sunday routine

Mondays can be hard. Starting off the week feeling like you are already behind can be even harder.  Putting a little work into your Sunday routine to get your life in order is really worth the time and effort. Here are 7 things to do on Sunday to set yourself up for a successful week. 

1. Prepare your meals 

This doesn’t have to be some elaborate meal prep ritual.  In fact, the simpler the better in my opinion. I will be honest that when Sunday rolls around, I do not want to do this.  But I know that it’s one of the most beneficial things I can do to make my week run more smoothly.  I am ALWAYS glad to have it done. 

I usually prep my lunch for 4 days and my breakfast for 2 days at a time.  Fridays are usually free days and I just have whatever I’m in the mood for or whatever we happen to have. I have about 3 different choices for breakfast and maybe 5 for lunch. I just rotate through them each week depending on my mood.  

I don’t do anything fancy or time-consuming.  I’m usually done in an hour or less. 

2. Do a 15-minute tidy up

Starting off the week with a clean house really helps me feel more relaxed and on top of my game. 

I usually just take 15 minutes to clear off the surfaces in my house. I also try to make sure there are no dirty dishes leftover from the weekend.

It’s true what they say- outer order really does create inner calm. 

3. Make sure clean laundry is put away 

I will admit that laundry is one of my most dreaded tasks. It feels neverending in my house. I’ve really been making an effort to improve in this area. 

 I recently started a new laundry system where I do one load of laundry each weekday from start to finish. I try not to let myself get into bed until that one load has been washed, dried, folded, and put away. 

I put the clothes in the washer as soon as my kids leave for school. I have a timer set on my phone for when it’s time to switch the clothes to the dryer, and when it’s time to take them out to fold them. 

So far it has been working pretty well for me, but I’m still a work in progress. I start out really strong at the beginning of the week, but I will be honest that I start to slip a bit as the week goes on.  If I do have any clothes from the week that still need to be put away I make sure I do that on Sunday so I have a clean slate for the week. 

4. Do a weekly review 

Set aside some time on Sunday to review the upcoming weeks. Some things to think about during your weekly review: 

• Check your schedule and add any important items to your planner

• Do a brain dump of items that have been on your mind

• Review your goals and set your action plan for the week.  What small actions can you take to get yourself closer to your goals? Block time for those actions in your schedule

• Take the time to visualize the way you want your week to go. If there are any important meetings or events coming up during the week, take some time to think about how you would like them to play out. 

• What were your “wins” for the previous week? What went well? This helps to train your mind to focus on the positive, and give yourself credit where credit is due.

5. Check your inventories 

Go around your house and check your inventory of those essential items you use on a daily basis. 

I like to make sure we have enough in each area that we use these items. This will keep you from constantly feeling like you are refilling things at the most inconvenient times.  There’s nothing worse than realizing you are out of toilet paper just a bit too late.

Some of the things I check in my house:

• Paper products- toilet paper, paper towels, and printer paper. 

• Hand soap and dish soap

• Pantry Items- I have clear plastic storage containers for things like cereal, rice, sugar, flour, etc. So I just take a quick look to see if anything is running low. 

• Coffee and coffee filters- It’s really not pretty if we run out! 

6. Restart and clean electronics

We have a timer set for our router to reboot each Sunday morning before we are up for the day.  I also reboot all our phones and tablets and wipe them down to clean them. This helps to make sure things are running properly. 

7. Take some time to unwind

I like to think of this as rebooting myself. It’s important to take some time to relax before the chaos of the week starts again. Some of the things that I like to do to relax on Sundays:

• Meditate
• Stretch before bed
• Read
• Exercise
• Puzzles
• Spend time outdoors 

It’s not always easy to find the time and energy to get these 7 things done, but it is definitely worth it. If you’re not currently doing any of these things, try choosing one to start with. After you have mastered that for a couple of weeks try adding another. 

Once you have a Sunday routine down your weeks can be so much smoother. 

Leave me a comment and let me know what you do for your Sunday routine. Thanks for reading!