I don’t know about you, but my weekends are really important to me. How I spend them is even more important.
For me, I need a couple days completely away from work, to rest my mind & my body. Doing this allows me to make sure that I’m not working myself to burnout & lose motivation. Since I’ve learned that I get stressed out easily, the best way to handle this is to try to prevent it before it starts.
The best way to prevent stress for me is to make sure that I’m planning ahead and being prepared. Have you ever heard the saying, “If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail?”. Meaning, there is great importance in making sure you that you plan ahead.
I used to do all of my prepping & planning on Sunday, but I’ve noticed that this makes me feel like I have to dedicate a whole day to more work. Thus feeling like I haven’t been able to rest & go into the next week feeling tired & a bit frazzled.
I’ve been able to figure out what things need to be done before entering the next week, as well as a system that works for me. This helps to ensure that I don’t have to cram everything in on Sunday.
Since implementing the system I’m discussing in this post, I’ve been able to see a difference in my stress levels. I’ve also been able to stay on track with my fitness goals & have ultimately been more productive as a result. (You can read more about how I remain on track in my post on Why I Check In With Myself Every Week)
This system has been several months testing out to get to figuring out what works for me, and I hope this helps you in developing a plan that work for YOU and YOUR schedule/life.
PLANNING OUT MEALS
I think one of the main things that people struggle with, is having the time to make healthy meals. The best thing to be able to do in order to make sure that you are able to stick to your goals & save time, is planning out your meals ahead of time!
I usually start thinking about the meals for the next week on Wednesday’s. Thinking about this allows me to be able to brainstorm healthy meals & to see what meals I can make with the items that I already have in my apartment at the moment. Planning out my meals ahead of time also lets me keep a running list of groceries that I need to get for the next week.
My boyfriend and I usually take turns making dinner. He does Mondays & Wednesdays and I do Tuesdays and Thursdays. Taking turns definitely helps take a little bit off of my plate, but planning ahead definitely takes some of the stress off of my plate!
GROCERY SHOPPING
I usually think of meals for the next week on Wednesdays because I like to do my errands on Thursday afternoons- including grocery shopping. If I don’t have time to get to run my errands on Thursdays, we go either Friday evening or Saturday mornings.
I used to go grocery shopping on Sundays, but I avoid doing this anymore because the grocery store is always so busy & it takes up so much time. So, getting the grocery shopping done and out of the way has really made a big difference in being able to free up some time!
CHOPPING VEGGIES / MEAL PREPPING
I ALWAYS make sure that I have veggies chopped before going into the next week. This is something I usually do Sundays because it’s easy and doesn’t too much time. But, doing this over the weekend helps save a TON of time during the week when I’m cooking!
I chop lettuce, spinach, bell peppers, onions, celery, and any other vegetables that we are going to be using throughout the week. Spending an hour or so chopping all of the veggies over the weekend helps with being able to just grab what I need easily, without the hassle of having to wash the cutting board several times throughout the week!
PLANNING SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT
Ohhhh this is a HUGE one! For those of you who don’t know, I started my business in Social Media Management last year and learned about all of the ins and outs of using social media strategically for business. I learned a lot about strategy and I even put everything that I learned into Ultimate Social Media Guides.
One of the main tips that is pretty much essential in success in using social media for business, is planning and scheduling content ahead of time! Planning ahead saves you so much time and hassle and makes sure that you are always staying on top of your game. It’s one of my main 7 Fool-Proof Social Media Strategies!
I’ve heard a lot of people plan out their posts for the upcoming week on Sundays, but that is honestly too much work for me to do on Sundays. Plus, it usually takes a couple times of running through the posts before I feel like they are ready to go.
I actually start planning out content 4-6 weeks ahead of time. Then, the Monday before, I start finalizing the next week’s posts, so that I am always a week ahead. By planning this ahead of time, I am able to make any changes throughout the week if needed, so I’m not rushing to get everything planned out.
For example, here’s is what my week looks like when planning my posts:
Mondays- Map out posts for the next week
Tuesdays- Edit any graphics + write captions
Wednesdays- Work on blogs & blog strategy
Thursdays- Finish scheduling all posts for next week
PLANNING OUT TO-DOS FOR THE WEEK
In working from home & being my own boss, I have to make sure that I am being very clear on my to-do’s for the week. It has taken a long time to figure out the system that works for me.
I usually start brain dumping and planning out the next week on Thursdays and finalize the plan on Fridays when I know for sure what each task is.
LAUNDRY
Ah laundry… one of those highly dreaded chores, but very important chore. I actually do my laundry on Friday mornings before I go to my meeting. When I get home from the gym, I throw my clothes in the laundry, by the time I have to leave for the meeting, they are already in the dryer. I then do my towels when I get home from the meeting and put everything away in the afternoon.
Doing my laundry throughout the day on Fridays also saves a lot of time that I can use to my self on Sundays!
Reflection & Setting Intentions
Something that I have recently added into my routine is reflecting on the past week & setting intentions for the upcoming week. It’s hard to plan ahead & keep up with your goals if you don’t keep track of how it’s going!
Here are some things to think about:
- What went well this week?
- What didn’t go well?
- What could I do better?
- What are 3 things that I want to focus on this week?
- How am I going to make sure I prioritize self care?
Want some strategies to setting goals & actually reaching them?! Check out my 5 tips for crushing your goals!
Doing a little bit of planning and preparation throughout the week has really helped in making sure that I can enjoy my weekends. It feels so much better going into the weekend feeling like I can enjoy the time to myself & relax!
Everyone talks about Sunday being the day to do everything- grocery shopping, meal prepping, planning the week, laundry, ALL OF IT. If that works for you, and it used to for me, that’s absolutely fine! However, I started noticing that trying to do everything on Sunday takes up the whole day & I was going into the next week feeling frazzled.
Everyone’s schedule is different & different things will work for different people. It’s all about finding what works for you! ❤
What do you need to do to prepare for the week ahead?!
xx,
-jess
