Building a Sunday reset routine is essential for creating balance and gaining a sense of control over your life.
Taking the time to regroup, reflect and recharge before a new week begins, will help you to remain focused and productive. Easing in with a positive attitude can also prepare you for whatever challenges life throws at you that week.
Here’s everything you need to know about building a Sunday reset routine that works best for you.
What is a Sunday reset routine?
Just like we spend January resetting our entire lives, a Sunday reset routine is a day dedicated to preparing for the week ahead.
This time can be used to regroup after a long week, reflect on what went well and what didn’t, readjust things where necessary and recharge.
It’s important to give yourself the time and space to reset and reflect on the week ahead as doing so will help you to better manage your time, prioritise your goals, and stay productive.
Taking care of necessary chores such as laundry, meal planning, grocery shopping and housework, etc. are also things to consider adding to your Sunday reset routine. Basically, any chores that you don’t have time to do during the week can be done on this day. These activities help you to stay organised and in control so you can invest your energy and focus on the things that actually matter during the week and not get distracted.
It’s also important to start the week feeling refreshed and well-rested.
Rest is essential in allowing you to be productive and truly thrive, so make sure you also spend time on your Sunday relaxing or indulging in self-care.
“Sundays are great to take the time and space for yourself; to recollect your thoughts and energy and to prepare yourself for the week ahead.”
Dannielle Haig | Stylist Online
The benefits of a Sunday reset routine
Before we dive into the crux of this blog post, let’s first look at the many benefits of having a routine in general so you can familiarise yourself with how it can help support you and your needs.
This will also give you the motivation you need to build or stick to your Sunday reset routine.
Any routine that you build for yourself will help to boost productivity and focus as well as skyrocket your organisation.
A routine provides structure to your day so you know exactly what you are doing when you wake up. This, in turn, limits procrastination as you won’t spend hours pointlessly scrolling on social media as you figure out what to do with your day.
Routines also support your overall mental health and well-being so you can avoid burnout.
A reset routine, in particular, is the best recipe for the Monday Blues. Following a nourishing Sunday routine can help reduce stress and anxiety as your focus is on doing things that help you to relax and find calm.
Benefits of a Sunday reset routine include:
- Prepares you for the week ahead
- Boosts focus and productivity
- Gives you structure for your Sunday
- Limits procrastination
- Keeps you organised and in control of your week
- Reduces stress and overwhelm
- Supports your overall mental health and well-being
- Boosts confidence when taking on life’s challenges
- Helps ease the anxiety often felt on Sunday nights
- Makes Monday less daunting
How to build a Sunday reset routine
There is no specific Sunday reset routine to follow. It’s up to you to find out what works best for you and create your own version.
Remember to not just copy what you see on social media, as what works for that particular person might not necessarily serve you. Set your intention first for what you want to achieve from your Sunday reset routine and go from there.
I also encourage you to bookmark this page so you can refer back to it whenever you need to.
1 | Set your intention
Whenever you build something new, it’s important to establish an intention first.
Ask yourself, “What am I looking to achieve from this Sunday reset routine?”
Is it to gain better control over a busy and hectic weekly schedule?
Or spend more time taking care of your well-being by dedicating the day to self-care.
Maybe it is so you can boost productivity and focus, so you are not distracted by meaningless household chores and tasks.
Whatever your intention is, write it down and use this as the basis of your routine.
It’s so important that you do not skip this step because once you’ve figured out your intention, you can better map out what your Sunday is going to look like. You can use it to learn what chores need to be done, how to plan your week and what self-care activities you need to make you feel good.
2 | Choose your timeframe
Your Sunday reset routine doesn’t technically need to be an all-day event to be effective. It can be anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour or 90 minutes to 3 hours.
Choose a timeframe that works best for you.
By pinpointing a timeframe, you’re more likely to stay consistent each week and know how much time you need to set aside on Sunday to reset.
3 | Split your Sunday up into 3 sections
Getting started with anything new can be overwhelming and stressful.
That is why I recommend splitting the day up into sections to make your Sunday easier to navigate.
For example, my Sunday reset routine looks a little bit like this:
*Use this as inspiration to create your own sections, or if it works for you, then feel free to do this
- Morning = Chores
- Afternoon = Plan
- Evening = Relax
Morning is the time I would spend on chores. This could be getting my laundry done, tidying up my personal spaces, and doing any life admin that needs to be done, like booking flights or accommodation.
Once my physical space feels fresh and my mental space is decluttered, I can breathe more clearly and sit down to plan.
Then, in the evening, I am free to relax and indulge in self-care.
It’s important to note that this routine can change from Sunday to Sunday depending on what I have going on in my life. Sometimes my reset routine will happen on a Monday if I have plans over the weekend.
I build all of my routines to be flexible rather than set in stone, as it helps me to better balance my life and not get overwhelmed.
