The 3 Things I Check Every Monday to Keep My Startup on Track

Mondays can be chaos if you let them.
Your inbox is overflowing. Your team has a dozen things waiting for you. There’s always a fire somewhere.

But here’s what I’ve learned: if you start the week by reacting, you’ll spend the whole week firefighting.

So I have a simple Monday routine. Three things I always check first — before I open my inbox, before I let other people’s priorities set mine.

The first thing I look at is sales. Simple. Did anything change over the weekend? Are numbers up, down, or steady?

If I spot a spike or dip, I dig deeper. For me, that means Shopify analytics. Did traffic surge? Did it drop from a specific channel? Was there a sudden regional pattern or a product that suddenly started flying? Sometimes it’s even a demographic shift — like dads buying instead of mums.

Sales are the heartbeat. If it changes, I want to know why.

Once I’ve looked at sales, I check the performance of our ads and social platforms. If sales moved, is this where the answer lies? Did a campaign overperform? Did something stall?

It keeps me honest about where growth is really coming from — and stops me wasting money on platforms that aren’t pulling their weight.

I used to let my inbox run my Monday. I love a tidy inbox, so I’d end up answering emails that didn’t matter — just to get them out of sight.

But here’s the reality: a busy inbox doesn’t mean it needs to be dealt with.
Now, I check it after sales and ad performance. That way, I know I’ve already focused on what drives the business — not just what clears my screen.

This routine keeps me focused on growth, not just noise. Mondays feel lighter. The rest of the week follows suit.

What’s the first thing you check every Monday?