Simple Steps to Stay Organized &
Plan for the Week Ahead
Does anyone else get a case of the Sunday Scaries every weekend? That feeling of dread that the weekend is nearing its end and your return to a busy work week is impending. The anxiety we feel every Sunday when we begin to think about the week ahead is called the Sunday Scaries. Nevertheless, I have great news! I’ve learned that by creating a good weekend plan, you can reduce the symptoms of the Sunday scaries and usher in the new week with a calm and peaceful attitude. It’s not only possible – I’ve done it!
Once I learned to set myself up for success, I have been able to reduce the anxiety and start my week on a positive note. My goal is always to perform at least one “chore” per day through the week, so I’m not stuck all weekend cleaning or preparing for the next week. When I succeed there, I have much more free time on Saturday and Sunday to socialize, try new recipes, take a road trip, or spend undistracted time with the family. When I don’t keep up with my weekday schedule, then the weekends are less relaxed.
However, I do spend time every Sunday getting ready for the next week, and that seems to get me off to a better start Monday morning. I’m not a morning person, so any help I can get, I try to give myself. When I’m travelling or gone all day Sunday, I often notice that Mondays are a bit harder for me. You’ve all heard the saying, “If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail,” right? I hate that quote – BECAUSE IT’S SO TRUE!
So every Sunday, in an effort to prepare myself for a better week ahead – and calm the Sunday Scaries – I try to follow these 8 easy tips:
- Plan my wardrobe
- Plan our weekly menu
- Pack lunches (or at least prep components)
- Make a simple ‘to-do’ list for each day
- Set my alarm clock 15 min early
- Review my calendar
- Set out everything I’ll need for the next day & leave my bag by the door
- Infuse my water (overnight to deepen flavors, replace fruit after 2-3 days)
1. Plan My Wardrobe
There is nothing more satisfying than rolling out of bed on a Monday morning and knowing that you aren’t going to have to try on 4 pairs of pants and 6 blouses before you decide what you’ll wear that day. When I prepare my wardrobe for the week, I save SO MUCH TIME in the mornings. Plus, I’m not starting the day all disgusted if something doesn’t fit, is wrinkled or in the laundry. Everything is taken care of and ready to go. It’s much easier to iron that wrinkled shirt quickly during a Sunday football game, than Monday morning when you are already harried and half asleep. Anticipate what your week will be like – what appointments you have, what activities you will be completing, consider the forecast – and prepare for a good week.
Every Sunday I will take about 15 minutes to select my clothes for the next 5 days, gathering tops, bottoms, undergarments, socks, belt, even mentally identifying which shoes I’ll pair with each outfit. Anything that needs to be washed is thrown into the laundry. Any item that is wrinkled is ironed quickly. Something that doesn’t fit is placed elsewhere in the closet. This not only gives me the opportunity to save some much-needed AM time, but it always allows me to wear everything in my closet. Before implementing this strategy, I found myself wearing the same items repeatedly. My favorite items would get worn out sooner from being washed repeatedly, and I still had a whole closet of clothes I wasn’t wearing. I’ve been following this method for the past several years, and it’s never done me wrong.
This single tip has saved me countless minutes every AM and helped me to start my day/week with less stress. It’s SO easy – you can do it too!
2. Plan Our Weekly Dinner Menu
This tip is also a great one and allows us to eat healthier when we’ve planned properly. When I skip the step after a weekend of travelling or other fun activity, we seem to eat like crap all week long. It’s difficult to catch up when you don’t start the week off right. So, every Saturday, I plan our menu for the week and make a grocery list. I consider recipes/dishes using seasonal produce because it’ll be fresh & readily available (plus affordable!) at our local Farmer’s Market. Any staple I don’t have in my pantry, I’ll order online for curbside pickup on Sunday. I make fewer impulse purchases when I stick to this method – and I try to never shop hungry!
This might seem like a daunting task, but it’s quite simple once you get used to it. What do you and your family like to eat? Do you have favorite recipes? Maybe you prefer theme nights? In that case, maybe every Monday is meatless, Tuesday tacos, Wednesday salads, Thursday crockpot and Friday pizza – or something like that. Whatever your family loves to eat, make. Just plan ahead of time. With this strategy, you are never pushing a heavy grocery cart through the store after a long day at work, rushing to be on time for kiddo pick up. Also, having a well-stocked pantry helps to reduce those last-minute trips to the store for forgotten items.
3. Pack Lunches or Prep Components
Lunches are easy to pack, when you plan ahead. Sometimes a great lunch will be leftovers from the night before. If that’s the case, when you are cleaning up from dinner, place lunch sized portions in takeout containers and place on a conspicuous shelf in the fridge. Then the next AM, grab a box and place it in the lunch bag. Done. Have containers available that you only use for lunch items – maybe a thermos for soup, a Brilliant sealed plastic container for salad or pasta, or a bento box for sandwiches and fruit.
I also cut up our veggies over the weekend, so I’m not only prepared for lunches, but also snacking throughout the week. I’ll always cut a big batch of carrots, celery or peppers every Sunday to munch on. These will stay fresh in my Pyrex bowls or Rubbermaid Brilliant containers all week long. Toss those with a handful of cherry tomatoes in your bag and you have an excellent midday snack. More perishable fruits & veggies like apples, strawberries or cucumbers can’t be cut too far in advance, but they’ll stay good for a day or two if you eat them quickly. Just slice a second apple/cucumber/handful of strawberries midweek.
