Why You Need to Start Planning on Sundays
I’m always talking about how important it is to have boundaries when you’re an entrepreneur / coach / small business owner. Creating a work / life balance is crucial if you’re in it for the long term and want to create and maintain a viable business.
If you work from home it’s even more important to be conscious about when you work and when you take breaks. Yes there will be times where you’ll be working on your business more – in the early days especially, but you also need to take care of yourself along the way.
Setting up a business takes time and a lot of hard work and dedication.That being said, many of us will choose to keep the weekends free from business, to spend time with loved ones and take some well deserved time off.
However, one thing I do highly recommend is planning for the week ahead on a Sunday.
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Why Sundays Matter
Mondays have that ‘here we go!’ feeling about them – a fresh week with time dedicated for your business or projects. It’s a great day to set your intentions and build momentum right from the off.
But I began to realise that if I didn’t already have a clear plan in place, half of Monday morning (at least), would be wasted scrabbling around working out what I needed to focus on that week – wasting my time and my energy before I even got started.
Trial and Error – I began planning on a Friday, but found that by the time I sat down to do my reflections of the week, I then rushed my planning because it was Friday and I just wanted to finish up for the day!
When I introduced Sunday planning I instantly knew it was the best thing for me and suited how I prefer to work. My neurodiversity and frequent energy lapses mean I get bored of things quite quickly and if things feel too scheduled or fixed, I quickly feel restricted and then just don’t want to do the thing at all…!
I found that because I was pretty relaxed on a Sunday – often still working on things, but not feeling forced to be at my desk – I was choosing to do some work; making time for planning slotted in nicely.
Remember, your planning session doesn’t have to take ages – you can easily plan your week out in under 30 minutes – even quicker for some depending on how much detail in the planning you do.
But honestly, taking that slither of time each week could then save you hours on a Monday morning, removing the stress and the indecision you can feel when you sit at your desk after a couple of days off.
Planning for the Most Productive Week
With a plan in place when you wake on a Monday morning, you’ll find it much easier to step into the working week with confidence and clarity.
By spending that little bit of time on Sunday you’re setting yourself up for a productive and calm start to the week – Goodbye Sunday / Monday blues!
Depending on how much time you want to dedicate to your Sunday planning, there are a few different ways you can approach it.
1. Review the previous Week – If you’ve already done this on Friday, just spend a few minutes looking back over your reflections to help focus your mind and reconnect with your overall goals before you begin planning.
2. Note any lessons from the previous week –
- Things that worked well
- Things you need to adapt moving forward.
- Did you have enough time for tasks?
- Could you have organised things more effectively?
- Did you focus on the tasks you needed to prioritise?
Remember to acknowledge and celebrate any wins you’ve had – it’s a great motivation booster!
Time blocking for the week ahead gives you a clear and visual overview.
Begin with adding any appointments you have for the week – 1-1 client work, group calls, personal appointments etc.
Make a note of any upcoming deadlines or priority tasks that need your attention this week.
As you’re filling in your plan, be mindful of the energy output of the tasks so that you don’t group together too many high energy (red) tasks which could leave you too exhausted the rest of the week!
Once you have this overview, it’s time to make time for rest and recharge breaks. Don’t overlook this – it’s too easy to overfill a weekly plan and breaks are essential if you want to maintain good momentum without burning out.
Next Planning Steps
Again, depending on how much time you’re spending on your weekly planning (I tend to give it 30-60 minutes, but more if I’m hyper-focused on a project or less if it’s an easier week), take the time to brain dump all of the things you’re working on or want to work on.
Refer to your longer term goals (yearly / quarterly / monthly) if you need clarity or direction on the next steps then a focus on prioritising your To-Do list is essential. You can do a weekly overview for this and update it each day in your daily planners if you prefer.
But having a clear overview of everything that needs your attention as well as clarity of the highest priorities will further support your productive week.
There are a few different ways you can help with prioritising your tasks, the Eisenhower Method, the 1-3-5 approach or the 80/20 rule.
The Eisenhower Matrix – I love this decision making tool! It’s so straightforward and helpful for prioritising tasks and increasing your productivity.
It requires you to categorise your tasks into things that are urgent / non-urgent / important / not important. This helps you decide on what you’re going to focus on, delegate, save for later or delete. Take a look at the attached image.
Anything that helps you avoid decision fatigue is a great addition to your planning system. It’s versatile as well – you can apply it to various different projects – personal or business.
1-3-5 Approach – This productivity approach can be a great way to streamline your work processes and make the most out of the time that you have. There is a limited number of time you have each day to work, so trying to do too much will just lead to overwhelm and procrastinating. Finding a way to work more efficiently will help keep you focused and lessen the risk of overwhelm.
