Keys to a great week
- Karen Wilson: Family Corner
- January 22, 2022
- 716
Starting the week on the right foot means ending the previous week well.
Just think. Wouldn’t it be nice to sit down at a clean, organized desk on Monday morning? How about not fretting all weekend about what you need to do on Monday or having that feeling you are forgetting something important?
If those things sound enticing, set some time aside on Friday to make it happen. The last few minutes of the day might seem logical and might work in your situation. However, in my experience, the end of the day tends to get cluttered, and it’s often hard just to get out the door.
If your office works the same way, try setting a little time aside in the morning, just before lunch, or both to do preparation for the next week. File papers, make a to-do list, sort out your in box and clear out your email. Write a list for next week and a specific list for Monday.
By doing so, you’ll get to the end of the day and the week with things pretty much ready for the week to come.
The same goes for the house. In this case it works well to focus efforts on Thursday. Give the whole house a general overall cleaning — that way you won’t be spending your weekend scrambling to clean. You can enjoy people stopping by without a rush to tidy the house. You also can just relish being in an orderly home. And if you spend your weekend out of the house, you don’t have to worry you’ll start the next week in a mess.
What about clothes? Try to have all the laundry including ironing done by Thursday. Maybe focus on Wednesday for this. Select outfits for work or upcoming activities. Set them aside in order or write notes of what you intend to wear so you don’t have to decide each morning.
Plan meals and make a grocery list. Look at your schedule and decide which meals will fit best on which days. If you can shop during the week, do it. The store will likely be less crowded so you can get in and out quickly.
With food in the pantry and a plan for meals, you have less to sort out during the week.
So your house is ready for a relaxed weekend and the week to come, and so is your office. Now just as you’re ready to enjoy it, thoughts of work start popping into your mind. Designate a place in a notebook or a file on your phone where you can stash these random thoughts. Unless it’s really an emergency, don’t rush to deal with it. Make a note and deal with it on Monday. Don’t try to just remember or let it keep rolling around in your head. Put the thought or task in its place to free your mind for other things.
With a little preparation, you can have a calmer, more organized beginning to your week as well as a refreshed mind.