelle: 2:21

No, he looks like a lobster. 

Jace: 2:24

But with crab let feet Like I don’t, yeah, i don’t know, i don’t either, but it’s, that’s, yeah. 

Kristelle: 2:32

So we were sitting in the movie theater. I know we’re going to be talking about Monday here in a minute. That’s the topic, brilliant topic. So it’s funny cause we were watching Guardians of the Galaxy, we saw the preview for Little Mermaid and how they did the same thing. It was like pseudo crab, right Is Sebastian, and then flounder is like kind of creepy but legit a fish, so it’s flounder. So what was great is that we were talking about you know Mulan. How many people were really disappointed that Mushu was not in the movie And they’re like, no, no, no, if you’re going to do Mulan, you have to have the little dragon. Yeah, He’s the best part of Mulan from what people were saying. So we are we talking live action? So, yeah, when you move it to a live action, you have to have like the initial care. 

Jace: 3:20

So the whole dragon union. Getting them hired is very difficult. 

Kristelle: 3:24

Yeah, for sure. And then you know, like a crab, that’s like your advisor at the same time, like your life, you know, life mentor, That’s it. So process, chaperone, your chaperone, yeah, your handler, So, yeah. So I thought that was really cool that Little Mermaid kept the two characters, because they learned from Mulan You have to have the little sidekick, yeah, so we’re going to talk about Monday. How was your Monday? 

Jace: 3:51

OK, yes, I finally have something cool to report about a Monday. It was actually really great. I had a very long Monday because I was very much in a workflow, so I got a ton done It was such a good workflow. I was like bummed out. I was like I got to stop work now, but like I was in the flow, right, and The reason why I was able to do that, i think, is because I actually had fun on the weekend. So I’m trying out a new thing. I don’t know if you’ve had fun before. Highly recommended. Really really recommend prioritizing it in your life. Thanks, i appreciate the advice. Yeah, check it out, man. It’s really fun, it’s good stuff. But no, i’ve really gotten into a space where my life was entirely work over the last few months And I was exhausted and I was burnt out and I was crabby And just like Crabby Yeah, i just was really. And it got to the point where I’m like I don’t know what I’m here for. Like what is this all for if I’m just working and working and working and I’m paying my bills and that’s what I’m here in the human embodiment for? Like that doesn’t seem right And I know that having one Not diversifying the time portfolio is a bad investment. Yeah, so I’m like I’ve got to just create the space. And then there’s that voice that’s like well, you don’t have it, you don’t have space, you don’t have the time You only have time for work, and that can’t possibly be true. Like I have agency over my life, like I get to create that. So I did So a couple of weeks ago I went I don’t care, the work is still going to be there. It’s a never-ending list of stuff that has to get done and I never get caught up on it. It’s going to be there. I have to make time for myself, mm-hmm, for rest, for fun, for play, for family, yeah. So I have been. Yeah, i like just like Sundays are completely guard day. Oh yeah, no work, they’re just for fun, just whatever I want to do, and I’m making time on Saturdays as well, and during the week also, little pockets of fun here and there, yeah, and rest. So I did, i had a fun weekend and it was a little mix of work at appropriate times and then fun, and it left me so ready and refreshed, yeah, that come Monday I wasn’t like, oh, i’m bummed out the weekends over, because I felt like I actually really had one Mm-hmm And I was like, let’s do this thing, mm-hmm, let’s get this shit done, cool. And I was in the middle of the week And I was in it. So my Monday yesterday was actually great because I took care of me before I took care of Monday. 

Kristelle: 6:20

Yeah, no, i’m a, so you know, as the CEO, i always look at what my week looks like, what my week doesn’t look like, and I’m always really nervous. So many people don’t know. Here at CRs and we actually cap our hours for our early team members to 35. And then we move to people to a salaried position. We purposely keep it at 35, because we don’t want people to burn out. Mm-hmm, right, mm-hmm? And if they burn out, then there’s something going on that’s out of our control because we’ve asked folks like cap it at 35. People at first are like, oh, you know, you should always do a 40-hour work week, and I’m like, i don’t think so. I think you need to be your best productive self. I think you need to take care of your personal health And, most importantly, have a flexible work schedule with 35 hours. But 35 hours is always the cap And if somebody needs to push to 40, they just need to talk to their you know the people that they report to and talk that out. So I personally, for a long time, would actually take Saturday and Sundays to myself too. My hobbies are something that I dearly, dearly protect and those keep me satisfied, like I. So some of you may know like on the weekends I’m actually a hot air balloon nut, like enthusiast, right, and so I chase hot air balloons and I learn about, like, how does the weather grow up? And you’ve been with our you know, with our friends before, and the reason why is like I love riding the back of the truck, i love dressing up in a onesie because it’s warmer that way. I love hanging out with people that love to tailgate Like it is my jam. And then what’s great about it? I wake up at six, i roll out of bed, put the onesie on, get it six, and then I’m done by nine And then I take a nap. Ooh, fancy, yeah. 

Jace: 8:10

So like naps are my thing on the weekends Like I love I call it my ballooning naps. 

Kristelle: 8:16

I love my ballooning naps, and then afterwards I just like I clean. I know that seems like that is some people’s therapy, like cleaning, organizing, no-transcript, doing something that they’re not really having to do, like, my weekends are very sacred, where I will check an email maybe, but I won’t have a project done. It’s a little stressful for me right now, though, talking about Monday, is that I’ve got a big deadline I’ve got to catch professionally, i’ve got to take care of. I have a luncheon that requires like a major fundraising effort for the nonprofit, the Asian Business Collaborative. Then it’s also Asian American Pacific Islander Month, which is great, but when you’ve created one of the largest Asian community organizations in New Mexico, it creates that pressure to make sure that you’re available for API in each month, so that’s something very stressful. Then what was the other one? So everything’s happening in between now and Moral Day, and I’m really nervous about it. So, my Monday. so if you’re going to ask me, crystal, how was your Monday? I woke up really early to study. I woke up really early to work, but because of this golf tournament that I couldn’t get out of, we ended up golfing for a good cause, of course for the ALS Society New Mexico chapter. It was really fun. It was a nice break to my Monday Golf tournaments. I don’t know what it is about golf tournaments on Mondays too. Look, these corporate tournaments. It’s like let’s get plastered on a Monday and I’m like dude, we have work to do. Bro, we have so much work to do, but yeah, so Monday, my Monday, was very busy. My previous Monday was stressing out that Monday No, my previous Monday I was in New Orleans with the rest of my other friends from their own agencies across the nation and in Canada. So my Mondays have been unproductive, but my Mondays have also been filled with meaningful connections, hanging out with people, learning, like two weeks ago I was doing the workshop on how to run your own digital agency and your PR team. So my Mondays have been kind of stressful. But one thing we wanted to talk about today which I thought was good is the Sunday scaries. I definitely had the Sunday scaries at this time around, okay, so how would you describe what the Sunday scaries? 

Jace: 10:40

are For me. I always thought of it more as dread, where even sometimes it started creeping up to Saturday. At one point it was like Sunday would come around and by about noon I would start dreading Monday And I would feel like, oh, i have all this stuff to do. Or there were times where I did not like my job not the current job but just in the past. And I’m like I don’t want to go in. It’s like you know. It’s like are you working for the weekend, right? Because you hate your whole week. Like how have we come to a society where that’s acceptable? I don’t think, yeah, but like, well, that’s a different discussion. So, yeah, by like noon on Sunday I would start having this dread. It would completely ruin my weekend because I was having anxiety. I had very, very high anxiety back in the day, yeah. And so for me it was like all the things I had to get done and the panic of it not being enough and what’s actually going on in my week, let me get it right. And then it got to a point where I started actually just working on Sundays, because it’s like, well, if I’m going to stress out about it anyway, i might as well get a jump start on it. So then I was taking away. That’s probably when the Saturday Scaries came in, because then Sunday become my Monday. So then I was dressing out on Saturday. 

Kristelle: 11:54

Yeah, for sure. No, that makes that makes perfect sense. Sunday Scaries. For me It’s weird. Like it’s it happens every time 10 o’clock on a Sunday, am Or pm, pm. 

Jace: 12:04

Go. You will up at 10 o’clock on a Sunday in the nighttime. Well, we get worse. 