There are a couple of different takes on this approach, but the one I’m talking about is where you choose 1 big task to complete, then 3 medium tasks, and finally 5 smaller tasks. The first task is the priority and then you move on to the 3 medium tasks. Tasks that aren’t as difficult or time consuming as the first. Once you’ve worked through these there are the 5 smallest tasks you can work on. If you think about how your energy depletes during a day, this has a nice feel to it, but be mindful to not use all your energy on the first task!
The beauty of this approach though is that as long as the main one is done you would have made a decent amount of progress. It also removes the pressure of not knowing how long you will have to focus on the different activities.
You can organise the big / medium / small according to different factors like the time taken, difficulty or energy output or the highest priority – whatever feels most helpful to you!
The 80/20 Rule – The Pareto Principle was founded by Dr. Joseph Juran and named after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. It’s the concept that 80% of progress is achieved by only 20% of the action taken.
Brian Tracy discusses this and explains how it can be applied to all aspects of life. In work it helps you prioritise on the 20% of tasks that you have to do that will create the most progress for you and your business.
It can be too easy to spend all of your time on tasks that won’t make the progress you need – you know that feeling of being busy all of the time but simply not seeing the results to justify the time spent?
Usually it’s because the other tasks are less time consuming or less challenging. Spending time on content creation is much more fun than writing business plans or strategies – but which will take you further? By focusing on the higher value tasks first, you’ll make the most progress with time afterwards to focus on the rest!
It’s a great method for increasing productivity and confidence, helping you develop better time management skills as well as problem solving – proving to yourself that you can do it – even if it feels like pulling teeth at times!
Whatever you choose to do it’s about finding what feels good and motivates and inspires you.
The most important things is to find what works for you! I do believe that if you can give your plans some attention on the Sunday it will set you up brilliantly for the week ahead.
Favourite Planning & Organisation Tools
Take a look at this list below. It includes some of my favourite planning tools and resources that I use to help me with my planning and productivity. For more info on these check out my other posts (*affiliate links included. If you chose to use these tools via my link I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.)
Trello – Project management tool. Create yearly / monthly / weekly and daily plans with this online digital programme.
Google Docs – If you have a Google account there are so many tools included to help you stay on track with things. Google docs is brilliant – – it’s what I write my blog drafts on! You can work on the same document across devices, share links and more. The Google calendar and reminders can be linked with Trello to help streamline your work.
*Tailwind (social media scheduler) – If you want to start batching, Tailwind is a great option. Plan months in advance – across different platforms including Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook.
*Marketing Magic – This amazing AI tool is the perfect addition if you want to save time creating content for your brand. Marketing Magic promises to save you HOURS each week on content. The tool is brilliant – you input all of the details of your brand, add in snippets of things you've already created so that it understands your style & tah-dah! you can create blog titles / descriptions / outlines, social media content, emails and more! You even get a free trial when you sign up to try it out for 7 days!
*Convertkit – A brilliant tool for growing your business using email marketing. You can create automations, landing pages for your freebies / lead magnets and track using the analytics to give you a clear overview of your business growth. It links well with wordpress and other systems and is easy to use! You can begin with a free account and upgrade when you need to!
*Smart Growth System – A fantastic all-in-one system where you can host multiple websites, funnels, emails, memberships, online courses and more! They system is brilliant, saving you time and money with everything you need in one space. gethyn and his team are always on hand to provide support and you have access to a private community and online hub where you will find training and more! It's one of the best investments I've ever made in my business and love how easy it is to use – no more stressing about funnels and landing pages – there are multiple templates you can use straight away!
Final Thoughts – Why I Believe Sunday Planning is a Winner
Sunday planning is something that I encourage my clients and students to start doing when they work with me, and most have found it helpful – especially in removing the Monday dread!
The benefit of going into the week on a Monday with 100% clarity on everything you have coming up that week, as well as the specific tasks you need to focus on that day, is great for removing stress and encouraging momentum.
I would love to know your thoughts around Sunday planning and how it helps you get your week off to the best possible start!
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Meet Lynsey
Hey there! I'm Lynsey, a coach, counsellor, and mentor for low energy, introverted or low confident female coaches & small business owners. With over 5 years’ experience of running businesses, and over a decade as a tutor and trainer, I've learned the value of effective time management that energises you through working with your energy.
I've lived with chronic illness – ME/CFS since 2011 and since then I re-trained as a counsellor, and achieved a distinction for my MA in Counselling and Psychotherapy Practice; all while running 4 businesses! I want that for you as well & it is possible with the right support and pathway to success.
Improving your mindset, finding acceptance and developing a solution-focused approach to achieving your goals is my passion. Blending mental health support where needed, as well as a supportive space and methods to manage your work more effectively.
If you'd like to know more about working with me, you can email [email protected] or find me on socials (links in the menu)
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