How to Prep for the Week Ahead
Hey friends! If you’ve followed along for a while, you might remember that Monday mornings used to really stress me out. I often found myself feeling scattered and completely unprepared. However, because of the simple habits and strategies that I now use, this is no longer a problem.
While you don’t have to do all of these, pick and choose from the options below to find what works for you. For me, consistency is really important. I try to do the following things on the same day each week and that way it becomes a habit and I never have to wonder when I will go grocery shopping, or create a meal plan.
Sunday Check List: How to Prep for the Week Ahead
A few weeks ago I typed up and printed out what I like to call my ‘Sunday check list.’ Essentially, this is a short list of tasks that I want to do each Sunday as well as recurring activities that I need to put on my paper calendar.
Here are a few examples from my own list:
- Meditation
- Yoga
- Mandarin
- Journaling
- Gratitude
- Laundry
- Meal Planning
- Grocery shopping
- Date night with Josh
- Walks
I will just go through this list and will add each item to my paper calendar to the day/time that I plan on doing it. By doing this, I save a lot of time not overthinking about when I should or should not do something.
Cooking is not something that I enjoy doing, so I like to be very prepared. I also like to know exactly what I will be eating each day and what I will need to prepare it. To give you a better idea, here are a few of my meal prep tips below:
Meal Prep: How to Prep for the Week Ahead
1. Pick a day each week to create your meal plan for the week. For me, Thursday works well because that is when the Publix ad comes out for the following week. For this step, make a list of what you will eat for each meal as well as the shopping list and ingredients you will need.
2. Pick a day to do your grocery shopping. For example, my husband and I go grocery shopping Saturday evening after dinner.
3. Cook your most time consuming recipe on Sunday. Since Sunday tends to be more relaxed than weekdays, I always try to make the most time-consuming recipe on Sunday. I also try to make a large enough batch that we can heat it up for 1-2 more meals later on in the week. This way you are not cooking an entirely new meal 5-7 days a week. I’ve also found that knowing you have meals already prepared for the week puts you in a good frame of mind to start the week.
Another important element of my ‘Sunday prep’ involves my calendar prep. As I mentioned above, I start with putting in all of the bullet points above as well as other appointments, calls, or classes that I have for the week.
Calendar Prep: How to Prep for the Week Ahead
1. Put all important activities for the week on the calendar. Right now, yoga and learning Mandarin are two important priorities for me. Therefore, on Sunday I take a few minutes to schedule these two activities and put them on the calendar. I also tend to highlight them to remind myself to focus on both of these activities.
2. Schedule in 1 fun activity to look forward to each day. Whether it’s reading a new book or watching your favorite show, it’s important to make time for the things we love. Another added benefit is that scheduling provides the added bonus of anticipation. Not only do we get to enjoy the activity in the moment, but it also gives us something to look forward to, especially if we’re having a difficult day.
3. Make time for Gratitude. Gratitude has become a huge buzz word but for good reason. Whether you begin or end your day with gratitude, it’s always a good practice. In my life, I typically do this Sunday evening before bed. I will get out my journal and write down 3-5 things that I’m grateful for. Then, I will schedule in 1-2 times during the week to do another gratitude check.
I know that this is a pretty structured approach, so feel to pick and choose what works for you. If you’re not a big planner, maybe start with one of the above tips, like gratitude. See how it goes and then try adding in something else.
I hope this is helpful and that you can tackle this next week without feeling stressed or overwhelmed. If you’re wondering what calendar I use I use both G Cal on my computer and a paper copy Passion Planner.
How to Prep for the Week Ahead
