I love spending my Sundays half-working, half-potating – which is a term I’m trying to coin. Potating definition: to laze around your home like a couch potato.
Are you with me? Can we make that word a thing? I feel like that word embodies the way that I like to exist on a Sunday.
So Sundays are designated potating days, but they’re also the start of a brand new week. Mixing in play with prep is the ideal way to kickstart the week ahead, because you get the best of both worlds.
My Sunday will typically start with a morning walk, coffee, and then busting out the Sunday Goalsletter. The rest of the day is filled with errands, cleaning, watching YouTube videos, reading, planning and prepping for my week, and doing tasks for my business at leisure.
So here are some ways to make your Sundays lowkey and leisurely, while still getting things done.
1. Read a chapter, get something done
I’ve learned this from my mom as it’s basically her mantra on the weekends. It’s all about that #balance. You can choose for that to be reading time, watching YouTube, Netflix, or whatever else you do to “potat”. Basically alternate between work and play throughout the day.
Taking breaks between videos to tackle something on your to-do list is the best way to break up the chores. I love doing this with cleaning in particular, because trying to clean the whole house feels like too burdensome of a weekend task. But doing something pleasurable in between cleaning tasks makes it feel much more manageable.
2. Get ahead
Get on top of the things that make you feel more put together for the week ahead. For example, this could be planning your meals in advance, so that you don’t feel tempted to eat out or go for the easy, unhealthy food options. It could be planning your workout schedule. Pick one or two things to do on Sunday that really help you be the best version of yourself for that week and make those decisions easier on yourself. We all have a capacity before we hit decision fatigue, and using your Sunday to prevent that is so helpful. Prioritize those key areas that matter the most and make them non-negotiable Sunday activities.
We can easily get carried away with a mega to-do list of everything we need to prep, clean and organize, but if you have just two things that you make sure get done every Sunday, you’ll be better off – especially if you can still fit it in on a busier Sunday.
My non-negotiables are laundry and some cleaning. It’s also really helpful if I do grocery shopping, but since my coworking space is near the best grocery stores, I can also do this on Monday. So, just decide what actually works best for your lifestyle.
3. Prep for your Monday
Beyond getting your week set up for success, it’s always nice to start your week off with everything prepped the night before. I try to spend at least 10 minutes on Sunday nights getting things ready for Monday. Whether that’s picking out my outfit, washing my hair, or cleaning up my office space. It’s a nice ritual to help you feel more ready to go on Monday, so you’re feeling less of the Sunday Scaries.
4. Technology-free morning
Create a Sunday tech-free morning where you lounge sans phone, and truly get those creative juices revived for the week ahead. A lot of us spend way too much time on our computers and phones for both play and work, and it can be so energy draining.
Use your Sundays to truly decompress without the outside world. Whether it’s a 30-minute routine or a few hours, designate your Sunday for some quiet, blissful me time. You can make a slow breakfast, journal, read on the couch, or simply have a slow morning getting out of bed. Whatever you choose to do, make it a Sunday ritual to keep the phone in the other room as you do it.
5. Do something that requires low attention, while watching a show
Okay, kind of the opposite of the point before, but most of us love a good weekend show bingeing. But that doesn’t mean you just have to sit and watch without doing anything productive. Check out these Netflix productivity hacks for while you’re watching your favorite show.
6. Review your week
Give yourself 30 minutes to review the last week and guide your week ahead. Ask yourself, what went well last week? What didn’t go well? And what can I improve? Without reflection, we’re likely going to keep repeating our same patterns, or go into the week without a clear vision for what we want to accomplish. I find that setting aside some time on Sunday for a weekly review helps me to feel more organized going into the week.
7. Create a masterlist
The best way I’ve found to get organized for the week is to braindump it all out. Write down a mega list of everything that you need to get done for the week ahead. This includes meetings, appointments, tasks leftover from the week before, and things you’d like to get done.
I like to do this on a Sunday, because I can keep adding to the list throughout the day when I think of things. And then, come Monday, I’ll take this list and add them to my ClickUp weekly board so that I can time-block based on that list.
How do you like to spend your Sundays? In total GYST mode or a leisurely Sunday?
