I decided to do my first Bare Minimum Monday when:

• The Sunday Scaries were starting to set in earlier and earlier, completely ruining my weekend
• I was in a chronic state of overwhelm, and every single task took an enormous amount of effort
• I was always disappointed in my lack of productivity, and got tired of feeling like I was way behind
• I was burned out in a big way

If this is you rn, remember:

Trying harder isn’t the answer when you’re super burned out! That actually just makes everything worse. So when you’re at your low point, the answer is actually to lower the bar, slow it down, and let the bare minimum be enough.

Isn’t doing the bare minimum… a bad thing?

Well, in some contexts, sure. But If we take a peek under the hood, Bare Minimum Monday is just about setting the bar as low as it takes to achieve a "win" for the day. The bare minimum will get you to take action, however small, when it's all feeling like too much. This may seem counterproductive, but keep in mind that the way out of burnout is not to keep trying harder — it’s to do a lot less.

How to do a Bare Minimum Monday:

💤 Ease into the day

Resist checking your email before you actually have to! Let yourself have some unproductive, open space in the morning that’s just for you instead of jumping straight into Work Mode.

🔍 Identify your bare minimum tasks

When it’s time to work, prioritize only what has to get done today. This usually means tasks that have an immediate consequence if not done and tasks that have other people depending on me. Don’t shoot for the moon or plan a day that requires more energy than you have.