It became my go-to daily practice and changed everything.

Mondays and me: a rocky start

For years, I dreaded Mondays. They felt like a tidal wave of catch-up work after the weekend.

During fellowship, the schedule was structured so that one fellow covered the entire weekend. This setup gave the others a real break—time to rest, recover, and reconnect with family and friends. But then Monday came. And in a busy unit, Mondays were overwhelming.

It meant receiving updates on all the patients—the ones I had been following and new admissions handed off from weekend coverage. It meant tracking down consultants who had also been covering temporarily. It meant reviewing labs, imaging results, and orders.

All of this was just the pre-work before even seeing patients and rounding with the team. Mondays felt like a bear. It’s easy to see why I dreaded them.

And that energy? It didn’t just stay confined to Mondays. It seeped into Tuesday, then Wednesday, until the whole week felt heavy.

That wasn’t how I wanted to experience my career—especially one that meant so much to me. But no matter what I tried, making peace with Mondays seemed just out of reach.

A breakthrough: the power of intention

Years passed. I discovered coaching. I became certified and, along the way, learned about success habits. That’s when it clicked.

I needed a success habit to shift my relationship with Mondays. And I found it.

Set the intention for the day.

This has become my favorite daily practice. Here’s what it looks like for me:

As I prepare for the day, I take a moment to decide how I want to experience it.

The key question that sets the tone is:

“How do I want to feel today?”

This question bypasses the events of the day—things I may have little control over—and goes straight to the essence of my experience.

How to begin

First thing in the morning, I set the intention for the day. For me, it’s to have a day of ease and flow. Then, I go deeper:

• What does ease and flow feel like?
• How does it feel in my body?
• What thoughts support this feeling?

In five minutes or less, I anchor the feeling. Once I connect with it, I’m ready to begin the day.

When life happens

Medicine is unpredictable. There are constant moving parts—team members, late arrivals, miscommunications, delays. There will always be things that disrupt patient flow.

So how can a physician stay in the flow?

That’s where setting the intention comes in.

Setting the intention pre-paves the way. Instead of spiraling into stress and frustration, I pause and reconnect with how I truly want to experience the day.

What did I set as my intention? Ease and flow.

By returning to that, I can short-circuit the default stress response and reclaim my center.

A practice that endures

Over the years, I’ve added many tools to my daily practice. They all work, each in their own way, for different situations.

But setting the intention? That’s my foundation.

It launches my day. It centers me. It keeps me connected to what truly matters.

And most importantly, it reminds me that this work—this calling—does not have to take me out.

Blessings on the journey.

Stephanie Wellington is a physician, certified professional coach, and founder of Nurturing MDs, dedicated to guiding physicians from stress and overwhelm to ease and flow in the demanding medical field. She empowers clinicians to infuse new energy into their careers and reconnect with their identities beyond the stethoscope. She can also be reached on Facebook and LinkedIn.