When Sunday night rolls around I never feel ready. I can remember when I was in school feeling so sad on Sunday nights. As an adult it seems kind of silly. I work from home, I make my own schedule. I shouldn’t dread Sunday’s. I wanted to share how to have a better week and the steps I take to do that!
How To Have A Better Week
Use Your Weekend: I think on weekends it can be easy to not do anything productive. It’s a time we want to go out with friends, have a few drinks, shop, eat, watch DVR shows, etc. But it’s good to have balance and one side of that balance is using your weekend wisely. A few things we do on the weekends that make us have better weeks are changing out sheets, doing a few loads of laundry and putting it away, cleaning the house up, running a load of dishes and putting away things that are out of place. By doing these things, Monday’s don’t seem so daunting. You aren’t going into the week with a cluttered messy house or a bunch of chores.
Have A Morning Routine: Any kind of morning routine is helpful in starting your day and week off right. Knowing that you get up at the same time will make you go to bed at a reasonable time. If you start your day off with breakfast, and then a workout it will make you feel excited for the next day. I know one thing that helps me get excited for Mondays is that a lot of my favorite podcasts release new episodes on Mondays. Sounds silly, but it’s something to look forward to!
Make A To Do List: I end every night by making a to do list for the next day. Having a to do list, AKA a plan of attack, makes Monday seem less stressful. You know exactly what you need to get done. If you already know certain things for other days you can start your to do lists for each day on Sunday and add things to them as you need to.
Meal Prep/Plan: We meal plan for the following week every weekend. We add it to our shared Google Calendar (nerd alert) and we are never scrambling to figure out what to have. This is also helpful if things need to be prepped ahead of time, or defrosted, etc. When we know we are doing a slow cooker meal we can prep it the night before so starting it in the morning is easy. I also prep smoothie bags. I take all the fruit and put them together in bags so that when you want to go make a smoothie you can add in spinach, a liquid, and the already prepped bags and you are good to go. Smoothies only take about 2 minutes to make this way!
Enjoy The Downtime: The first thing I mentioned was balance and to use part of your weekend to prep for the week ahead. The other side of that is to enjoy the downtime. For me, having a weekend free of plans is rare. It’s also rare that I don’t spend at least half the weekend working on blog stuff. So enjoying some downtime is a requirement. Having downtime will make you feel well rested and ready for a new week ahead. Take some naps, go for a walk, have a few good workouts, watch a movie. There are so many things you can do to enjoy the downtime.
I hope you found my tips on how to have a better week helpful. I know for me following these things makes me have a better week!
How do you have a better week?
I’ve been trying to do more meal prep – it really does help save so much time!
I think the “brain dump” at the end of each night is really helpful. It helps me sleep better, knowing I’ve listed all the stuff clattering around in my brain. And as silly as this sounds, I’m trying to do more positive thinking. I recently read about how our thought patterns get connected to emotions to give us big reactions to what may seem like little things, so I’m trying to not dwell on the negative and focus on what is good.
You definitely nailed it. Having a good week is entirely up to you as well as surrounding yourself with what you need to do it. Clearing out your head and moving forward each day is the way to keep each day fresh.
I LOVE this post! Personally, I need my to-do list and anything that helps me prep for the week in advanced like meal planning, cleaning schedule, etc!
Great ideas! Having something to look forward to always makes Monday’s better. I also love making lists. And me and my husband also share a Google calendar…makes life ten times easier!
Absolutely yes to all of this! Planning is so, so, so crucial for me! 🙂
Meal prep helps me save time and money! Its’ a 100% win! Also the end of the night I literally leave all my junk of the day at the end of the day, I let it go and move on so that I can wake up with a fresh start the next morning.
Weekends are for catching up, preparing for the work week and yes some down time.
In our house we definitely have a morning routine and we do “to do lists” otherwise things don’t get done. I really wish I could meal prep but I don’t like to eat the same thing everyday. lol
YES YES YES!! I need that time on the weekends to prep myself mentally and physically for the week ahead!
