Did you know that how you spend your Sunday has a huge impact on your week? Learn how to organize your Sunday so you have a smoother, more productive week.

The Power of Sundays

Have you ever noticed that Sundays are very important to the success of your whole week?

If you’ve never noticed this before, I invite you to observe your past Sunday. Was your day calm or overcommitted? Did you get things done to set your family up for an amazing week or were things left undone? 

Next, think about how your week went. Was it a smooth week or did it feel like it was harder than usual?

In my own family, I’ve noticed that if we’re over-scheduled on a Sunday (especially Sunday evening), we usually have a rough week.

This is because Sundays tend to set the tone for the rest of the week. If the kids are exhausted and go to bed late on Sunday evening, it’s difficult to recover the week. Monday morning will roll in and the family will start the week feeling drained and exhausted. Ugh!

Of course, it’s possible to recover (thank goodness!), but it’s not easy. Recovering from an over scheduled Sunday may feel like you’re swimming against the current. Sure it’s possible to swim against the current, but it takes a lot more effort! Instead, think about creating a Sunday that supports your family so that things will feel easier the whole week.

Listen Here

The podcast episode below walks you through how to create a Sunday that will support your family. 

You’ll learn how to create an environment that nurtures you and your family so you start off the week feeling great instead of drained.

Things To Do On Sunday

We’ve talked about the importance of Sunday for setting the tone for the week. However, there are also tasks that you can do on Sunday to help you have a smoother week.

Below are things that I do on Sundays to support my family. Of course, since your life looks different than mine, your list will probably look different. However, I hope sharing my list will give you some ideas for things you can do on Sundays to help your family sail through the week.

I also have a printable with options of things to do on Sundays that you may find helpful. The printable can be accessed in the next section of this post.

Sunday To-Do’s:

1. Food Preparation.

Preparing food on Sunday for the week is an important way to make sure my family stays healthy and nourished all week. Of all my Sunday to-do’s, this one is the most essential for my family.

If I don’t get organized with our meals, shopping, and food prep, the whole week is “off.” I’m scrambling to find dinners to make (which causes me lots of stress!), there aren’t healthy food options for my family, and the overall energy in my house isn’t relaxed and happy. Instead, I’m stressed and my family is searching for food and probably not finding options that they like. (I don’t buy junk food, so the search doesn’t usually end well. Dried dates, anyone?).

To create a calm, smooth week, I like to do my meal planning in advance. Then, on Sunday I’m ready to do my grocery shopping.

I usually make a double-batch of healthy muffins for go-to snacks during the week. I also cut melons and wash fruit so they’re ready for lunches. If I have energy, I’ll do meal prep for the week, cutting veggies or making a sauce so that dinners are easier to put together. If I’m feeling super energized, I’ll clean out the fridge so it’s ready for dinner leftovers.

The Sunday meal prep takes A LOT of time. But it’s incredibly worth it! A well-nourished family is a happy family!

2. Laundry.

No one wants to start off Monday morning with no clean clothes! It’s wonderful to have all your clothes washed and ready to go for the week.

If you can, it’s helpful to do laundry during the week, and just do a few catch-up loads on the weekend. Otherwise, you may become overwhelmed! 

In my family, my husband does most of the laundry. I help out on Sundays since it’s a big task and I want to make sure my family has clean clothes for the week.

3. Bills.

I like to have a set day in the week to pay bills to make sure that nothing falls through the cracks. Bills can easily be forgotten in the overall business of life, so I like to take time every Sunday to make sure I’m on top of things.

Throughout the week I put all the bills that come in the mail into a container. On Sundays, I go through the bills I’ve collected throughout the week. I pay the bills and file anything that needs filing. By doing this every week, it makes it a fast chore and usually only takes about 15 minutes. If I skip even one week, it can feel overwhelming.

4. Relax!

If you’ve listened to any of my other podcasts or blog posts, you know how important relaxing is for your overall health, energy, and happiness!! Sure, resting every day is important, but on Sunday evenings it’s especially important. Sundays set the tone for the week so if you start your week feeling relaxed, chances are higher that you’ll have a better week.

On Sunday evenings, after I put the kids to bed, I take some time to read a book, journal, or even go to bed early. I don’t keep working on chores or make the house spotless. It’s more important that I rest so that I can handle the week ahead. (Trust me, I learned this lesson the hard way!)

For lots more information on how to create time to rest before bed, check out this post, How to Make Time to Rest Before Bed.

Free Printable

Click below to access my free printable, “How to Have a Better Week by Preparing on Sunday.” It contains a list of things you can choose to do on Sundays to set yourself up for a great week.

How do I Download My Free Printable

Click on the picture above to download. If you are new to this site and need the password, sign up below and you’ll get it right away, so you can download your file and start getting more balanced!

Let Me Know!!

In the comments, let me know either 1) What you already do every Sunday to have a great week? or 2) What you plan to do on Sundays to have a great week.

I can’t wait to hear your ideas! I hope this post and podcast inspired you to think of Sundays a little differently. Wishing you a smooth and wonderful week!

With love,
Rina