10 Things to Do on Sunday for a Healthy Productive Week
Don’t let your week run away from you. Instead, here are 10 things to do on Sunday for a healthy productive week.
I hear from a lot of people about how overwhelmed they feel. There’s never enough time, not enough resources, and too many distractions in their life. Considering most people are not ready to throw away their mobile devices or get off the internet, I have a few easier ideas to help you gain some control over your life.
10 Things to Do on Sunday For a Healthy Productive Week
1. Buy Healthy Food
You want to live a healthy productive life, right? Right. If you don’t have nutritious food in your house, you’re going to grab something fast and unhealthy on the way home.
Purchasing nourishing food on Sunday, or whenever your week begins, can help set you up for a healthy week ahead since you already have good supplies in the house.
You’ve also made an investment when you purchase groceries, and we all know that there’s nothing worse than having limp broccoli mock you at the end of the week if you haven’t cooked it, which leads to number 2.
2. Prep Food
It’s one thing to have healthy food in your house to set you up for a productive week, but it’s another to have some of this food prepped and ready to go.
I always wash all my produce right after I come home from the grocery store or farmer’s market. I then dry it and chop and cook whatever makes sense. Proteins are easy to cook in advance, as well as a lot of side dishes.
I love roasting a chicken (or I buy a cooked one when short on time) and then I use the meat in several different meals. Sometimes I’ll eat it straight up with cauliflower parsnip puree and sautéed coconut lime kale. Or I’ll use leftovers in tacos or wraps or on top of zucchini noodles with avocado sauce.
The point is, do some food prep on Sunday by cooking healthy proteins and vegetables so when mealtime comes, it’s just a matter of reheating food.
3. Move
Hopefully regular exercise is already a part of your life. For me, I have pretty strong workouts during the week so I like to use the weekend more for playtime movement.
Sometimes that means getting in nature and going on a hike with a friend. Sometimes it’s a quieter, more reflective experience, walking along the beach or through a park.
I don’t always have time, or the energy if I’m honest, to get in nature during the week so it’s a treat to do it on weekends. It also feels like another recharge for the body and mind to be ready for a great week ahead.
4. Get Quiet
Another thing I like to do on Sunday to set myself up for a healthy productive week is to get quiet. I like to meditate every day but Sunday’s are special since I have more time. So I’ll do a longer meditation. Sometimes I meditate at the beach. Sometimes it’s a moving, walking meditation through nature. Sometimes I’ll meditate with a group.
Even if sitting in a formal meditation isn’t your thing, taking time to get quiet on Sunday can be really productive for your week. If you’re like most people I know, you go a million miles an hour during the week, and then you basically crash into the weekend.
Taking dedicated time to be still can be helpful in so many ways from simply relaxing your mind and body, to making room for creative thoughts to enter your brain. It also leads nicely into our next thing to do on Sunday to set you up for a great week.
5. Look Backwards
I don’t often tell people to spend a lot of time looking backwards but on Sunday’s, I say a quick trip to review the week is worth it.
Many of us trip through life, repeating the same behavior and actions, and then wonder why nothing has changed. Getting quiet and looking back on your week provides you with perspective
Take time to celebrate your wins for the week. Look for them, no matter how big or small. Often we dwell on the things that go wrong and quickly bypass the good stuff. Acknowledge what went right in your week so you can get even more wins in the week ahead.
Likewise, look at some of the things you weren’t happy about in the week. Don’t beat yourself up over them but look at them and see if there are ways to prevent a repeat from happening in the days ahead. You can’t change something you’re not aware of so make sure you get to the root of any issues so you can avoid them next time.
6. Get Grateful
After you’ve looked backwards, take time to acknowledge all of the good things you have in your life. It’s easy to sweep right past it and dwell on the negative. I find spending time each day, or even each week, writing a gratitude list to be really rewarding.
The more you look for the good in your life, the more you’ll find. If all you’re doing is focusing on the stuff that’s going wrong, guess what you’re going to see more of?
Having a positive perspective can change your life. Try getting grateful with your family or friends every Sunday and watch the energy shift in everyone’s lives.
7. Look Forward
After you look back at the past week and gotten grateful, look forward to the current week. What do you want to see more of? What are you going to spend less time on?
For me, I’m always happy with time connecting with friends and fellow health experts. It fuels me and keeps me inspired. Social media on the other hand, that depletes me. I make conscious decisions on when I go online and for how long so I don’t get sucked into the vortex. Sometimes the vortex wins, and then the next week I commit to doing better and following a stricter schedule.
8. Schedule
After you reflected on what worked for you the past week and what didn’t, schedule your week out. If you know you need friend time to fuel you, then make sure you schedule it. If you know you feel crummy if you don’t get to the gym three days a week, then schedule it. Meet a friend for a workout for a good two-fer to catch up with a pal as well as have someone hold you accountable for showing up to the gym.
I’m going to guess it’s rare that you miss a scheduled doctor’s appointment. So why don’t you take the health of the rest of your mind and body as seriously? You don’t get healthy by hoping and wishing for it. You get healthy by showing up to the gym and eating the right food. Schedule the life you want to happen, and you’ll see big shifts in your overall health and wellbeing.
9. Set Yourself Up
So you’ve scheduled your week ahead. Perhaps you’re planning on an early morning workout on Monday, followed by a healthy breakfast. Set out your gym clothes the night before. Make sure you have a healthy smoothie or chia pudding ready for breakfast in the refrigerator. And try and tidy up on Sunday so you don’t come home to clutter after the workweek begins.
Make your morning that much easier by prepping as much as you can the night before so there’s not a question when you wake up what you’re doing. You won’t get distracted and then an hour or two later wonder where the time went.
I also like to have my to-do list for the next day done the night before. When I’m powering down from work on Friday and other weekdays, I put my 3 most important goals on my calendar for the morning. That way, when I hit the office, I’m clear on my priorities and won’t get sucked into other less important things.
10. Enjoy!
They don’t call it Sunday Funday for nothing! Have fun while you’re doing any and all of the above items. Play great music while you’re cooking. Enlist the help of your partner, friend, or child for food prep.
Then make sure you have time to pursue any passion projects. Do you love working in a garden? Use that time to get quiet and reflect on your week. How’s that for a good three-fer. Draw, paint, sing, dance – whatever moves your soul.
You can’t control all of the chaos in your life but you can set yourself up for success by doing some of these things on Sunday for a healthy productive week.
I covered some of these practices during a recent Facebook Live if you want to catch that here.