1. Meeting-free Mondays

When Samuel still worked in an office, Mondays felt like "getting shot out of a cannon" since she was quickly inundated with emails and meetings all day. By the end of the day, she felt like she "was already behind."

Instead of starting the workweek with an influx of emails and meetings, Samuel recommends blocking off your calendar so people can't book meetings with you on Mondays. You can also try to keep your email and messaging apps off until noon, so you can get into the groove of work before turning your attention to any urgent messages.

Without constant meetings and messages vying for your attention, you'll be able to focus more on top-priority projects. You'll also be able to transition from the weekend back to work more easily. According to Samuel, "Mondays were like an airlock between my weekend downtime and my workweek of meetings and calls."

"You may still have the occasional meeting that absolutely has to happen on Mondays, but if you can make that the exception rather than the norm, meeting-free Mondays are worth a try," Samuel writes.

2. A reverse workday

Rather than unwinding after work, Samuel suggests taking your downtime at the beginning of the day.

"When you unwind before work, instead of afterward, you get to check in with yourself before you get caught up in the swirl of everybody else’s demands, and you may have the energy for activities that are hard to enjoy after work, once you’re already worn out from the day," she writes.

In the morning, Samuel spends some time on leisure activities, like reading or watching a show, before she gradually transitions to work. Start with low-demand tasks first, like catching up on email or paperwork, before turning your attention to more rigorous tasks or projects.

By prioritizing downtime before work, Samuel said she is "more patient, less stressed, and more focused than if I dived right into work first thing."

4. The project sprint

For many people, their jobs involve projects that can change the pace or demands of their work, such as a product launch or the lead-up to a conference. When working on a high-priority project with a fixed deadline, Samuel recommends rebuilding your workweek to focus on the project instead of just working like usual.

"Split your workweek into two portions: project mode and regular work mode," Samuel writes. "Start the week in project mode, setting aside the first two days of each week to work only on tasks related to this single, high-priority area."

If you start your workweek focused solely on your big project, it will be easier to keep it at the center of your attention. Then you can tackle the rest of your normal work. If the rest of your work extends into the weekend, Samuel recommends trying to limit it to one day so you can have one day completely free from work to recharge before you return to your big project on Monday.

Although these alternate schedules may not work for everyone, "experimenting with a different workweek structure — even if it's just for a few weeks — is the best way to find out whether a 9-to-5, five-day workweek is what makes you most effective, or if it's simply the way you’ve always assumed you have to work," Samuel writes.