Super Sunday for a Wonderful WEek

or How a Sunday Routine Sets You Up For Success

I have a dream Sunday.  What I call a Super Sunday, a day filled with joy, family and prep so that I can start the week rested, excited and all set for success.

For me it looks like this:
I wake up around 7ish (I do have 2 young kids!) and have a leisurely morning of coffee followed by breakfast. 

Around 9ish we are getting ready to head outdoors to hit the trails with a family hike.  We have a nice lunch together and a little siesta time (watch TV, or read a book).

Then I move into Action Mode.  I do some meal prep, put away laundry and look at my schedule for the week.  2-3 hours of all of us getting the house and ourselves ready for the week.
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We have a nice family dinner, a relaxing evening and an early bedtime to make sure we are each getting the amount of sleep we need.

Not every Sunday looks like this though.  And I can tell.  Those weeks when I don’t have my Super Sunday, I’m a little bit more stressed and a little less rested.  Which means it takes me longer to do things and I often feel like I’m a chicken with my head cut off!

But those weeks after a Super Sunday, I’m in a groove.  I get into my flow and life and work and all the in between feels easy.  I’m much happier, more creative and more likely to hit my goals.

I’m sure if you create a Super Sunday routine that it will make your next week go smoothly and you will see amazing results.  You never know it could even change your life.

But your Sunday may not look like my Sunday, so here are some ideas that you can combine to create your own Super Sunday.
 
Food

We all need to eat right?  Eating a healthy diet filled with whole foods is actually a key part of being successful.  But it isn’t easy to make happen, so here are some ideas of what you can incorporate into your Sunday to make it a breeze.

1. Make a Meal Plan
What are you going to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner?  Plan only for the work week and double up!  Eat the same breakfast every day, and make enough at dinner for lunch the next day.  That makes it less overwhelming.

2. Go Grocery Shopping
Get this done on Sundays (or Saturdays) when you aren’t tired or stressed.  That ensures you shop for your meal plan.

3. Meal Prep
You don’t have to premake meals, although you can if that works for you.  I mostly prep my vegetables and some components of meals and snacks to make throwing everything together much easier. 

4. Eat with Friends or Family
During hectic weeks we may eat more meals alone or in a rushed state.  Try and eat your meals on Sunday with family or friends and rejoice in your time spent together.

Organize
When the spaces we live in are a mess, we tend to feel like we are a mess.  Taking some time, 15 minutes is better than nothing, to organize our lives will leave us feeling more relaxed.

1. Clean Up
Do a quick clean around your space.  Putting things away, maybe dusting and vacuuming, just getting that outer order so that your inner calm comes out.

2. DeClutter
Organize something, like a closet or a drawer.  It will make you feel AMAZING that you accomplished this and that feeling will roll right into the rest of your week!

3. Do Laundry
Make that morning rush easier by doing your laundry AND putting it away (always the hardest part, right!?).  Maybe even pick out your outfits for the week.  That leaves you more time in the morning to relax or sleep in!
 
Plan

A plan makes sure that what needs to get done gets done while also ensuring that we are going after our goals.

1. Check In
Revisit your goals.  Look at your vision board (or post-it note) to remind yourself of why you are going after this goal.  Look at where you are in accomplishing it so you can pat yourself on the back and see what needs to get done next.

2. Create a To Do List
Start off with what you need to do next week to get closer to achieving your goal by setting some mini-goals and creating a To Do List.  Also take a look at what else you need to do and add those to the list.

3. Check Your In-Box
Whenever we look at our emails we immediately enter “urgency mode” and we only focus on the tasks and things to do associated with our emails.  Prevent starting the week off in urgency mode by checking your emails on Sunday, that way you can begin your week focusing on what moves you closer to achieving those goals.

4. Plan your Week
You know what you need to do, but WHEN are you actually going to do those things?  Look at your week ahead and slot your mini-goals and other items on your to do list into openings.

Self-Care

Relaxing is just as important (if not more so) then everything else and Sunday is the PERFECT day to get some good relaxation and self-care in.

1. Read a Book
Not a business one, but one that you WANT to read.  A good juicy fiction, a thrilling crime novel or an intriguing Non-Fiction book.  Carve out 30 minutes and enjoy losing yourself with a book.  For me, I read 30 minutes every morning with my coffee and then 30 minutes every night before I go to bed. 

2. Enjoy Nature
Movement is amazing in how it can propel us forward, but especially movement outdoors in nature.  Nature is restorative, there is science to back that up.  So doing something outside is a great Super Sunday activity.

3. Relax
Enjoy the day relaxing the way YOU want to relax, whether it is a nice long bubble bath, bingeing Netflix or shopping with friends.  Enjoy the day off.

4. Go to Bed Early
As adults, we need 7-9 hours of sleep a night.  I’ve written before about how important a good sleep routine is for your success and there is no better way to start your week and to end your Super Sunday by going to bed 7.5-9.5 hours before you need to wake up on Monday.

Here is a sneak peak into my recent #supersunday: