Let’s start out with the question of the day, why is planning your week good for your health? Planning your week forces you to look ahead to what’s coming.

You Can Get Ahead of Questions That May Come Up Throughout The Week

By planning your week ahead of time, you can get ahead on the many questions your week might bring along such as: 

• What days do you need to plan your meals ahead of time?
• Do you need to bring lunch because there’s going to be pizza in the office? 
• Is your schedule so jam-packed that the only time you have is six o’clock in the morning?
• When are you going to cook this week? And what nights Do you need to make room for takeout?

Planning Where Your Exercise Fits In Increases Your Chance of Actually Exercising

Research shows that writing something down makes you more likely to stick to it. In this case, we are talking about your exercise. When are you going to work out? Does this week look like the best time is mornings or evenings? Maybe lunchtime?

Don’t just plan WHEN you’re going to work out but how. This way you can come prepared with the right equipment, clothes, fuel, etc. 

Your New Routine Becomes Routine

Planning your week also helps you set a routine, which is something we talked about last week, especially when it comes to your stress levels. 

Having a routine will help lower your stress. Planning for that routine is also going to help lower your stress. 

How Do You Plan Your Week? 

On Sunday night, sit down with a piece of paper, all of your kid’s schedules for the week.

Step 1: Write down a list of every single thing that is going on this week, get as detailed as humanly possible. 

• Sports schedules
• School projects
• Exercise plans
• Afterschool plans
• Work meetings
• Dinner plans
• Lunch schedules

Step 2: Highlight or circle your non-negotiables. Put them in your calendar. 

Step 3:  Fill in your calendar with what’s left. This is your plan for the week. 

There is going to be stuff that comes up that’s going to throw this all off. However, by having this plan you are going to plan ahead as much as possible so that when these other things come up out of the blue, you already have a plan for everything else in your week. Instated of your entire week getting thrown off, it throws off a little piece of your week, not your entire week.

At first, this process might seem overwhelming. Don’t worry. The more often you do this, the easier it’s going to become. 

I went ahead and put this all on one simple download for you that you can sit down on Sunday nights and fill in yourself. 

Listen to the full podcast for all of the details and MORE ways to manage your stress in the stream above, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app by searching Be Your Best Self Health Chats.