I can’t believe it’s already Sunday night. This week flew by and even worse the weekend felt even faster. How am I sitting in bed trying to get mentally prepared for the week already?? After a busy weekend, I always kinda feel stressed heading into the week, especially if it was a go, go, go, type of weekend. But there’s one thing that I know I can always do on a Sunday that helps make my week just go a bit smoother, and that’s a Sunday reset.
A Sunday Reset is basically a mix of tidying up your physical space, organizing your brain space, and mentally preparing yourself for the upcoming week. Think of it as a weekly life-refresh button. A chance to clear out the last week’s noise and clutter and just start fresh. Maybe your week last week wasn’t the best, or maybe your night out Saturday left you feeling a bit icky, whatever it may be I know that feeling all too well and the only thing that is able to make me feel a lot calmer is just resetting my space and my mind and getting all prepped for the week ahead. You’re not trying to completely overhaul your personality, transform into a completely new person, or suddenly become this insanely productive person all in one sitting, you’re just adding some steps into the routine that help you with your week ahead. But I think the secret is that it doesn’t need to be some big crazy deep clean. If all you have in you is just a small tidy, that is better than nothing. There’s no need to scrub your baseboards with a toothbrush or meal prep every meal for the next 7 days, this reset can be whatever you want it to be.
The thing about Sunday is that it’s already got that start of week mentality, because technically on the calendar Sunday is the start of the week, not Monday. It’s like pre-Monday. The vibe is a little quieter, a little slower. And I think it’s just kinda the day society has deemed as the it’s okay to just have a chill day-day. Plus, doing your reset on Sunday means you roll into Monday with a bit of momentum. You’ve already got your to-do list. Your laundry is (hopefully) clean. Your fridge doesn’t look like a ghost town. You’re not waking up in a panic trying to find clean socks or finding your work shirt with a big stain on it. You’ve done all that prep the day before, so instead of scrambling together when your alarm clock goes off on Monday, you get to have a peaceful morning and make if you’re lucky and put a little bit of extra effort into your reset, enjoy it.
So here’s a rundown of how my Sunday resets generally go. Keep in mind sometimes it’s different depending on the vibes of the Sunday or how my Saturday night before went.
Sleep in just a little bit
Not too much—but enough that you feel rested. I usually don’t set an alarm unless I have something planned in the morning. Sunday’s are really the only day I sleep in. Monday through Friday is obviously early wake ups and I feel like I always want to make the most of my Saturday so I always just relax, but Sunday, that’s the designated sleep in day. Sleeping until 10 is fine, but if I’m up at 1 p.m. I know it’s going to throw everything off and I’ll blink and it’ll be dinner time. Ideally, I wake up naturally, make a coffee, and get ready to reset.
Tidy up
This is usually the least fun part, but weirdly the most satisfying. My room always ends up a mess by Sunday—clothes everywhere, random receipts in my pockets, an actual graveyard of empty mugs. I do a quick sweep of each room: put clothes away, wipe counters, vacuum if I’m feeling ambitious. I like to put on music to get my energy levels up to make it seem a little more fun. Make sure you make your bed if you haven’t already, I find that really sets the tone for the day.
Laundry time
This one’s self-explanatory but always necessary. Doing laundry on Sunday just hits different. There’s something deeply satisfying about starting the week with fresh socks and clean work or school clothes. But make sure you fold it and put it away right away. It kinda defeats the reset purpose if you just let it sit there for the rest of the week.
Grocery run
I try to head out to the grocery store to get what I may need for the week, fruit, snacks, lunches, whatever it may be to help my week go a bit smoother. I don’t do full-blown meal prep, but I’ll chop some veggies, make overnight oats, if I’m feeling crazy.
Plan the week
This one is a non negotiable for me. I plan out my week day by day. This may sound wild for some but knowing exactly what I need to do each day keeps me on track with my work and more motivated as well. . I pull out my planner or phone notes and do a little week-ahead preview. What do I have coming up? Any appointments? Deadlines? Social plans? I dump it all out in one place and check it off at the end of each night. Can you tell I’m type A?
Self care
This could be a shower that lasts way too long. A face mask. A little stretch session or a walk around the block. Anything that gives you the feeling of being refreshed and ready to go for the week ahead.
My reset always ends in bed, clean sheets, coxy clothes, a movie on, and feeling as if I’ve done all I can to make the week ahead go as smoothly as possible. It does kinda sound like a bit of unnecessary effort but I promise you, once I started making this a priority on Sunday’s my weeks felt easier. So cheers to a new week! And happy Sunday resetting! Do you do a Sunday reset?