10 SUNDAY HABITS FOR A SUCCESSFUL WEEK

Happy Monday friends!  I hope everyone had a great weekend.  Ours was great and our weather was awesome!  You may notice that this is not a Monday Must Haves post and that’s because, I’ll be honest…..I really didn’t have anything new to share as must haves.  So instead, I thought I’d bring you a quick post about the top things I do each Sunday to get me off on the right foot come Monday morning.  So let’s get to it!

1. LAUNDRY – Does anyone else hate when laundry piles up and you can’t find half of your stuff to wear?  I especially hate this at the beginning of a week.  I like to start out the week with all my clothes in place, clean undergarments ready, and if I’m really productive, with clean towels and bedding as well.  Something about having laundry done and starting off the week with everything clean is so satisfying.
2. TIDY THE HOUSE –  Speaking of clean….I love to use Sunday’s to make sure the house is picked up, clean small areas if I can and organize some parts.  And although it doesn’t always end up happening, I often like to plan for the week what cleaning I will do each day.  In a perfect world I would love to clean a room or two a day and always have a clean house, but some most days, that just doesn’t happen.  But I always consider it and try for it none the less.
3. MEAL PREP/GROCERY SHOP – This is a new one, but I am determined to start cooking more and for me, I am more likely to stick to it if I shop ahead of time and do what cooking I can ahead of time, so that come during the week, all I have to do is throw everything together.  Plus, life hack: if you cook some of the food for a meal ahead of time, you are much more likely to actually make that meal during the week because you won’t want to waste that food or time.
4. TO DO LIST – Hi, I’m Jill and I am a fanatic for to-do lists!  I like to sit down on Sunday and write down every single thing I can think of that needs done the coming week.  Then, each day I look at the list and try to tackle at least 3 of those items.  If everything doesn’t get done by Friday (which it often doesn’t) then I take Sunday’s to first reevaluate, take inventory of what still needs done and if something can’t wait any longer I knock it out then, otherwise it’s the first thing on the to-do list that week.  I love love love the feeling of crossing off items on a to-do list.  Anyone else?
5. CLEAN OUT INBOX/DIRECT TV – This is a new one I have started but I like to sit down on Sunday nights and go through my inbox and delete old emails I don’t need.  It’s so freeing to get rid of so many of them, plus often times I will discover something that I actually need to do by stumbling upon the email for it, so then it becomes part of the to-do.  This also goes for cleaning out my Direct TV recordings.  I record so many shows that seem interesting at the time but often don’t have time to watch them all.  Or, I’ll watch them and not delete them.  So, by Sunday I take inventory and if a show is still on there unwatched, and I haven’t watched it in a week or so, that tells me I’m not that into it and I delete it (I mean unless I just truly got behind and couldn’t get to them all yet).  I know I will have new recordings coming for the week so I like to start with as clean of a recordings slate as possible.
6. TRASH THINGS/CLEAN OUT – Monday morning is our trash day so Sunday is the perfect day to pitch all.the.things!  I love emptying out the refrigerator or cleaning out my office, things around the house, etc.  A good purge always feels good!
7. UPDATE CALENDAR/PLAN THE WEEK – This one sort of goes along with my to-do list but I like to also sit down and look at my calendar and plan what my blog posts are going to be, what social media content I’m going to produce, etc.  It definitely helps me stay on track and make sure things get done. *Can you tell yet that I’m a total planner?
8. WRITE MY GOALS – This one is so so important!  I love to start a week with goals in mind so I start the race intentionally and am working towards something.  Along with my to-do list and planning for the week ahead I simply write out a few goals I have, both work related and personally.  They aren’t huge lofty goals each week (I set those at the beginning of the month) but more attainable ones.  I believe that when you set small goals and achieve them, it sets you up for success to then tackle the bigger ones.
9. GET THINGS IN PLACE – There is nothing worse than starting a week feeling like your space is a mess or like you are unorganized.  So on Sunday evenings I try to get things as tidy and in order as possible and ready to go.  I have my morning devotional and my start today journal ready in my office.  I get the coffee ready so in the morning all I have to do is hit start.  Everything, just geared up and ready to go so I can hit the ground running in the morning.
10. RELAX/FAMILY TIME – Lastly, while all the planning and organizing is nice and important, I truly try to take Sunday to disconnect a little and be more present or just to relax or watch some tv, read a book, hang out with Leyton and Eric, squeeze in a nap, take family walks, etc.  I’m still a work in progress with this one because old habits died hard but, there is something very freeing about allowing yourself the grace to not try and do it all in a day, or to not post on social media for a day, and to unwind and give time to yourself.

Alright friends, that’s it.  Those are some of the main habits I do (or am working on sticking to) every Sunday to help set me up for success for the week ahead.  I definitely think it makes a huge difference, and encourage you to try it for yourself if you don’t already.  Have a great week ahead!

Jill

xo, Jill