Monday Team Meeting Starter: 24 Questions to Kick Off the Week
Monday's first team meeting usually opens with a status round — who's blocked, what shipped Friday, what's on deck. None of that is energizing, and it sets the tone for the rest of the week. This pack is 24 general-knowledge questions built to open the week instead: a few about Mondays and mornings specifically, the rest general enough that everyone has a fair shot regardless of role or tenure.
The difficulty is deliberately mixed. A few are gimmes (nobody misses "as soon as possible"); a few are the kind of fact people repeat for the rest of the day — the 5-second-rule study surprises a room every time. Every answer is on this page, so you can skim it before hosting and swap anything that's too easy for your team.
It runs as a live team quiz: share one link, everyone answers on their own device, and a live leaderboard updates after every question. No accounts, nothing to install — open the tab and go.
How to run this with your team
- Open with it, before the status round. Ten minutes of trivia first means the status updates that follow land with a team that's already talking, not one that just logged on.
- Draw a subset, don't run all 24. The defaults draw a shuffled 12 of the 24 — about ten minutes at 20 seconds a question. Host it again the following Monday and most of your team will see a mostly fresh set.
- Use Pause & Discuss on the myth-busters. The 5-second-rule question and the Pareto Principle question both tend to surprise people — pause on them and let the room react before moving on. That reaction is the actual point of a Monday warm-up.
- Rotate it with the Friday pack. Run this one Monday, the Friday quiz Friday, and your team gets two fresh warm-ups a week without you writing new questions.
The questions (24)
1.What does the word "Monday" literally derive from in Old English?
- A.Moon's day
- B.Sun's day
- C.Tyr's day
- D.Woden's day
Show answer
Moon's day
2.Under the international ISO 8601 standard, which day is defined as the first day of the week?
- A.Sunday
- B.Monday
- C.Saturday
- D.Wednesday
Show answer
Monday
3.What is the scientific name for the internal ~24-hour body clock that governs sleep and energy?
- A.The metabolic rhythm
- B.The lunar cycle
- C.The circadian rhythm
- D.The homeostatic drive
Show answer
The circadian rhythm
4.The modern 5-day, 40-hour US workweek is widely credited to a 1926 policy change at which company?
- A.General Motors
- B.IBM
- C.U.S. Steel
- D.Ford Motor Company
Show answer
Ford Motor Company
5.The Pomodoro Technique's classic work interval is how many minutes long?
- A.25 minutes
- B.15 minutes
- C.45 minutes
- D.60 minutes
Show answer
25 minutes
6.Parkinson's Law claims that work expands to fill what?
- A.The nearest deadline only
- B.The time available for its completion
- C.A manager's entire calendar
- D.Whatever budget is assigned to it
Show answer
The time available for its completion
7.Which day of the week is named after the Roman god Mars, via the French "mardi"?
- A.Wednesday
- B.Thursday
- C.Tuesday
- D.Friday
Show answer
Tuesday
8.Which day of the week is named after the Norse god Thor?
- A.Monday
- B.Tuesday
- C.Wednesday
- D.Thursday
Show answer
Thursday
9.Which day of the week is named after the Roman god Saturn?
- A.Saturday
- B.Sunday
- C.Friday
- D.Wednesday
Show answer
Saturday
10."Case of the Mondays" was popularized by which 1999 workplace comedy film?
- A.Clerks
- B.Office Space
- C.9 to 5
- D.The Office (US pilot)
Show answer
Office Space
11.In old astrology, which celestial body was said to govern Monday?
- A.Mars
- B.Mercury
- C.The Moon
- D.Venus
Show answer
The Moon
12.Brian Tracy's productivity book "Eat That Frog" advises tackling which task first?
- A.Whatever's fastest to finish
- B.Anything due that afternoon
- C.A quick email check
- D.Your most important or most dreaded task
Show answer
Your most important or most dreaded task
13.On average, roughly how many working days does a typical calendar month contain?
- A.About 22
- B.About 15
- C.About 18
- D.About 26
Show answer
About 22
14.Coffee is often (if loosely) compared to which of the world's most-traded commodities by value?
- A.Gold
- B.Crude oil
- C.Wheat
- D.Natural gas
Show answer
Crude oil
15.Which explorer's expedition achieved the first circumnavigation of the globe, though he died partway through the voyage?
- A.Vasco da Gama
- B.James Cook
- C.Ferdinand Magellan
- D.Christopher Columbus
Show answer
Ferdinand Magellan
16.What does "blue sky thinking" in a meeting typically encourage?
- A.Sticking strictly to the agenda
- B.Focusing only on near-term fixes
- C.Deferring all ideas to leadership
- D.Unrestricted, creative ideas with no limits
Show answer
Unrestricted, creative ideas with no limits
17.The phrase "back to the drawing board" is often traced to which source?
- A.A 1941 New Yorker cartoon of a crashed test plane
- B.A 1920s architecture manual
- C.A World War I army slogan
- D.A famous line from a 1950s sitcom
Show answer
A 1941 New Yorker cartoon of a crashed test plane
18.In meetings and messages, what does the acronym "ASAP" stand for?
- A.As stated, all proceed
- B.As soon as possible
- C.A single agreed plan
- D.At start, after pause
Show answer
As soon as possible
19.The "80/20 rule," or Pareto Principle, roughly claims that 80% of effects come from what share of causes?
- A.50%
- B.35%
- C.20%
- D.5%
Show answer
20%
20.In software development, which typically comes first: an alpha release or a beta release?
- A.Beta
- B.They always ship together
- C.Neither — release candidate comes first
- D.Alpha
Show answer
Alpha
21.Standing desks are primarily marketed to reduce what?
- A.Sedentary sitting time
- B.Screen glare
- C.Meeting length
- D.Noise distractions
Show answer
Sedentary sitting time
22.A well-known food-safety study found the "5-second rule" doesn't really hold — bacteria can transfer to food in under how long?
- A.5 minutes
- B.Under 1 second
- C.2 minutes
- D.30 seconds
Show answer
Under 1 second
23.What does "TL;DR" commonly mean in written communication?
- A.Time left; don't rush
- B.Talk later; discuss remotely
- C.Too long; didn't read
- D.The list; don't repeat
Show answer
Too long; didn't read
24."Parkinson's Law" was coined by which historian in a 1955 essay?
- A.Arnold Toynbee
- B.E.H. Carr
- C.A.J.P. Taylor
- D.C. Northcote Parkinson
Show answer
C. Northcote Parkinson
FAQ
How long does this take?
About 10 minutes: hosting draws 12 questions at 20 seconds each, plus the leaderboard moments in between. Short enough to open a Monday sync without eating into it.
Do players need accounts?
No. Your team joins with a link in their browser — no signups, no app, no player setup. Ready before the meeting starts.
Is this the same as the Friday quiz pack?
No — different question set, picked for a different slot. This one's built to open the week; the Friday pack is built to close it. Host both on rotation and neither goes stale.