How I Spend My Sundays to Prepare for the Week

I love Sundays. It’s quiet, and it feels like a fresh start. I’m usually up early because I want to spend the morning alone. And by alone, I mean with my trusty shadow, Ollie, because I don’t do anything alone anymore.

Having a dog as active as Oliver has kept me on my toes. He’s still a puppy, at almost 10 months old, and needs lots of exercises, scratches, attention, and treats. He also does NOT like it when he feels like he is alone. He’s often at my feet while I write or lying on the couch while I read. He follows me everywhere, and I mean everywhere.

The best thing is moments like this photo when we stop, enjoy the weather, and watch life around us.

He’s also my Sunday morning buddy while my husband is at the gym and the child is sleeping.

Sundays look the same, with a few tweaks depending on the weather. For the most part, here is how I start the day to prepare for a great week:

Coffee and a small breakfast. I start each day with this routine, and it works for me. Plus, I love the ritual of coffee.
Reading. Whatever I am reading at the moment, whether on my Kindle or as a physical book, I love to start the week with reading. I am reading “Unfollow Your Passion: How to Create a Life that Matters to You” by Terri Trespicio as my current book and I am really enjoying it so far. This morning, I read by the fire pit in our backyard because it was quiet, the weather was perfect, and Ollie needed to be outside.
More coffee.
Planning time! I usually do this while I watch “Sunday Today” with Willie Geist. This is the only news I watch all week. I don’t really watch a lot of news for my mental health. I read quite a bit, but our TV is not usually on.

I use a Plum Paper Planner to look at my week. Seeing the week in front of me is so helpful to planning, having discussions of timing and dinners with the family, and checking in with what each of us needs. I know this week our daughter has testing, my husband is finishing up his semester of grad school with AP testing looming, and I am working hard to finish a large grant and traveling this upcoming weekend. This means we need an easy week with easy dinners and a plan for Taco/Ted Lasso Tuesday, which is our family date night.

With that, I make the grocery list for my husband since he does all the grocery shopping. The best martial advice I’ve ever received was from my Uncle Roger. He said he does everything my aunt hates doing, and she does that for him. I hate grocery shopping, so Chris does it. And he hates laundry and dishes, so I do those. It works for us, and helps divide the labor with clear expectations.

I also look at my MiGoals journal and see where I am as far as my goals. Using that barometer, I create a list of weekly habits that get me closer to my goals.

The last thing I do is plan my workouts. I know what my schedule is, so it’s easier to plan. The most significant thing I do is PUT THEM IN MY CALENDAR. It’s my time; if I communicate that with my family, it gets done. Mostly because they ask me if I’ve done it and make sure I have the space to workout. It usually is me on the Peloton or lifting weights at home, so there are no excuses for me.

It’s also a good time for me to reflect on what I need as an individual. My husband and daughter are just as clear on what they need, so it’s a good time for us to discuss it. Everyone can ask for what they need, which has helped us understand how we can best function as a family. It’s not perfect, but it starts the conversation. I hope that as the child gets older, it helps her understand how to set herself up for a successful week.

Today, I am creating a 5-week meal plan, which sounds like a lot, but the honest truth is that we eat the same things quite often (like bison tacos every Tuesday), so this actually helps us to grocery shop and lifts the mental load that often comes from deciding what to have for dinner. It also allows us to use what we already have to reduce waste.

With this, I plan meals, holidays, events, etc. We don’t follow it precisely because life happens, but it really does help us.

I aim to try new recipes from my Pinterest board and plan for those. I love doing this because some meals make it to the regular rotation.

All I do is print a free calendar out, date it, and put in all the known plans. From there, I start to fill it in. I also plan to eat out because sometimes it’s nice to know you are going to dinner or simply ordering pizza.

There are many ways to plan for the week, and this is what works for me most weeks. If it doesn’t happen Sunday, it happens on a Monday. I know that this settles me into the week and allows me to concentrate on what is most important.