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Do you ever wish you could push a pause button? It always seems like the week goes by so fast and next thing you know Sunday rolls around and you’re completely unprepared for the rest of the week.
I can’t tell you how many Mondays I’ve spent frantically pulling everything together so I don’t fall behind. It’s so frustrating.
That’s why I set one day to keep up with all the things I’ve left behind during the week – dishes, laundry, meal prepping – so I’m not stressed out by Monday.
This has made a big difference in my life. I’m so much more productive and have time for important things because all of the smaller, tedious tasks are out of the way.
If you often feel like you never have enough time and are completely overwhelmed by your to-dos, I’ve created a list of 21 Sunday habits you can do to make the upcoming week more manageable.
21 Sunday habits for a productive week
Of course you don’t have to implement all of these ideas into your Sunday routine. That’s a lot to do in one day. I would recommend picking out a few that’ll help make the rest of the week easier.
You could pick out a couple in each category, or test a few to see which ones work best, the choice is yours.
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Plan out your week
Review your calendar for the week. It’s so easy to miss an important meeting or deadline if you don’t check your schedule, so take a quick look to see what’s coming up during the week.
Write out your to-do list for the day. I like to take 5 minutes each morning to write out my long list of to-dos, updating it as the day goes on. Once you write out your list for Monday, highlight your top priorities and plan your day around them.
As a blogger, some of my top daily priorities include:
- Writing blog posts
- Scheduling social media
- Creating graphics
Once you’ve picked at least 3 top priorities, write them down in your planner so you don’t forget about them.
The Happy Planner is the planner I use and I’m obsessed. I love it because it’s gorgeously laid out, expandable and the pages are interchangeable, allowing you to customize it to your needs.
The Happy Planner has so many additional features from inspirational quotes to columns for notes, event planning pages and much more.
Note: This exact one is no longer in stock but you can find one like it on Amazon.
On top of regular planners, I also use a variety of apps to make extra sure that I’m staying on track.
Google calendar is my favorite for planning and tackling my to-do list, but here are some others I recommend:
Free
- Any.do: Simple, easy-to-use and free.
- Trello: For visual thinkers, Trello is based on a system of cards and boards.
- Evernote: Takes care of your to-do list and note-taking needs all in one spot.
Paid
- Asana: Great for businesses with multiple employees to keep track of group projects.
- Monday.com: A visual workflow to stay organized and on top of your to-dos.
- Omnifocus: All-in-one task manager and calendar. Mac only.
Write out your goals for the week. As a blogger, I’m constantly writing down goals and creating vision boards. These motivate me to actively go after what I want in life.
Break your bigger tasks into smaller pieces. If you break up larger tasks into smaller ones, it makes them seem a lot less overwhelming and easier to take on.
Create a solid morning routine. My morning routine generally consists of me drinking coffee, taking 5 minutes to read, taking care of my skin and getting ready for the day. Morning routines set the tone for the rest of your day. And without them, I’d be a mess.
Clean and Organize your space
Fold and put away your laundry. I like to use the Konmari method by Marie Kondo because it’s such a neat and efficient way to organize your clothes. Marie is the author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (my favorite book on minimalism).
She taught me that the best way to put away my t-shirts, pajamas, and pants is to fold them vertically and place them in drawers. That way they are easier to see.
My fancier, more delicate clothes are hung up in order from longest to shortest.
If you’d like to learn more about the Konmari Method and the strategies I use to simplify my life, read my post on the ultimate guide to decluttering.
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Plan your outfits for the week. I highly recommend downloading the Stylebook app. It makes planning outfits so easy (and I am all about making life as easy as possible. Why work harder when you can work smarter?)
Organize your drawers and closet. Finding clothes in the morning is so much easier when you know where they are.
Dust and wipe down all surfaces from counter tops to the top of your fridge – everything. A clean atmosphere has a huge effect on your mood. I find that cleaning is not only therapeutic, but it boosts productivity throughout the day, because once I get one thing done I’m motivated to keep going.
Check your bank account. Everyone has forgotten to check their bank account for a period of time to later find that they only have $10 left (or worse, it’s in the negative) – whoops.
That’s why I think it’s important to check it regularly so you can make sure that you’re not overspending. I try to check mind every day, but if you’re often forgetful, then plan on checking it every Sunday.