Kristelle: 12:09

So my Sunday scaries is I know I need to see a therapist about this Sunday at 10 o’clock and Then I say, oh shit, i forgot something. Or oh, i have a really big week. I start looking at my calendar, i start getting snippy and then I look at it. I’m like, well, i’ll just wake up really early. So I usually, or I might crack open something or I might do something that needs to be productive I don’t know what it is or I start making excuses in, like If I haven’t have I told you the hamster metaphor so it doesn’t look like it. So Spenser and I my better half, him and he made up this like metaphor for how his brain works. It’s a hamster on a wheel and the hamster is just either like if, let’s say, for example, You can’t remember or you just woke up in the morning, he says, oh, my hamster is like barely moving right now, like personifies his hamster in his head, and so you’ll hear me make this reference from time to time. So my hamster on a Sunday is like Or my mind definitely goes like you know, when a hamster gets too spun up that he just sits there and then he goes with the wheel. Yeah, that’s mostly a lot of my time too in my head, like that’s what, that’s what it visualized, so. And then when Monday comes around, it’s like okay, it’s good, we gotta do this, this, this and this, and so we’re moving, and You know we’re, we’re driving, etc. So that’s that’s what my Sunday’s carries typically is. Is my hamsters like Already flopped and still spinning with the wheel, and how does that affect your sleep? It does affect my sleep very often, like this more. Like last night I went to bed at like eight and I woke up at three in the morning And then try to work a little bit and then fell asleep, and then try to work a little bit and fell asleep. So I had to listen to my body. If my body’s telling me to go back to sleep, go back to sleep. I will tell you that when I start exercising, that’s when my sleep gets really regulated, which is really great too. And and I also think that, like You know, some people like smoke, weed or they drink or stuff like that. Like now, that works for me. I just have to like meditate and then I’ll go to sleep. That’s how I typically am, but no, but I think Monday is a really fascinating topic because we think of The scaries. It really opens up the door, like I just did like to talk about anxiety. It talks about work and productivity and how we stress out about it. I also think Monday is also, just like some people dread it. Some people think of it as, like this, the starting gun, mm-hmm. Right, there are people in this world and I’m trying to think of somebody in my life that does that when Monday happens, they go full-on hype mode, right, they, they get in the car and they’re like I’m playing like the most you know, highest beats per minute and They’re just their go. Who are those people in our lives? 

Jace: 14:58

I do that. I well, i, this guy wasn’t in my life, but he had his window down on Monday, oh, and he was like it was. I was like it was just full-blown club mode in his car. Yeah, and I was like I guess we’re just like yes, and I was like we’re in it. Now, that guy was full beats per minute Monday in it. He was like about it and I was like dang in my house like this Monday after dark. Yeah, like over here and I’m walking the dogs and I’m just like weirdly dancing. 

Kristelle: 15:25

On the side of the road. 

Jace: 15:27

He was blasting it so I was like, oh, that’s a fun, yeah, that’s a fun Monday. That guy was in it. I do like to. I like the happy Monday Mode instead of case of the Mondays. Yeah, we’re like the other these people that are like happy Monday And they like treat it like you know. You’re like happy Friday and it’s like fuck that happy Monday. Like we’re getting it going here and like I like that mode instead of like oh, oh yeah, Somebody’s got a case of the. 

Kristelle: 15:49

Mondays, Oh yeah, or I like motivational Mondays, okay. 

Jace: 15:54

Yeah, when people a little iteration. 

Kristelle: 15:55

Yeah, like when people all of a sudden they become one of those like epic Meaningful Ted Exers that are standing on the red dot two sentences on a Monday. I know they’re like. They all of a sudden like they write the greatest fucking proverb that you’re ever gonna hear from Confucius or something like that and they they tell you like the world I especially as I listen to a lot of like Entrepreneurial or entrepreneurs and you know those types of people like your Gary Vaynerchuk’s of the world They’re just like go and fucking crush it today. And I’m like, yeah, i’m gonna go crush it today. Like. Those are the people like those motivational Monday guys like a Tony Robbins So great. To me Those are the best types of people. Not my jam, that is not me at all. I don’t want to be yelled at. 

