Sunday Reset Checklist: How to Prepare for the Week and Relieve Stress
Oct 14, 2024
The Sunday scaries are no joke. However, a sudden spike in anxiety right before your week begins doesn’t have to ruin your weekend. Make a Sunday reset checklist to get yourself in a better mental health space. You’ll feel rested and ready for anything when you spend the day preparing for the week ahead.
1. Journal About Your Worries
There are so many possible things to stress about during Sunday afternoons and evenings. If you feel like your head is clogged with swarming thoughts, grab a journal. Whether you use a pen or type them into a digital notebook, journaling for a few minutes every weekend could significantly improve your mental well-being.
Venting about your worries in a journal and recording what makes you happy will reduce your overall stress by helping you process those feelings. Get everything on paper to release what’s building up in your mind. You might even problem-solve a few challenges while writing about why they bother you.
2. Pick One Goal
Seven days is a long time. You could feel overwhelmed on Sundays because you have so many things you want to accomplish. Try picking just one goal for the week to make things seem more manageable. You could use each day to build toward your objective or even complete it on Monday.
3. Refresh Your Wardrobe by Doing Laundry
Laundry is one of life’s recurring responsibilities. It’s also a great way to defeat stress. Do your laundry every Sunday, so there’s one less thing to do at the start of your week. You could even add a few washing strategies to make you feel more confident.
Restore your jeans by soaking them in salt water before washing them. They’ll look brand-new, which might make you feel confident when you step out of the house on Monday morning. It’s harder to feel stressed when your confidence makes everything seem manageable.
4. Prepare Your Meals
Choosing what to eat every day is stressful, and making each meal can be even more frustrating. Use your free time on Sunday to prepare for the week ahead. You might make your lunches and dinners through Wednesday or write a personal weekly menu. Consider if you feel anxious when choosing what to eat or cooking. You’ll pick the best stress-busting solution by evaluating what would make your kitchen routine easier.
5. Plan Your Pampering
What’s one self-care thing you can do each day? If you save time to treat yourself to something special throughout the week, your days won’t appear as foreboding. You’ll also manage your stress effectively so it doesn’t build to an intense level by Sunday afternoon.
You might treat yourself to an everything shower on Sundays to rejuvenate your skin and feel refreshed. Monday night could be aromatherapy night, while Tuesday afternoon is your day to eat lunch outside. Make a long list of self-care ideas that you can try throughout the upcoming week.
6. Schedule Household Chores
Chores are anxiety-inducing. They must get done, and they require your free time. If you dread vacuuming, doing dishes or cleaning your bathroom, schedule everything in a planner. You’ll save a bit of time to keep up around the house throughout each week. You won’t feel like you have to get everything done all at once, which makes it easier to take a deep breath and relax.
Save a few minutes each Sunday to plan your chores. Whether you use a paper planner or a to-do app on your phone, your stress will fade away when you know you can easily keep up with your household needs.
7. Get Some Chores Done on Sunday
If you’re not a big planner, you could use your Sunday afternoons to get chores out of the way. Do your laundry that morning, vacuum after lunch and clean your bathroom in the evening. You’ll only have to take care of dishes during the week, which still leaves you with plenty of free time. More time to relax means you’ll feel less stressed, no matter which responsibilities fall onto your chore chart.
8. Save Time for an Outdoor Adventure
Spending time in nature minimizes stress in multiple ways. It provides fresh air, surrounds you with calming sounds and reminds you that the world is much bigger than any stressors.
Add a soothing walk to your Sunday reset checklist. You could listen to music, a podcast or an audiobook while you take in the world around you. Even if you prefer silence, the light cardio and nature exposure could manage your stress better than anything else.
9. Choose Motivating Breakfast Foods
Does your stress primarily rear its head in the mornings? You could feel anxious because your mind and body don’t have enough energy. Reflect on what you typically eat for breakfast. Swapping sugary cereal with a healthy breakfast wrap or cinnamon oatmeal could make you feel ready for anything.
Your stressors will seem manageable when you don’t feel like you’re fighting to stay awake. If your new breakfast foods are also recipes you adore, you may even sleep better because you can look forward to your first meal of the day.
10. Shift Your Social Life Around
When you picture your upcoming week, do you think about all of the social activities you have on your calendar? Extroverted people feel happier after socializing, while introverts become drained and ready for time alone. Although seeing your loved ones might cheer you up, consider how you feel afterward.
You might feel stressed because you’re in an isolating busy season. Add one or two social opportunities to each week, like meeting a friend for coffee or video calling a loved one. You could also space your socializing out a bit further if you’re more introverted. Either change should make you feel recharged and ready for anything the next day.
Prepare for Your Upcoming Week
Creating a Sunday reset checklist is a fun activity that helps people know themselves better. Reflect on what might influence your stress. Which activities would calm your mind, restore your sense of peace or empower you? Utilizing a few Sunday strategies to make each week enjoyable will also make your weekends something you look forward to even more.
