A Productive Week Begins With Setting Yourself Up On Sunday

I read this article once that said it was how you spend your Sunday that sets the tone for the rest of your week. At the time I thought this was pretty much bullshit. I was looking at Sunday as my one and only rest day, my day to chill out, not think about anything that I had to work on, spend the whole day in bed if I wanted to. But, there is something to be said when you are struggling to get out of bed on Monday morning, your anxious because you feel as if you are unorganised, you're nervous because you don't want to forget to do something.

I was getting pretty sick of waking up on Monday and feeling like I was already behind for the week-SO I looked that article back up and started to comprehend properly what I could be changing about my Sunday to make Monday a little bit easier. All the tips and advice they gave- some of it didn't work, some were bullshit and some were A+. I also put my own little spin on some of it to make it work for how I wanted it too.

Here are a few of the tips I have come up with that do actually work to help you have a productive week, beginning on Sunday.

• Brain dump.
  Grab your notebook or a loose page of A4 paper and write down everything and anything that is in your mind. Stop trying to store everything in your brain and force yourself to remember it because chances are, you will forget. Write everything down on that paper, date it and refer back to it during the week.
  

• Sunday is no longer "rest day"
  My week used to be planned out with six sessions of exercise and the day off on Sunday, I was thinking I was taking the day off to reset and get ready to smash it out for the next six days. I have since swapped my rest day to Saturday and made Sunday leg day, it has made it easier to get up and exercise on Monday morning because I've already checked one session off for the week.
  

• Invest in a weekly planner.
  Seriously you will not know ease until you have a weekly planner in your life, or on your fridge, somewhere you are going to look at it every day. Make sure you schedule everything in, write alllll of it down so you know exactly what is happening and on what day. Schedule in your partners/kids weeks as well- it makes the week slightly more organised.
  

• While you're at it, plan your meals for the week as well.
  I used to look at meal planning as something only the elite did until I tried it and realised how damn easy it makes life. Imagine not finishing work at five and realising you didn't get something out for dinner so now you have to rush off to the shops and make a split second "yep, that will do" decision. Imagine only having to do grocery shopping once a week- what a life hey!
  

• Write out your goals for the week.
  If I have something to work towards, something I can tick off at the end of the week I feel like I have more direction in what I am working for. On Sunday I set four goals for the week and then hatch a plan to kick them out of the park.
  

• Organise your space.
  If I feel like my home is cluttered, I too feel like I am cluttered. I don't like things to be hugely messy, I need things to be in their spot and ready for me to know exactly where they are. I usually spend Sunday evening tidying up the house, doing some washing, etc so that I can start the week feeling fresh and tidy.
  

• Take some downtime.
  After all, it is Sunday. Spend some "you time" in amongst all the week-prep. Watch a movie, take a bath, go for a relaxing walk. Don't forget to take some time out.

What do you do on a Sunday to get yourself ready for the week? Let me know in the comments below- give people some ideas!