Prone to suffering from the aul' Sunday Blues?

You know that sinking feeling in your stomach on Sunday afternoons, when in just a few hours it will (once again) be Monday, and the new week will suddenly be upon you before you know it. That used to be me too. Seriously; I used to spent at least half an hour before bed on a Sunday freaking out over how busy the next week would be and how I would possibly manage to get everything done, in between work-deadlines, appointments, playdates and everything in between. And, to be honest, the rest of the week tended to go along the same lines, fretting about to-dos and errands as I was making breakfast for the kids or running through Tesco on my way from work to creche pick-up. But then, taking the advice of a fellow working mama, I started doing this very simple little task on a Sunday evening – and, seriously; it has changed everything. Certainly in terms of stress and panic, anyway. What magic trick is it, I hear you ask. Planning out my week. Yup, it really is that simple. And yet has had a profound effect on my stress levels. Now, every Sunday afternoon, or early evening, I make myself a large iced latte (my current go-to favourite, but feel free to substitute for wine!), sit down with a pen and some paper (and my old-school calendar) and plan out the week ahead. Writing things down physically, to me, makes it easier to remember everything and also, it gives me great satisfaction whenever I am able to cross off something that had now been done. In my calendar (and on my DIY wall-planner, consisting of an mdf board painted with chalk paint) I jot down everything that is happening that week, be it work meetings, dentist appointments, playdates or what bills need to be paid. I even write out a dinner-plan, so that when I hit the supermarket later that evening or on Monday after work, I can buy stuff for the whole week ahead, saving me running into Tesco or Supervalu every day. As well as plotting in day by day what is happening the week ahead, I also, on the page for Monday, jot down a to-do list for the week of more general things that need doing, such as cleaning out the attic or booking the car in for an NCT. As I get some of these things done during the week (they are not day-specific) I can cross them out – or, should I have some things that simply didn't get done the week in question, I can simply move them onto the same list for next week – making sure they are top priority then, as they were moved over from last week. I even put in things like meeting a friend for coffee or going to a yoga class, as physically writing things down makes it more likely that I actually commit to doing it and don't just cancel at the last minute. What this little Sunday ritual has done, is made me feel like I can hit the ground running on a Monday morning. I feel more organized and on top of things, like I am running my week, not the other way around.