The Key To A Successful Work Week

Updated April 29th, 2021

Hey there! Welcome to (or back to!) the blog. So nice to see you (: Today, I wanted to share with you something that is, in my opinion, absolutely crucial to setting yourself up for a successful work week. Whether you work a normal person Monday to Friday schedule, or you have a crazy all over the place schedule like me, I for real believe that this will help you! Ever since I implemented this little “life hack” of mine, I find that I rest better between my shifts, I enjoy my off days more, and I’m not as stressed when I’m working! Okay, let me stop rambling and tell you what the heck it is!

My absolute best tip for a successful work week no matter what your schedule is purposeful preparation on the last day before you go back to work.

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Why I Prefer Purposeful Prep Over “The Morning Routine”

I know many personal development books will tell you that a morning routine is the way to success. However, as a night shift nurse, I’ve just never quite mastered the “morning routine.” Sure, I have things I do between the time I get up and the time I leave for work (coffee, write blog posts, etc.), but I don’t have a die hard morning/start the day routine.

There’s something about working 12 hour night shifts (or day shifts!) that just make life a little unpredictable. A morning routine seems all well and good until you’re going into your sixth 12 hour shift in a row and there’s no way in hell you’re getting out of bed in time to workout and cook yourself a healthy meal and journal for 10 minutes or whatever else.

The same was true for me when I was in management and working Monday – Friday. I am NOT a morning person, and I just wasn’t about getting up any earlier than I absolutely had to. It just doesn’t happen sometimes, and that’s okay!

That’s why instead of a daily, specific morning routine, I prefer to be SUPER purposeful about preparation the day before I head back to work for the week. If you’re a normal schedule person, this may be Sunday afternoon/evening for you. If you’re a weird schedule person, it’s just whatever day of the week comes before “your Monday.”

How To Prepare Purposefully For The Week Ahead

You can make your purposeful prep time whatever you want. I try to break mine down into two main categories. First, what things do I need to take care of now so I won’t have to worry about them in between shifts? Second, what do I need to get done now so that I don’t have to stress about it during my work week? For me personally, those are generally very similar from week to week. I’ll share some ideas and some of my common prep items below, but remember you should make this your own!

First, what things do I need to take care of now so I won’t have to worry about them in between shifts? Second, what do I need to get done now so that I don’t have to stress about it during my work week?

Make Meals Ahead

If there’s one thing in life I cannot stand, it’s cooking. If it weren’t for my instant pot, I swear I would never make my own food. However, I decided that for Christmas I would invest in an instant pot to save money on eating out/ordering food. Now, I make it a point to cook my meals for work ahead of time and I make just about everything in the IP. (Let me know in the comments if you’d be into a roundup post of my favorite instant pot recipes!)

Whether you love cooking, or love only the easy way like me, making your meals for the week ahead is a game changer. Not having to cook or pack lunches before every shift saves me lots of time and annoyance. I’ve actually grown to like my prep day time cooking with my honey while having a glass of wine. I also get some weird satisfaction from seeing all my meals pre packed in the fridge so I can just grab a container and throw it in my lunchbox without a second thought. #win

Do Laundry – Clothes and Linens

Laundry is one of those things that I don’t mind doing but if I’m not purposeful about it I will never do it. I just let it sit in the basket forever until I suddenly realize I have no clean underwear. It’s a character flaw honestly. I’ve started just making this a habit to get done the day before I go back to work so that I know I have clean laundry for the week ahead and I don’t get caught mid week with nothing to wear. I generally tend to throw in sheets and towels on this day too so that I have nice fresh linens for the week!

Tidy Up The House

I’m not a neat freak by any means, but there’s just something nice about coming home to a clean house. I’m one of those people who cleans before vacation so I don’t come back to a mess. Anyone else? I basically do a mini version of this every week before I start work as well. Nothing major here, just making sure the dishwasher gets run, the dog hair is swept up, and any major messes are taken care of. That way when I come home in the mornings or get up before work, I don’t feel like I have to spend more than a couple minutes tidying up.

Self Care

No matter what your regular “things” are on your weekly prep list, I highly recommend doing SOME form of self care on your last day off. You may love your job, but it’s still a job! If you’re like me (and most everyone else), going to work isn’t your favorite thing in the world. I think it’s so important to prioritize doing something you enjoy and taking care of yourself before you head to work for the week. It just puts you in a better mood and sets the right tone for the week ahead.

