We all start the work week with great intentions but we don’t always have the strong weekly habits to back them up. If you often feel like your weeks start off well and then quickly dissolve into chaos, you might just need new habits to better prepare you.
Whether you work from home, are a busy student, or go to the office during the week, these seven weekly habits will help you start every week from a place of calm preparedness. Preparing yourself for the week will allow you to avoid getting overwhelmed in addition to starting your week off on a positive note.
Plan or Prep your meals for the week
If you head to the office every day, or just have busy work days at home, meal prepping your lunches for the week can be a game changer. You might think of bland, nutrition-focused lunches when you think of meal prepping, but with the right recipes, your lunches can be delicious and healthy. If fully cooking and packing your lunches seems like too much work, another great alternative is to plan out all your meals for the week. While you’ll still have to cook, this alleviates the mental burden of having to come up with a meal, make sure you have ingredients, and then begin cooking when you’re already hungry (and likely busy). Make this fun with a cute meal-prepping notepad on your fridge – this will even help you save on your groceries!
If you’re not sure where to start, our seven ideas for healthy lunches to meal prep can get you started.
Start each day with movement
Moving your body every day won’t necessarily make your life less busy. But, it will help put you in a good mood and make you feel more accomplished at the start of each day. Since we’re not all weight-lifting fiends, movement every day might look different for us. Whether it’s five minutes of light stretching while you’re still in bed, a walk, or a full-on workout, moving your body first thing in the morning will help set the tone for the rest of your day.
Prep the night before
If you always feel like you’re running out the door last minute and forgetting something, try preparing for the day the night before. Pack your work bag (we love this one from Béis!) with all of the essentials, lay out your outfit, or even set out your coffee mug and lunchbox to get you started packing in the morning.
Prepping when your mind is fresh the night before will not only give you more time to enjoy your morning, but will also ensure that you don’t forget anything.
Tidy your space before the week starts
Outer order equals inner order, right?! Starting your week with a cluttered space is only going to add to your stress levels. So, take a little bit of time before the week starts to tidy up. This doesn’t have to mean a deep clean every weekend, just whatever you need to feel calm.
Because we don’t all love tidying and cleaning – make it fun! Light a candle, play some music, and have a glass of wine while you tidy. This will make mindless tasks like folding laundry, doing dishes, and putting away papers so much easier.
Reflect and mentally prepare for the week
Once your space is all tidy, you can turn inwards. Starting your week with a reflection and clear intentions gives you clarity to carry into the week. Try using some of these journal prompts to get you reflecting:
- What was good about last week? What didn’t go so well?
- How can I minimize the not-so-good while replicating the good parts?
- What am I feeling grateful for in my life?
- What are my top three goals for this week?
- What negative emotions tend to arise during the week? How can I release those emotions in a healthy way?
Taking the time to sort through your emotions of the previous week as part of your weekly habits helps you step into a new week prepared and refreshed. Try it out!
Do all your Admin tasks on Monday
Once the week actually starts, things tend to pile up quickly. Instead of repeatedly pushing today’s to-do list to tomorrow all week long, try an admin day as one of your weekly habits. Admin days are when you sit down and knock out all of your not-so-fun tasks at once. These can be things like paying bills, making phone calls, or answering emails.
We all have tasks we dread that need to get done to make our lives run smoothly. If you always feel like you’re playing catch-up and putting off tasks, admin days are the solution.
Plan something to look forward to at the end of the week
No matter how much you prepare for the week, sometimes things still get hectic. To make sure you end your week on a positive note, plan something to look forward to. Try some of these simple plans:
- Make plans to grab drinks with a friend on Friday night
- Buy tickets to see a movie over the weekend
- Block out time to go to the art museum
- Have a self-care night with your favorite rom-com
- Sign up for a fun work-out class
Whatever sounds fun to you and will get you excited is perfect! Just make sure it’s truly something to look forward to and not just another burden or social obligation.
You can’t prepare for everything or make every week go smoothly, but creating weekly habits where you can go a long way to minimizing unnecessary stressors.
