Have you had a week when every deadline, demand, and appointment of the year seemed to be packed into a single week? When you know a week like that is coming, it can ruin your Sunday Funday.

Unless… you take an hour of your Sunday to prepare for the week with a few pro planning maneuvers.

With this series of steps to plan your week, you’ll be able to relax into the weekend without dreading Monday morning.

1. Tackle Admin Tasks

The last thing you need in your busy week ahead is admin tasks distracting you. Whether it’s emails that need addressing or bills and chores to finish, you want to have a plan to avoid undue stress and distracting demands.

Give yourself 20 minutes to address admin emails and tasks that don’t pertain to your big projects for the week. If you uncover a task that will take longer than you have in your Sunday prep time, schedule a time in the week to address it after you finish your higher priority tasks.

2. Review Your Goals

This is the fun part! Take a few minutes to envision where you’d like to go and what’s most important to you. Take a look at last week and consider whether your activities brought you closer to your goals or not.

The more you can build awareness of tasks or projects that drain your energy, give you energy, or move you significantly closer to your goals, the more you can be more efficient with your time moving forward.

The golden question to ask as you review your goals and your actions last week is: How can you make this week more fun and fulfilling?

3. Plan Your Week

We recommend time blocking to plan your week most effectively. In this technique, you use your calendar to visually show you what tasks you’re going to accomplish when, and what times during the week you will not be available to be bothered by anyone. You’re busy!

Most people only mark themselves as busy when they have an appointment or a meeting where their time is already dedicated to other people. Very few block out time to be able to work toward their own goals undisturbed.

When you plan your week, block in these appointments with yourself first. Make sure those times are for tasks that are most relevant to your goals, even if other tasks seem more urgent.

Then, fill in the rest of your schedule with your other demands. If you already know you’re going to be stressed or stretched thin during the week, then schedule in rest time. Be real with yourself about how much you can accomplish. This scheduling exercise may show you that you need to push some tasks to the following week, or communicate with team members or clients about certain deadlines coming up.

4. Care For Yourself

When will you grocery shop this week? Cook? Take your pet to the park? Call your parents?

Meal prep, time with kids and family, and attention on your pets are all helpful to accomplish in the weekend when you know your week will be nuts. Don’t give yourself the short end of the stress stick by getting to Wednesday with no food in your house and no energy to make it. Running on takeout will only hurt your wallet and energy in the long run!

Meal prep, laundry, and other chores don’t have to be a drag. Throw on some music, have your groceries delivered, or call your family while walking in the park. The more you think of these activities as self-care, the more energizing they will become.

Pro Self-Care

When you hear about “self-care,” it’s easy to think about spa days or naps. Self-care includes all the planning you do to lower stress for yourself and help yourself make better decisions in the future.

If planning your workouts with a running buddy on Sunday will ensure you take breaks to sweat and get outdoors… that’s self-care! Sundays are a great time to care for your future busy self, especially when you know your week is going to be bananas!