Making to do lists are essential for me, they make me feel so much less stressed. Meal planning is something I have yet to be organized enough for but I’d like to try it!
Oh the meal prep and to do lists have saved so many of my days. It’s hard to get a good weekly schedule going, but once its in place, there is nothing better. However, enjoying the downtime is the part I am still struggling with. I am a productivity addict so need to keep learning to relax 😉
Great post, thanks for sharing!
I’ve finally started meal planning and grocery shopping on Sunday’s and it’s a total game changer with how I start my week. I also work from home on Mondays, so I make a plan to pre-make all my work lunches for the week before I go to bed. It helps so much!
Last school year I planned all the meals we were going to have and wrote them on our calendar wall. I have not done that since June. Heck, I barely even go to the grocery store. I need to pull it together and do it so at least on aspect of my day isn’t a stressfest.
Great tips! I enjoyed reading this post. Planning things out gets more things done.
What great advice for this specific week I’m having right now.
It’s been insane and it’s taking a lot of time to adjust to this new job and I just have to remember to slow down, calm down, and reflect. Control what I can control and let the rest fall into place.
The meal planning tip sounds helpful! I’ve only managed to do it for short spurts in the past, but can certainly see the benefits of keeping up with it.
I make the mistake of doing the to do list in the morning. I need to do it your way. That actually makes good sense.
Making a “to do” list really does help!
Create broad goals you want to achieve during your life. Create some specific goals with specific dates to achieve them by. Assess your reality and where you’re at right now. Figure out how you will reach your goals. Write out the steps to achieve all of your goals.
So much of this!
Have any of you ever used a kind of spreadsheet?
I mean, something beyond Excel.
To find a useful online planning tool that takes some of the stress out of it.
Oh Yes! Coffee makes everything better! and the downtime that comes with it. Im about to make a cup right now!
Those are great tips and I love your post photo <3
This is such a great, practical post and I find it so helpful! I definitely think that having a productive weekend will make your week much more bearable- it keeps you going to the jump from doing absolutely nothing during the weekend to absolutely everything during the week isn’t so huge!
Yes, love this! We reserve Sundays for our chore days so we start the week off fresh.
xoxo, Jenny
These are great! Every Saturday morning I meal plan and grocery shop for the week. Then in the afternoons we relax and watch football. Sundays are for cleaning and getting ready for the week. Utilizing the weekends is key to not feeling behind during the week, at least for me.
I definitely need to do better about meal planning. I always skip on that and I know it would help me if I would break down and do it!
Such a wonderful post an d such a great reminder. I love all your helpful tips. You seem to have a balanced home style. Thank you for the reminder!!!
I am always a little sad when Sunday night rolls around because I enjoy spending more time with my kids. Ido have a routine and I keep everything on a list and in my calendar.
All really great idea. Also, with the downtime. Use that to pamper yourself. Soak in a tub. Get your nails done. Get a massage. Look at old photos that make you smile or laugh or both. All these things also contribute to it.
I am planning an almost similar post for homeschooling families. Pre-planning one’s week makes parenting less stressful.
I agree with you planning is important but also attitude and surrounding yourself with positive vibes, I buy flowers and clean my house and also attend church. All of that helps me have a better week.
My weeks really are so much better when I meal plan!
Meal prep has made my life so much easier!
My morning routine has been such a game changer for me!! Of course, it sort of becomes a “night before routine” as well then. lol. These are all great tips!
One thing I do over the weekend is preparing the clothes I’ll be wearing the week ahead. This makes me look forward for each day of the week.
Coffee is an everyday must!!
The first week of school I was really prepared. Had lunch ready for the week with all the snacks. It really made a big difference.
I have got just a new job. so my week is very weak. but I rock on weekends
I agree! Having a productive weekend usually makes me feel better and more prepared for my week. At the same time getting rest is important for my body to “reset” for the next busy week. What I really got from your post is the importance of preparation! I’m a nerd when it comes to planners and organizination because it’s so important. I have to write down everything for it to make sense for me. Great post! Excited to read more of your stuff!