I personally believe the key to having a productive week is having a plan. How many times have you decided that you wanted to be productive, then three hours go by and all you have done is binge watch TikTok videos?
I have a little secret to having a productive week and it’s setting aside a time to plan on the weekend to set yourself up for success. I like to plan out my week on Sundays (or Saturday depending on what I have planned for Sunday) so I can leave the rest of my week for important tasks and appointments.
Here is my strategy for planning out my productive week.
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Sunday Routine for a Productive Week
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1. Reflect on the past week.
Look over your planner from the last week and reflect. Think about the kind of things you did that worked for you and things that didn’t.
Make a list of the tasks that still need to be done or new tasks that are a direct product of something that didn’t get finished the week before. Keep this list ready for later so you can add those tasks into your planner for the upcoming week.
Reflecting on the previous week will help you analyze how you performed the week before and will help you plan better for this week. If you thought it was going to only take you 10 minutes to clean the bathrooms, but it actually took you 30 minutes, plan accordingly in your cleaning schedule this week.
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2. Set 3 goals for the upcoming week.
Instead of putting every task on the same level of priority, choose three big goals that you want to accomplish. This way, if those are the only things that you check off your list, you still feel that sense of accomplishment.
Your three goals can look something like this:
- Declutter storage closet
- Schedule dentist appointment
- Mail mom’s birthday card
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3. Add appointments from your calendar into your planner.
Look through the calendar on your phone (or wall) and add any appointments for this week into your planner. Sometimes when we schedule medical or other appointments months in advance, it’s easy to forget when they actually are.
Be sure to add any additional details (location, time, etc.) into your planner, and, if you need to, set a reminder on your phone for the day before or an hour before so you don’t forget.
4. Go over your schedule with your partner and family.
Make sure you and your partner and family are all on the same page for what is going on this week. At the beginning of the week, I make sure I write down my husband’s work schedule so I can plan meals and errands that fit both of our schedules. This way, we both can have a productive week when we align our schedules.
It also helps to have a calendar/schedule system visible to everyone in a high traffic area. You can get a whiteboard calendar to add in the upcoming events so everyone knows what’s going on that week.
5. Plan your meals for the week.
Even if you’re not a huge meal planner (like me) it helps to have at least a rough outline of the meals you are going to eat this week.
Take inventory of what’s in your fridge and pantry and make a list of what you need to shop for. See what food needs to be used first, like meat that has been in the fridge the longest or veggies that are starting to wilt. Use those foods up first.
I personally don’t like to schedule specific meals for each day because I like to eat what I am in the mood for. I just make a list of meals that I CAN make that week and then choose from that list for each meal.
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6. Meal prep for the week.
This is also something that can be just as flexible as you like it. If you’re the type of person who likes to make meals and divide them into meal prep containers, go right ahead. But I do meal prepping a little differently.
What works for me is prepping different ingredients that will make my cooking time go much easier.
Here’s what my meal prep list looked like this week:
- Chop carrots and celery for lunches
- Prep veggie boxes
- Dice veggies for scrambled eggs
- Put healthy snacks in reusable bags
- Make strawberry chia seed jam
- Prep green smoothie freezer bags
- Make hard boiled eggs
- Freeze avocado
- Make chickpea salad
These are ingredients that I usually use to make packing lunch and making breakfast in the morning so much quicker!
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7. Assign cleaning tasks to different days of the week.
Instead of doing all of your cleaning in one day (unless that’s what works for you) you can try scheduling rotating cleaning tasks to different days of the week. Here’s an example:
Monday: Clean bathrooms
Tuesday: Vacuum
Wednesday: Dust + clean plants
Thursday: Mop floors
Friday: Laundry
Saturday: Wash bedding + towels
Sunday: Catch up day
It tends to be better to spread out all your cleaning tasks rather than trying to carve out a couple hours on the weekend to do them.
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8. Update your shopping list.
If you don’t already do this throughout the week, keep a list by your side while you’re making your plan for the week. Decide on what day you can go to the store and pick up these items. Sometimes you may need to go to a couple different stores, so make sure to plan accordingly.
9. Plan a “life admin” day.
I got this idea from one of my favorite YouTubers, MuchelleB. Basically a “life admin” day is a day where you choose to complete all of the tasks and errands you have been putting off for a while.
Instead of doing these things randomly when I remember (or when the deadline is that day) I plan a day each month to get these tasks done. I like to keep a running list of items that can wait and save them for my life admin day that I plan for the end of the month.
10. Set digital media boundaries for the week.
My phone automatically sends a digital media use report (digital wellbeing) to me on Sundays so I can visualize what how much time I actually spent on social media + other apps.
I use this to help me set boundaries for how much time I spend on social media (outside of work, of course). Also, some social media apps allow you to set boundaries for yourself within the app, so check those options out, too!
This is key to having a productive week because it helps keep track of time-sucking activities like mindless scrolling.
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11. Plan times to connect with loved ones.
Sometimes it’s necessary to schedule a date night because your schedules just aren’t very in synch next week. You might need to actually add a phone call with your friend to your calendar in order to make sure you have time to chat.
I have a friend who is incredibly busy and super organized and she will literally send me a Google calendar invitation to schedule a monthly phone call. We used to work together and we know what works for the other.
Plan times to meet up, video chat, talk on the phone, etc. so you can stay in touch with your loved ones even in a busy season of life.
12. Sort through your papers.
Toss out any pieces of mail you’ve been hanging onto that you no longer need. Take care of anything that needs immediate attention.
Sort through your growing stack of receipts and toss whatever you don’t absolutely need. You could even download a receipt collecting app like Fetch Rewards to store your receipts and get points for the ones you upload.
Getting rid of any unnecessary papers at the beginning of the week will help you feel just a little more organized.
13. Plan one fun thing to look forward to this week.
Having something to look forward to at the end of the week will help you feel less stressed because you know that you will be rewarded later on.
It doesn’t have to be something really expensive or time consuming. It can be something simple like carving out an hour for a candlelit bubble bath or watching a cheesy chick-flick and sipping some hot cocoa.
14. Revisit health + fitness data from the last week and set new goals.
Set any health + wellness goals you have for the upcoming week based off your data from last week. It can be something as simple as remembering to take your vitamins every morning or drinking the recommended ounces of water each day.
I personally use a fitness tracker on my phone that pairs with my smart watch and it tracks my sleep, activity levels, hydration, and food intake. This isn’t necessary for everyone, but I love the weekly summary it gives me as it helps me set my health goals for the upcoming week.
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15. Pray over your week and schedule.
As a Christian, this last step is so important to me and how I view the upcoming week. I believe I can have my most productive week when I give it over to God. These are some of the things I tend to pray for when I finish planning my week:
- Strength and energy to show up for everything need to do
- Patience and wisdom for when things don’t go as planned
- That things will go smoothly
- Safety + health
- That I will make connections with the people God wants me to connect with
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