Don’t try to overcomplicate things. Keep your routine simple so that if you do need to move things around for any reason, you can do it seamlessly.
What I mean by this is not to fill up every hour of your day with a task. I don’t recommend you do this in your weekly schedule, so why should your Sunday routine be any different?
Leave some white space throughout your day. And don’t make your routine an all-day event if you don’t want it to be or if you have other things on.
Remember, focus on your needs first and do what you need to do the most to help get you ready for the week ahead.
4 | Map out your rituals and activities
Although I’ve made a list of popular Sunday reset rituals below, I encourage you to build your own list.
Because what works for me might not necessarily work for you. And there might be loads of other rituals that serve you better, so always do what is best for you.
Write a master list for each section of your Sunday reset routine.
To do this, start by making a list of annoying tasks that you constantly put off, like cleaning the windows and changing the bedsheets etc. Then write down any other tasks that will help you feel prepared as you enter a new week, such as writing your to-do list etc.
Once you’ve mapped out these two lists, you then want to make another list of calming activities that help you to nourish your mind and body, such as meditating or journaling etc.
Split up these master lists into groups.
You can again use the above sections (or your own) to organise your rituals.
- Chores = annoying tasks that you never have time for
- Plan = tasks that help you feel prepared for a new week
- Relax = calming activities that nourish your mind and body
5 | Focus on your needs
Try not to overcomplicate your Sunday schedule by giving yourself 101 tasks and chores to complete before a new week begins. Your reset routine shouldn’t feel overwhelming.
So don’t turn it into a busy all-day event, and instead, keep it simple.
Be mindful of your energy and focus on your needs first.
I suggest taking just 2-3 items from each list (that you wrote in step 3) and adding them into your reset routine for that week, depending on what you need.
And to get clear on your needs, just ask yourself these two simple questions;
- “What do I need right now?”
- “What else?”
Focus only on what is a priority for you at that moment.
35 rituals to add to your Sunday reset routine
Not sure what type of activities and rituals to add to your Sunday reset routine?
Here are a few ideas to help you get started.
N.B. Don’t try to fit them all into your Sunday, as you’ll just wind up feeling overwhelmed and even busier than the rest of the week. Instead, keep it simple and focus on your needs first.
- Meal plan for your week
- Stock up on groceries and healthy snacks
- Clear out and clean the fridge
- Do the laundry
- Change your bedsheets and towels
- Set intentions for the week ahead
- Do a deep clean
- Clean the windows, mirrors and other hard-to-get-to surfaces
- Hoover
- Tidy up your personal spaces
- Wipe down your laptop, especially the screen and keyboard
- Water your plants
- Bin dead flowers and put out fresh flowers
- Dedicate time to financial wellness practices, such as paying the bills and figuring out your weekly budget
- Life admin
- Get your desk ready for Monday
- Plan out your outfits for the week
- Reflect and journal on your wins from the past week
- Plan the upcoming week
- Write your weekly to-do list (use The 135 rule to tackle overwhelm)
- Break down bigger monthly goals into daily actions
- Declutter your desktop and other digital admin, e.g. unread emails, unsubscribe from irrelevant email lists, etc
- Tidy up your phone, e.g. deleting random pictures or screenshots, deleting unused apps, etc
- List down your top priorities for the week
- Schedule non-work activities into your week
- Sleep in and wake up slowly
- Indulge in self-care like having a long bath, pampering or reading your favourite book
- Take a nap
- Practice gratitude
- Call a loved one or friend
- Exercise for longer than usual
- Go on an extra-long walk
- Spend quality time in the evening with your family, loved one or by yourself (aka put your phone away)
- Keep a low profile and stay off social media for the day
- Listen to a Sunday Reset Playlist on Spotify (here’s my version, which I am slowly updating)
Save these rituals on Pinterest for later
Final thoughts
I hope this post on how to build a Sunday reset routine has been helpful.
You might already be familiar with this particular practice as it is currently doing the rounds on TikTok.
I’m not someone who promotes trends that I don’t believe in. For example, the only time you’ll see me write about “That Girl” is when I’m debunking her rather than showing you “how to” become her.
But I believe that resetting and recharging every Sunday can help you to become your healthiest, most productive, and most balanced self.
And that is why I chose to write this blog post on this topic.
However, I also want you to be mindful of viral trends as they aren’t always going to serve you.
Remember that wellness is all about doing things that make you feel good both inside and out.
And if you’d rather spend your Sunday hanging out with friends rather than resetting, then you do you.
No influencer can tell you how best to live your life (or spend your Sundays, for that matter).
Do what works best for you always.
You’ve got this,
Thalia xx
“Creating routines and patterns of behaviour that make you feel well and boost your confidence and self-efficacy is important. Seeing this as a personal experiment helps you find the right ingredients for your wellbeing.”
Dannielle Haig | Stylist Magzine