I’ll also set aside portions of nuts or other treats so that we can grab and go when necessary. Purchasing granola bars, boxes of raisins, single serve yogurt containers or string cheese, makes packing a healthy lunch super easy. This avoids trips to the vending machine or placing another Uber Eats order during that midday lull. This method will save you TONS of money and unnecessary calories.
4. Make a Simple ‘To Do’ list for every day of the week (plan)
I used to make a huge list for entire week ahead, just so I knew what needed to get done and it would lead to formulating plan. But often, that huge list would feel daunting, and I never felt like I could cross everything off of it. Have you ever written something you already completed on your list, just so you could cross it off? Guilty. But it’s such a great feeling to cross something off the list!
So, I decided a while back that this method wasn’t working for me, and I adjusted to making a list for each day. It allowed me to identify what was time sensitive, keeping on top of my responsibilities but never becoming overwhelmed. To-do lists are helpful with staying on track of what is necessary for proper operation of your home and family. However, you should never live or die by the list. Life is too short to have your nose stuck in your phone analyzing your list. Live in the moment and enjoy your life – and get stuff done along the way.
I try to make a realistic or completable list. That means, I try to only include tasks that can successfully be completed during the work week. Example – washing the walls = not a weekday activity if you work outside the home. Picking up the dry cleaning = a very appropriate weekday task.
A typical weekly to-do list might look like this for me:
5. Set My Alarm Clock 15 Minutes Early
This is probably the tip that I am least attracted to! I am not a morning person and waking up even a minute earlier than I need to is often painful for me. Truly. However, I’ve learned that I can certainly spare a few extra minutes each morning. When I actually get out of bed 15 minutes early, I realize that I start my day a little more relaxed, I’m not running around like a headless chicken and my exit from the house is drama-free. On these days, I often enjoy a fresh cup of coffee or a steamy cup of tea and a small healthy breakfast.
On the days when I’m not so lucky, setting my alarm 15 minutes early does have its advantages! If I “happen” to hit the snooze, then I end up waking at my normal starting point anyway. No harm, no foul.
But don’t be like me – wake up 15 minutes earlier. You’ll thank me one day!
6. Review My Calendar
Every Sunday, I’ll review the weekly calendar to make sure I know where I need to be on which day. I do not fret over it; I just take a mental note of what my obligations are for that week. Each night, I’ll take a glance at the next day’s ‘to-dos’, again to prep myself, not stress myself.
7. Pack My Bag
Every night, I find it to be extremely helpful to set out everything I’ll need for the next day & leave my bag by the door. Otherwise, I’ll be frantically running around looking for shoes, keys, water bottle, paperwork, etc. the morning of. Everything always goes missing in the morning. It’s like Murphey’s Law. So, if I gather everything I know I’ll need and set it by the door, I’m already a step ahead in the AM. I promise you – this takes FAR LESS time in the PM than it does in the AM.
8. Infuse My Water
Several years ago, I recognized that I wasn’t drinking enough water. Consequently, I felt sluggish midday and I placated my thirst with over-snacking. I wasn’t hungry – I was thirsty! The less water I drank, the more it seemed to negatively affect my metabolism, skin and digestion. All this led to added stress! But I had one problem – I hated the taste of water and forcing myself to drink it seemed like torture. I know that’s dramatic – but seriously, if you don’t like the taste of water, forcing yourself to drink it ‘just because it’s good for you’ is not enjoyable.
So, after a lovely island trip where I was first exposed to the deliciousness of infused water, I decided to try this at home. It was all new to me and I was onboard! I bought a 2L water infuser from Amazon, filled it with filtered water and threw in some lemon wedges one evening. By the next morning, I was enjoying my first glass of lemon infused water. Plus, I was able to drink a full 32 oz of it in my Yeti at work, with no problems. In fact, I was eager to go home and refill my mug. And I’ve been doing that ever since.
I’ll swap out the fruit with whatever I have available or in season, but it seems like I gravitate towards lemons more than anything else. I’ve used berries, watermelon, cucumbers, herbs, and various citrus. I know I drink more water when it has a little essence of fruit. It saves me lots of money without having to purchase bottles of infused water with chemicals, additives and other unknown substances throughout. This may seem insignificant, but trust me, dehydration can wreak havoc on your life and make for a miserable week.
So There You Have It – A Simple Plan for a Less Stressful Week
These are my 8 life-tested tips to prepare for the week ahead. If you spend just a few minutes over the weekend to create a plan & preparing for the week, you’ll have more time to enjoy the moments of life Monday through Friday, versus just living for the weekends.
BONUS Tip:
If you are interested in organizing your week even further and maximizing your fun time with your family each weekend, consider a weekly cleaning schedule as well. Every day, I tackle one or two chores that allow me to keep the home clean enough, so that every Saturday I’m not slaving away for hours. There are only so many hours in the day, and I’m convinced that the weekends have even less! Don’t waste your precious family time cleaning. Here’s a look at my weekly cleaning schedule. Stay tuned to discover how to receive a free template of your own to complete and hang on your fridge.
Also, here’s a sneak peek into my weekly chore list. When I keep up with this list, the week runs smoother, and I have much more free time to enjoy my family on the weekends.
Good luck battling the Sunday Scaries! With a simple plan, I know you can do it!