Get all of the basic chores out of the way: Take some time to get the necessities done, like dishes, laundry, vacuuming, etc. Then these won’t all pile up later in the week and you’ll be proud of yourself for getting them done. This is what I specifically dedicate my Sunday’s to and it makes life so much easier.
Schedule Social media
Use a social media scheduler. If you’re a blogger or business owner, it’s hard to find the time to constantly create and schedule content for social media. That’s where having a social media scheduler comes in handy because you can free up your time for more important tasks.
Here are some of my favorite social media schedulers:
Tailwind – Tailwind is a MUST-HAVE for all bloggers from beginner to seasoned. It’s my favorite because you can batch schedule all of your pins and Instagram posts with the push of a button.
You can also see analytics about your profile performance, demographic, engagement, activity and much more. It will even schedule your pins during the optimal time your viewers are active.
One of Tailwind’s best features is their tribes, which are basically large group boards where bloggers can pin their posts.
Tribes are great because they have large audiences of thousands to millions of people. Imagine your pin in front of millions of people’s eyes. Crazy, right?
If you’re interested in using Tailwind, you can schedule up to 100 pins absolutely free! There’s no time limit either! Click the image below to get started.
Hootsuite – A popular social media manager, many people use this app to handle multiple social media sites from Facebook to Instagram, Twitter and more.
Buffer – Another great option. It’s free and will let you handle up to 3 social media sites.
Meal Prep
Meal prepping will save you so much time (it’s unreal), because instead of coming home multiple times throughout the work day to cook your food, it’s already prepared so all you have to do is grab and go.
Take an hour to prep the food. Try to optimize your time so it only takes an hour to make all of the food.
Place the food into containers. I love the Nutribox containers from Amazon because they are freezer, microwaveable and dishwasher safe. They also help a lot with portion control.
Use crockpots to save time and effort. Crockpots are the best. I love them because they are so simple. I just throw all my ingredients in there and let the crockpot do all the work. I can even let the food cook overnight so I have a nice meal in the morning.
Take Care of Yourself
Here are some ideas:
Take a nice bubble bath. A bubble bath with a soothing bath bomb and a good read makes for the perfect Sunday night.
This is my favorite way to settle down after a hard work day. It’s just sooo soothing and therapeutic.
Go on a walk. Going on a walk is a great way to clear your head before the upcoming week. I like to listen to Spotify playlists or Podcasts during my walk, especially ones in the personal growth niche. (I’m such a nerd for all things self-help).
Plan a fun outing. A dinner date, roadtrip, staycation, hike, shopping day, etc. Get out there and do something exciting for yourself! You deserve it.
Try journaling. I know it’s been overstated, but journaling is such a great way to pour your thoughts and feelings out into the world so you’re not harboring them internally. It releases negative energy, boosts your mood and calms your mind. I’ve been journaling for years and I promise it’s very effective in getting rid of any thoughts weighing you down.
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Turn off electronics a certain time before bed. I aim to turn my devices off an hour before bed or else I won’t be able to sleep.
Go to bed at a decent time. This is so so so important. I notice that when I’m tired, my ability to perform well is very low. On top of that, I can’t focus to save my life. That’s why getting 7-10 hours of sleep every night is one of my top priorities.
For more self-care ideas, check out my blog post on 50 simple ways to practice self-care.
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FINAL THOUGHTS:
And that’s my complete list of Sunday habits that’ll make your week more productive. Even incorporating one or two of these into your routine can tremendously boost your productivity levels.
Before you go, make sure to check out my free resource library to get access to a ton of freebies from weekly planners to budget printables, checklists, workbooks and more – updated weekly.
Over to you – What does your Sunday routine look like? Which of these ideas are you going to try?
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Wow! You have so many wonderful ideas in this post. I love it! I especially love that, while I’m not a millennial, you still offered a lot of useful information to differing age groups as well. Bravo and thank you so much for sharing. I learned quite a bit.
I love your social media organiser suggestions, I struggle to block out this time. Lucky for me my wardrobe check should only take about 30 seconds, I’m a man haha.
Thank you for reaching out Ramon! And that must be so nice hah it takes me forever to organize my closet, pick out clothes for the next day, etc.
Awesome post! I’ve been striving to make my Sundays geared toward making my week easier and I love your tips!