Jace: 16:42

I am not someone that’s like though that style that came around and it was like I’m gonna like yell at you. It’s like so masculine, so rigid, and I’m right away like the rebel in me is like I’m not gonna have a good Monday. Like don’t tell me to have a good Monday, yelling at me for a good Monday, like then I’m like I’m just gonna have a mediocre Monday. Like it’s like stupid, but I do. I was dating this guy for a short while we’re getting to know each other And he was the like get out there and crush it. Like he was a big time fitness guy, worked with professional athletes and whatnot, and I was like we are very different people, where I’m like I’m gonna go like greet the day and like invite the day into my world. Like I literally walk out of my house and like say hello to the world. Like every time Indiana, my little border collie, wakes me up, i’m like who’s? 

Kristelle: 17:29

ready for another great day Like that’s me. 

Jace: 17:32

I’m not like we’re gonna crush it. 

Kristelle: 17:35

Like let’s kill this one guy, like why are we so aggressive? Like it’s just a day in your life, like go and enjoy it and be out there with it. I think that for me. I think it’s the Monday night football excitement. That’s the best way to describe it Like the NFL schedule came out, all the teams know when they’re playing, the tickets have been released, and so I’m the type on a Monday that, like let’s go tailgate And then, at five o’clock, let’s turn it on to Amazon Prime and listen to Joe Buck and Troy Eggman and let’s crush it Like. That’s it. 

Jace: 18:06

Oh man, as soon as like meat like wings and like most junk food and beer went out of my life. 

Kristelle: 18:13

Sports left entirely, they went with it. 

Jace: 18:16

I’m like what’s the point of a baseball game if you’re not eating some junk item or drinking some booze at each inning Like that was the point. Every inning you go and consume some. 

Kristelle: 18:24

That’s the point of sports. 

Jace: 18:25

Yes that was the point of sports. So when that stuff left, sports kind of went out the window too. Yeah, no, That’s what oh, so I’m sitting, i’m sitting in the conference room yesterday and I’m working and someone else is in there with me And then, like literally in my head, i’m pep talking myself in this moment And I like sitting. 

Kristelle: 18:41

you know cause we all look normal. 

Jace: 18:42

We’re just like working and we’re just like everything. I’m just like having a normal day, but in my head I am like I’m sure everybody else is freaking out and just looks super normal, jay. It’s like it’s totally okay, like just breathe through it. And you know what, even if you have a thousand things to do, you can only just do one of them at a time. So just do the one thing that you need to do right now and then we’ll figure out the next thing. And I’m like literally having this conversation with me myself while I’m working. And then the other person in the conference room was like do you get brain fog on Mondays? And I said no, but I am having, oh fuck it. 

Kristelle: 19:13

What am I doing with my like? what’s actually happening? 

Jace: 19:15

going on, like I’m having that brain today. And then I asked other people around the office. I was like, do you sit there working normal? Like you just look calm and complacent and like, just fine, but inside you’re freaking out All the time. Yeah, and everybody was like and one person was literally taking an anxiety med while I was asking this question No, yes, and so I’m like, okay, this is going on And like, and that doesn’t make it okay, like there are things for me to be doing that can help with all of that in the meantime. Oh, yeah, so let’s talk about, because I like the idea of Monday and everybody has a different Monday right, like it’s just the start of the week where your time goes outside, right, like, so I can talk about my time on the weekends. That’s inside time. I get to decide what I do with it, but during the week I dedicate that time to my commitments outside. Right, so maybe that’s a Wednesday for some people, whatever, but at the start of the week is, what have you seen, as a person and a business owner, that makes a successful start to the week? 

