Set Yourself Up For Success On Sunday
In a previous blog post, I talked about being “busy” versus prioritizing what’s important to you. A lot of you (ok it was legitimately 3 people) said that that little tip really helped you out this week! Here’s something else that I hope can be helpful for you in regards to prioritizing your health and wellness, or just setting up your priorities in general.
Now, if you’re an extremely type A person that already has their life in order, this post probably won’t be THAT helpful for you. But if you’re like me, someone who struggles executing tasks, keeping up with a schedule, and time management, I think this post will be extremely helpful.
Let’s use our Sundays as a day to really plan out our week… and by REALLY plan out our week, I mean in a very detailed and thorough way. Before starting Yellow Rose, I would take one day at a time. I’d wake up and just kind of fly by the seat of my pants and hope that I didn’t forget anything. After getting a lot more responsibilities (and consequently forgetting a lot of things), I knew something had to change. Luckily I’m married to the world’s most organized person, so I got some great tips from her! Here’s how my wife helped me execute a strong Sunday Set Up that made my weeks much more successful. Fun fact – this Sunday Set Up takes me 10 minutes tops.
Write down your entire schedule… the WHOLE THING.
At first, I scoffed at this one. “Why do I need to write it down? I literally do this every day. I’m pretty sure I know my schedule.” Which to some extent is true, but everyday isn’t the same. There are different tasks, different appointments, and different intricacies of the schedule. So while everyday has the same basic outline, not everyday is the same. By going into my google calendar and ACTUALLY setting up my entire schedule, things are MUCH more organized and easy to follow each day. Check out the picture below of what a typical weekly schedule looks like for me.
You can see some things probably DON’T need to be scheduled down like “go home.” But for me, it’s important that I recognize when I need to be at home to either let the dogs out and exercise them, do my household tasks, or just to eat lunch and relax for a bit. It works for me!
Make a daily to-do list with top priorities
This little tip has been, by far, the best thing for me. On Sunday, I make a to-do list for each day that week in a little notebook (it’s NOT a diary…). I try to keep that list to a maximum 3-5 things so I won’t get overwhelmed. That way each day has a manageable and reasonable amount of things I can do. Also, if I don’t get one of those things done, I can easily add it to the next day. It’s really important for me to prioritize the tasks on the to-do list, so I put a star on top priority items (like Payroll, paying a bill, etc.). After those top priority items are done, I can move on! It feels really good to knock out items on a to-do list. Something about physically crossing off that item and feeling that gratification of a task accomplished is fantastic. If you struggle with getting tasks done in a timely manner like I do, I would definitely recommend this. One of my to-do lists might look like this:
- Contact John Doe about membership option
- Talk to landlord about plumbing*
- Update payment info on insurance*
- Send 8 outreach emails
- Daily blog post
Have a separate idea list/future to-do list
In my diary….um… I mean, little notebook, I also have an area towards the back where I write ideas. My mind is always racing around with different ways to improve the business, or a trip Rachel and I can take, or a new program we can add, or a new equipment upgrade we can do, and so on and so forth. If I try to act on all of these when they pop into my head, I’ll NEVER get anything done. Things will get started, but things won’t get finished, and that’s a problem. The idea list/future list is a really great tool for me. On some days when I’ve accomplished my to-do list and have some extra time, I can take a look at that list and see what I can get started on, or how I can fit it into future to-do lists. It keeps my head on straight and moves me in the right direction!
Schedule in your leisure time/escape time
I kind of touched on this above with my “go home” time in my schedule, but it’s really important for me to schedule in my time away from the gym. Recently, I’ve been able to play a lot of golf. Scheduling that in on each Thursday has not only been great for my stress levels, but it’s also given me something different and re-energizing each week. I’m very fortunate to be in the position I am today where I get to build our own business and work with amazing members each and every day, but it’s a demanding schedule and a lot of hard work. Having that little escape time each week makes me appreciate each minute at the gym more and more, especially when I have to do things that aren’t the most fun in the world but are absolutely necessary (like uploading expenditure receipts and what not zzZZzzZZzzZZZzzz).
All in all, the Sunday Set Up has improved and optimized my weekly routines and habits. It’s made me a more reliable person. It’s kept me focused and sane by having to-do lists and scheduling my leisure time. It’s made me appreciate my job more.
This was a longer blog post than usual… if you made it this far, thanks! I’m by nature a pretty disorganized person (I’m more of a creative/idea kind of guy), but I’ve found something that works for me, and I hope it can work for you too!
-Clark Hibbs
12 down, 19 to go.
#YouCanDoThis
