My Sunday Night Plan is a life saver for me. Not only that; I enjoy the process and the results.
A few quiet minutes on a Sunday reviewing your week ahead smoothes out the next seven days. No more surprises, no more last minute adjustments; you will be in total control. Even if something unexpected pops up, you’ve got the rest of the week under control and will find it easy to make adjustments.
Here’s how my Sunday Night Plan works for me:
First, you don’t need to do it Sunday night. Sometimes I do it in the morning or afternoon, whenever I have or can make some quiet time. And actually, part of my Sunday Night Plan starts a few days ahead.
I do my meal planning for the coming week on Thursday or Friday because I usually shop on Saturday. So on Sundays, my meal plan is already in place.
So when I really plan my week, I get out my planner and my colored pens – cause I’m obsessed that way – and take a look at what’s coming up.
For instance, on Tuesday I have a full day followed by a hair appointment. Dinner is in the crockpot that night.
I have two days this week that are fairly free so when I call to make a vet appointment for Lizzie, I’ll try to get it on one of those two days.
I keep track of the weather in my planner too. I just take a look at the week ahead and note the high temperatures in my monthly view.
That not only helps me plan dinners – you don’t want to be using the oven if it’s going to be 85 outside – but it also helps me get an idea of what I’m going to wear. On my free days, that’s not such a big deal, but when I have a day that starts early and ends late, I need to have as much done as possible ahead of time. I might even lay out those outfits and put them on a hanger so I can just get dressed without thinking.
Once I have an idea of how my week is shaping up, I start to set goals and to do lists. I confess I’m still a little confused as to the difference between the two – I know that goals should be measurable and made up of the to do’s, but it’s still a little murky for me.
I define a goal as something that takes more than one step. For instance, I have an issue right now with my Pay Pal card that I am trying to solve. I’ve contacted support a few times and right now I’m not sure if it’s resolved or not. Step 1 is to test it, then if there is a Step 2, it will be to call again. More than one step = a goal.
To do’s are just those one step things. Call the vet for Lizzie. Get my meds refilled.
I try to aim for a maximum of 5 goals per week, and truthfully, many goals have many steps, so I don’t always anticipate reaching that goal – just getting closer to it. In that case, the to do list is more important. I aim for 5-7 on that list, and that doesn’t include things like doing the dishes or writing a blog post.
As women with ADHD, it’s easy to forget, to under or over estimate time needed, and to overbook. My Sunday Night Plan helps me get a great deal of my control back.
And by the way – if your family still runs by a family calendar cause your kids still rely on you for transportation, food, and shelter – you need to add all of their stuff to your planner too. Don’t try to function with more than one calendar; that’s when mistakes happen.
How do you get ready for your week?