Kristelle: 20:18

That’s a great question, i think, understanding the clearing of the plate. I think starting on a blank slate is sometimes you said it actually best focusing on one little thing at a time. For example, i just started using an AI app called Reclaim And when I started using that app, it was great because it was helping me focus on my tasks. It was like you, contrary to popular belief, i’m not just sitting here with RBF all the goddamn time. I am here freaking out about the next task that I need to do, the next obligation, the next message I need to send, the next little item I need to do Like I freak out about it all the time. So the point where I had no, i would just stare at my inbox and I’m going what the fuck am I supposed to be doing? next, i would look at my task list. I’m like I don’t want to do any of this today, or I don’t know where to start, et cetera. So what I’ve learned is one at a time, one little task at a time, and that to me, i think, really helps. I also think that having the tone set by the entire team is really helpful. So our Monday meetings are down to 30 minutes, but it’s the time for all of us to get back together giggle, laugh, joke around and we it’s very monotone on purpose, until you get into the memes, because the memes are really funny. Everybody likes to read them. But the reason why we it’s very habitual. It’s actually not supposed to stress out the team. It’s supposed to say, hey, i did this. Hey, let’s give a shout out. This is really great for this person Because I learned early on in 2016, i remember it very vividly We would go through each and every individual project in the firm And it was only 20 clients around that time frame, 25 clients around that time. We would go through on a Monday morning, every single client, and then, all of a sudden, i would see people like I need a break, i’m going to go to lunch really quick, and they would just be stressed the fuck up. We had a much younger team, much inexperienced team at the time, but they like I, they’d be like I’m having such a panic attack right now, and one person was just like what do you mean? This is this, is this. I know exactly what I’m supposed to do. I’ve learned you cannot overwhelm people on a Monday. You do everything that you can to chill. They are placed, like, for example, our business development meetings are on Mondays. I like to put those on paper and I like to be very fluid with those where we can cancel the last minute with each other and opt out of it with each other, because I want everybody to have a time to focus, everybody to have a time to like work on just one little thing, one big thing, one small thing, whatever that might be. And so it’s always just a big challenge with the way that it works. Because Monday is always just a big challenge with the way that it works is because you as as managers and as business owners, we want everybody to be like let’s go. You can’t do that all the time. 

Jace: 23:24

No, you can’t do that every. 

Kristelle: 23:25

Monday You have to. You kind of have to set a routine for everybody and then let them carve out their routine throughout the week. So that’s kind of like my. It’s just like parenting, right. Your kid and I have to give a lot of credit to my mom when she was raising Jonathan. Jonathan knows at seven o’clock it’s time to wake up, jump in the shower, shit, shower and shave and then get out the door And it’s like he knows what to expect. When I don’t have a routine, i’m the worst example for him. My routine is not the great routine. I don’t start off my week very well sometimes because I don’t follow what he follows. So sometimes routines actually are very as monotonous as they can be. They’re actually very like Absolutely Predictable, because when it’s unpredictable, that’s when anxiety happens. So that’s my kind of tool for everybody, like, how do you start a good Monday? How do you, how do you create a good Monday for your team to be very cross-functioning? Give them a routine of some sort. 

Jace: 24:18

So yeah, I like it Yeah. 

Kristelle: 24:21

And the brain loves routine. 

Jace: 24:22

The brain is like, really desires habits, so that kind of creates like. If we think about like the organization brain, yeah, that likes it too. 

Kristelle: 24:30

Well, and I love organizational management and I like to study teams and everybody some people just don’t understand why, like, why do we have a Monday meeting every Monday? Why do we have to check in on every Wednesday to do a Zoom and Chill? Just because two things it’s all by design And it’s all effective team building in some way shape or form. 

Jace: 24:50

It creates those anchor points that people know, like, whatever else is going to be going on, this is always going to be here and here’s what to expect in it. 

Kristelle: 24:56

Yeah, i like it Interesting. I think our time is running out. Related to Monday, I think we’ve kind of talked about a couple of different things. 

Jace: 25:04

Yeah, so having some routine is in the mix for having a good Monday setting aside time over the weekend or whatever that looks like, in order to recharge, recharge, detach, do what you got to do, take care of you Starting I’m hearing like a pace, whatever pace works for you, whether that’s Monday after dark, hitting the club at 6 am in your car or grooving slowly into it And then having a plan. Yep, having some kind of like knowing what the week is going to entail, like making sure you are the master of your week and starting that on Monday. Not like letting other people dictate that. Like starting. You know one of the worst things we do is start checking email first thing in the morning. Yep, giving our way, our time to the outside. So yeah setting that time set, so you’re creating what your Monday even looks like. Maybe even set up Monday on Friday. What, yeah, start your Monday on Friday, very much possible And then diversifying your time portfolio So you’re getting in a lot throughout the week, so you’re not in that constant anxiety. Yep, take care of your sleep and mental health Totally. 

Kristelle: 26:07

I love it. 

Jace: 26:08

Ooh, let’s talk about mental health and success at one of these episodes Yep. 

Kristelle: 26:12

Mental health and success I think is great. Relationships and success. We talked a little bit about that. I know that we’re looking at some other great topics. Follow us on social media. Just excited that you all listened to today’s podcast on stories, success and stuff.