I’ve gotta share my not-so-guilty pleasure with you guys. Podcasts. I’m so completely hooked. One of my favorites is Gretchen Rubin‘s Happier Podcast. (You might know her from the book Happiness Project.)
Starting to listen to Happier has made me practice self awareness, recognizing my personality (totally a rebel, spot on, Gretchen!) and basically hack myself to be more productive.
One thing I’ve started in 2018 is a Sunday routine. I’ve been referring it to a routine or habits rather than “rules” because, as you can imagine (even without taking the personality quiz yourself), if I’m calling myself a rebel, rules are not a thing for me. I’m like, yeah, no thanks. RULES. Psh.
But this new Sunday Habit Routine thingy is totally working. In fact, I’m finding it challenging to fall asleep because I’m so prepared for Monday, I have nothing to stress about as I fall asleep.
I wanted to share my new routine with you because maybe it will help keep those Sunday Blues at bay and anxiety away. This routine is really helping my Monday anxiety and even throughout the week. Being a little more self aware is helping me recognize triggers and how I can stay ahead of it.
I have a bunch of very practical things and a few things that are more for myself – that whole self care thing is legit.
Practical
Laundry at 0
Okay. Going to bed in freshly washed sheets, knowing all the towels are folded, and all the clothes are washed is such a great feeling. I’m relaxed and don’t have this major chore hanging over my head. Plus, cranking out all the laundry on Sunday does make me feel like, hey, laundry really isn’t that bad. All about how you frame it to yourself, right?
Garbage & Recycling Taken Out
I’m not sure where I got this idea from…I vaguely remember someone saying this is their New Year’s Eve routine – all the garbage out of the house so that come the new year you are truly starting fresh. This is another thing that makes me feel so good for the new week – empty garbage and no recycling in the house makes me feel like we’ve hit reset for the week. I love it so much.
Work Email Checked
Okay, I get super big time anxiety when I don’t check my work email constantly. But then, like, I just won’t check it. It makes no sense and makes this anxious feeling so much worse. So I check my email before I can even let the anxiety creep in.
Priorities for the Week
Guys, I LOVE lists. I love them. I love to-do lists, shopping lists, dream lists, goal lists, resolution lists. I have a terrible track record of executing on them, yeah, even the shopping lists. I always forget something. And if I try to schedule the tasks on a said list? Forget it. I have such a resistance.
I’ve been writing down my weekly priorities and noting any hard deadlines accordingly. Instead of a to-do list, I write a to-done list. I’ve found, as soon as I create a to-do list, I do everything but the things on that list and then write down what I did actually do. So, I started doing the reverse for a few months now and I’m legit crushing all the things I need to do. Whatever works.
Here, too, I think it’s important that you track priorities like making time for yourself, whatever that is. For me, I write down a goal of 4 days at the gym. If I know I’m going to have a crazy week, I write down 3. I like to set the bar low, sneakily, because I know I will probably achieve more than the low bar I set for myself. Which feels like another win. Which makes me more motivated and productive. Also, I’ll get super granular, like watching This Is Us, walks with the dog, puppy class, drinks with friends, etc.
Tracking the FUN stuff you are going to do this week on a priority list really makes a big difference starting a new week!
Packed Up for the Week/Outfit for Monday
I stopped making mental notes of all the shit I need to do for the week: location of my laptop, what do I even have to make myself a lunch, what am I going to wear. Every Sunday night, I shower, put my laptop in my bag near the door, pack up my lunch and pick an outfit. Instead of thinking about it, I execute on everything the night before. Now I literally have nothing to think about falling asleep. It’s torture. Not really. I dig it.
For Myself
Planning the Editorial Calendar
I feel great knowing that my posts are mapped out for the week and gives me a guideline of what to share on the blog, on my Instagram, etc. And it helps me know where I might have a hole I need to fill later in the week. Oh, and it gives me ideas for the next week of content. Staying ahead is everything. Plus I get to spend the day cooking, and that’s really what I want to spend my day doing, anyway!
Read a Good Book
One of my resolutions was to read 1 book per month. Reading on Sunday night sets the tone for me all week – I have definitely been reading so much more! I do all the things on Sunday, then settle into my night with a cup of tea (probs a face mask, let’s be real) and a book. Any book. Reading even just an hour makes me so relaxed. Also makes me feel like my brain is ready to GO on Monday!
