TGIF! (The Grind Includes Friday), the mere idea of weekend being around the corner is enough to make everyone thrilled with excitement. You simply cannot wait for time away from work, as you make plans to unwind, and relax over the weekend. The problem however is, you have so many piled up tasks to be completed before the weekend finally arrives? So, how do you make most of Friday and stay motivated during the day (whilst your mind is already switching off to a weekend mode)?

It might come as no-surprise, that a study pointed out, Friday being the least productive day within a week. Based on this survey, only 3 percent respondents state that the employees are productive on a Friday. This further means that majority of employers agree, that Friday is a day when employees are less focused on tasks and have already snapped into a weekend time. Meanwhile, Tuesday (39 percent) and Monday (24 percent) come as the most productive days.

According to another research conducted by British Airways, as early as 2.39pm on Fridays, employees are switching off their work mode and winding things down. Six in ten respondents state that, they tend to ease up on Friday and hold important meetings until the next Monday. While some people perceive Friday as ‘free day’ where the workloads (supposed to be) fewer than other days in a week, some others see Friday as the busiest day of the week when it comes to week-long deadlines.

While it is commonly known that employees tend to slow things down on Friday, the truth is that employees are still paid full-time until the clock strikes home. That’s why, it is critical for them to stay motivated and productive until the end of the day. Here are several tips, for you to retain employee focus on an unwinding mode:

See: Is Working on The Weekend Okay? Here is The Scientific Answer

Plan the week ahead

At the beginning of the week or even month, check your calendar and team agenda. Are the schedules well-arranged? Have you notified the employees about any upcoming meetings within such period of time? Before Friday arrives, it is crucial to plan things for the week ahead.

Make sure the tasks are not piling up on a given Friday, since it can make employees feel frustrated. Overwhelming responsibilities over the weekend will never encourage your employees to work harder. Rather, they tend to procrastinate until Monday or Tuesday.

Start the day earlier

Knowing that workers tend to unwind after lunch especially on Friday, you might need to encourage them to start the day earlier. For example, you can set up a policy where the work starts an hour earlier on Friday, so that employees can leave the office early as well.

Take time for breaks

You can prevent low-quality work and reduce presenteeism by encouraging your employees to take quick break on Fridays. Light exercises and stretches can be great options to take their mind off busy week agenda. When you allow time for breaks, your employees will come back more focused, alert and ready to take more responsibility from the beginning of the week.

Eliminate any distraction

This should be done not only on Friday, but also followed throughout the week ahead. However, as Friday brings the most distraction to employees, you should help eliminate any distraction that takes away their focus from work.

Put the phone away

Early hours at work is the most productive time for employees. Therefore, take advantage of the peak hours to get priority tasks done. Encourage employees to put their phone away, and focus on priority task delivery, attending to emails and calls from clients.

Towards the end of Friday, you have to make sure the time was well invested and the day wasn’t lethargic, but not too hectic either. The trick here is to find the best strategy to keep your employees engaged with their tasks without losing the fun aspect to work. It is important to create motivational hacks that will help both the employer, senior manager and the employees channel weekend excitement into productivity goals, and get tangible results around the ticking clock.

Read also: TGIF Phenomenon: How to Make Friday as Productive as Monday