Sunday Evening Planning
We all love our time during vacations. But, the sad part of the vacations is the return trips to your base location that reminds us of our routine from the next day. The same is the case with Sunday evenings. Many of us hate Sunday evenings, as it reminds us of the hectic work week that is going to start. We all long to extend the weekend. We do our best to ensure that we obtain as much rest as possible before the workweek restarts. I have seen several messages on Instagram, WhatsApp, and other social media that have statuses such as “Monday Morning Blues “ Oh My God Why is the weekend over soon” and more. To be honest, complaining about it doesn’t make the week any shorter.
In the initial part of my career, I had an opportunity to work with Japanese colleagues. I have learned a lot from them on Planning and achieving High-Quality results — be it in my personal life or in my Professional life. One of the techniques that I learned from them is “Sunday Evening Planning” to do the right things for a successful week ahead.
Every Sunday evening, I set aside 20 to 25 minutes of my time. I use this time to plan my upcoming week. I use this time to list down what I would like to do during the week. I write down the to-do list based on various categories like Work related, the ones for my family, and kids, for my self-development, and also those for errands. I try to list down everything I want to get done during the week, even if I may not have time for it. It’s OK. In this process, I have had an updated to-do list with me. I then prioritize them based on various factors. Just like I plan for what needs to be done, I also list down what I should not. On the work front, I review the meetings I am supposed to attend and the ones I would like to host. Not only it helps me schedule items from my to-do list around important appointments and events, but it also helps me to ensure that I have a plan for the most important things. This helps me to focus on “What matters the most”. This investment on Sunday evening ensures that I am making the most of my time during the week.
In our family, we make use of the time to plan for the food menu for the upcoming week, and the dresses that need to be kept ready for the week, and we discuss any tasks that need to be prioritized over the week.
My mentor has also shared a secret sauce for a more productive week — “Try to have your Monday schedule, especially the mornings' a bit light”. I have seen a few managers overwhelmed and they block the entire Monday to keep themselves updated on what happened in their project over the weekend. This overwhelms not only them but also their teams. Don’t try to block the Monday calendar with meetings just because you are back to work after two days. Prioritize the meetings for Mondays and allow some time for you and your team to get on to what I call the “weekly work rhythm”.
“Your Monday morning thoughts set the tone for your whole week. See yourself getting stronger, and living a fulfilling, happier & healthier life.” ~ Germany Kent
A week planned in advance will be a super productive week. An Investment of about 20 to 25 minutes on a Sunday evening can do wonders. At the end of the week, you’ll think and You will barely believe that “The week has run pretty fast!”.
