Anyone who has ever tried to make plans with me knows that Sunday is not an option, because every Sunday, I reset myself for the week so that I am prepared for anything that school, extracurriculars, or life throws at me. This includes cleaning up my room, finishing any homework, relaxing myself, and more. I’ve perfected this process over several years to figure out what works best for me, so without further ado, here are my steps to the perfect Sunday Reset.
Step 1: Exercise. I always find that I focus better if I work out before doing homework or other tasks. I used to procrastinate working out until late on a Sunday afternoon, and I wouldn’t get anything done in the morning or in the early afternoon, so I had to do all of my homework and other tasks late on Sunday night. However, if I get moving even for 30 minutes right when I wake up, it sets me up for a productive day and I can concentrate on the tasks ahead.
Step 2: Laundry. I feel like laundry gets a bad rap for being annoying and tiresome, but I find that putting the laundry in the wash isn’t the problem for me, it’s when I have to fold the freshly washed clothes that I start to dread it. Still, it always makes me feel better to throw a load of clothes in the wash on Sunday and do something else for the hour or two that the clothes are washing and drying (see next step!). When the clothes are ready to be folded, I find that the trick to actually folding them and not just letting them sit in my laundry basket for days is to just fold them right away. For a task that only takes about five minutes, I sure have to spend a long time convincing myself to start, but I always feel better when my clothes are washed and put away and I have an empty laundry basket to start the week.
Step 3: Homework. Depending on how productive I was that weekend, I might have anywhere from 30 minutes to 5 hours of homework to do on a Sunday. While the laundry is in the wash, I start my homework, take a break to switch the clothes to the dryer, go back to work, then take a longer break to fold the now-clean clothes. Sometimes on these breaks it’s easy for me to get distracted by other things, even if I don’t go on my phone. I seem to be able to take any little distraction and turn it into a long ordeal, whether it’s playing with my dog or watching a random TV show with my dad. Random distractions aside, I try to get all of my homework done so that I am caught up going into the week ahead. I won’t lie, this often includes reading about 100 pages of a book, not going to say which book or for which class, but it takes up a good bit of time.
Step 4: Clean. I try to keep my room clean during the week, but there are always random papers strewn across my desk, pillows and blankets in different corners of the room, and clothes on the floor by the end of the week. So, I take some time to clean up all the clutter in order to go into the week with a tidy workspace for homework. I’ve noticed that if my room is messy, it’s harder for me to focus on work because there is too much distracting me, so I always clean it up to start the week.
Step 5: Prepare. After doing laundry, homework, and cleaning up, I’ve almost finished all of the steps of my Sunday Reset. Before I can get to the final step, though, I pack my backpack, wash out and refill my water bottle, and make lunch for the next day. I also do miscellaneous things like plugging in my computer or changing my sheets.
Step 6: Relax. If it’s not too late by the time I’ve finished everything on my reset list, I like to unwind by watching a show or movie. It feels good to do something mindless and very low-stakes after spending all day preparing for the week ahead.
There you have it! These exact steps may not work for everyone, but I do think that it is beneficial for everyone to do some kind of reset once a week to clean up and take care of tasks that may get pushed to the side during the week. It’s easy to let simple tasks pile up, but a Sunday Reset helps me stay organized and feel refreshed going into the new week.