Personally, I like to go out to dinner the night before I go back to work for the week. I’ve probably already spent a bunch of time cooking meals for my week, so the last thing I want to do is cook more food and then have to clean up the dishes. Plus, I just enjoy trying new restaurants and having a good cocktail. If I’m feeling real sassy, I’ll throw in a bath (complete with Lush bath bomb) and a glass of wine from my latest Winc box.

If dinner out and bath bombs aren’t your thing, there are plenty of other options! Watch a movie you’ve been eyeing on Netflix. Meditate. Journal. Read that book that’s been sitting on your nightstand forever. Whatever makes you happy and relaxed, do that thing!

Sleep!

For the love of God if you do nothing else the day before you start your work week, get some rest! I don’t know about you, but when I start the week out sleep deprived, the whole week is rough. I’ve learned not to compromise on sleep before my first shift of the week, because if I start off well rested it sets me up to feel way better all week long! Do yourself a favor and get to bed early.

The ideas above are my non-negotiable every week. Really it’s not a long list and I can knock it out pretty quickly! Once these things are done, I feel like I can head into the work week relatively prepared and stress free. And honestly, getting these things taken care of kindof does away with my need to have a specific wake up routine. I can spend my wake up time however I want because my to do list for the week is already completed!

Here are a few other ideas that you might like to incorporate into your weekly prep!

Meditation

I know I mentioned this in the self-care section, but honestly it’s not a bad idea to make this a weekly priority all own it’s own. I have to admit, I’m not a big meditator (yet), but I’m working on being more mindful and conscious of how my thoughts affect my life, and part of how I’m exploring that is through meditation! If meditation is a practice you want to adopt, starting out by doing it once a week may seem less daunting than jumping into doing it daily!

Clean Out Your Work Bag

Are you one of those people who accumulates all kinds of random stuff in your work back or briefcase? If so, clean that bag out before you head to work for the week! It only takes a couple minutes, and it will make you feel way more organized in the week to come. I generally do mine maybe once a month, but I also don’t really throw much stuff in there so I don’t need to clean out as often.

Exercise

Get your body moving! Whether you hit the gym, workout at home, or get outside for a walk, this is a great day to do some form of exercise. You never know what the week ahead will bring or how busy your work days will get. We’ve all been in the situation where we have good intentions of working out, and then we oversleep, end up at work an hour later, or something comes up with family that prevents it from happening. At least if you’ve gotten some form of movement in on your day off, you won’t feel so bad if you miss a workout during the week!

Make A List Of Priorities For The Week

I used to be a big lover of lists. In some ways I still am, but I got to a point where I felt like I was just making lists to have things to cross off and never really getting important things done. However, they can be a great tool! If there are still things you feel like you need to get done during the work week, you can pop them all into a list to post on the fridge (bonus – maybe your family will see it and help you check some things off)! I know some people who like to make a list of their work tasks or priorities for the week ahead because it helps them feel more organized going into the week. If your brain operates in list mode, get these done before your week starts so you know you’re organized and prepared!

Wind Down Early

But Sarah, you already told me to go to bed early! Yes, I know, but I’m not talking about sleeping here! I’m talking about putting away the phone, the computer, the whatever else is going to get your mind racing and wind down. Now, I’m a realist here. I’m not telling you to avoid all your electronics. It’s 2021. BUT, I am telling you to be aware of the things that cause you unnecessary stress and to avoid those things as you go prepare for your week.

For me, social media is huge. It doesn’t stress me out, but it certainly gets my mind racing! As soon as I get on Instagram I start thinking about what kind of content I want to create for the week ahead. I save audio for reels. I start going through photos to make sure I have stuff to post. I find blog post inspiration. It never ends. Those things aren’t necessarily bad, but I will literally stay awake thinking about them rather than sleeping and that’s annoying. I gotta put away the social media, put on a nice movie or show with my honey, and know that all the work will be there when I wake up tomorrow.

Whatever that thing is for you, I highly encourage you to practice turning those things off in the last couple hours before bed. This is a good habit to get into every day, but definitely do it the night before you’re headed back to work for the week!

I hope these tips have been helpful! Do you already do some version of having a prep day for the week ahead? If so, I’d love to hear what your go-to things are for this day. Let me know in the comments!

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