Overview

Successful people don’t “wing it” on Mondays—they dominate before the week even starts. If your Mondays feel like a chaotic mess, you’re already playing catch-up.

The Sunday Reset:

• Decision fatigue kills performance. The more choices you make throughout the day, the worse your decisions get—elite performers eliminate unnecessary decisions ahead of time ⁽¹⁾.

• Mental priming sets the tone for success. Studies show that visualizing challenges before they happen improves execution and stress resilience ₍₂₎.

• Pre-planning reduces stress and improves sleep. Research shows that writing down tasks before bed lowers cortisol and improves sleep quality, making Monday feel smoother ₍₃₎.

• The Fix? The “Sunday 60” Planning Routine. Spend just 60 minutes on Sunday setting goals, locking in workouts, and eliminating distractions so Monday feels like a launchpad—not a disaster ₍₄₎.

What ‘IF’..? Challenge

Mondays hit like a freight train—your inbox explodes, Slack won’t shut up, and suddenly, it’s noon, and you’ve done nothing but put out fires. But high-performers don’t just react to chaos—they engineer their week for success before it even starts.

The 5-Minute “Sunday 60” Jumpstart

 ✔️ Step 1: Write Down Your Top 3 Wins for the Week
Your brain loves dopamine—give it something to chase. What 3 things will make this week feel like a success? Write them down (career, fitness, personal—doesn’t matter, just make them clear).

✔️ Step 2: Lock in Your Workout Plan
Decision fatigue kills progress. Pick the exact days and times you’ll train this week. No guessing, no skipping—just show up.

✔️ Step 3: Block Your Deep Work Hours
Success isn’t found in “busy work”—it’s built in distraction-free execution. Choose two 60-90 minute blocks where you’ll turn off notifications, enter deep focus, and crush high-impact tasks

What IF..?

Just 5 minutes of planning made your entire week feel smoother, more productive, and stress-free.

Citations

1. Decision Fatigue & Performance: Vohs, K. D., et al. (2018). Decision fatigue depletes self-control and increases impulsive decision-making. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 

2. Imagining Success: Schacter, D. L., et al. (2016). Multiple Achievement Goals and the Effectiveness of Imagery. Nature Neuroscience.

3. Pre-Planning & Sleep Quality: Masicampo, E. J., & Baumeister, R. F. (2011). Considering tasks undone reduces the disruptive effects of task-related concerns on sleep. Journal of Experimental Psychology.

4. Strategic Planning & Productivity: Gollwitzer, P. M. (1999). Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans. American Psychologist.