Start the new week fresh and without any stress

It’s the start of a new week. For many, it’s also the end of the summer holiday and they’re back at work. For others, the new school year will start this week and many families are going back to a busy life. Are you one of them? If yes, this post is for you!

Plan your meals

Have you ever seen these colleagues that bring in yummy homemade lunch packs while you’re poking in your lifeless salad? It doesn’t have to be this way. Planning your meals lets you too enjoy a healthy lunch.

Look at your calendar for the next week. What client meetings do you have? Do your kids have any play dates or extra-curricular activities? Do you have any family outings planned? Knowing what’s coming up in the new week let’s you plan appropriately. If you’re just starting out, you may just plan 3 weekday meals and decide on the other weekdays spontaneously what to cook. If it was a stressful day, you may wish to order in or meet up with your friends after work.

Write down what you’ll cook for which day of the new week. Then check what you have in your pantry and buy the other ingredients. Doing your grocery shopping just once a week reduces stress. Companies like Kibsons deliver fresh fruit and vegetables, which we order, and also meat, poultry and other items. Some supermarkets are also offering delivery, reducing the time you need to spend inside them.

Pre-cook your meals

By preparing your meals in advance, you’re getting a great start when cooking the rest fresh. It could be as simple as cutting up the vegetables before freezing them. This is what we do for stir fry or when we got too much veg in the house. Another tip is to make more sauce and freeze it. This works very well for pasta sauce or curries. As it’s getting cooler, you can also pre-cook dishes likes stews, lasagne or casseroles. Especially after a long day, you can pop them in the oven while you’re relaxing and spending time with your family.

Create snack bags

What makes for a great start into the new day and new week is as smooth start. Not having to worry what to eat is part of this. Prepare little Ziploc bags with food that you can snack on during the day. You can fill them up with baby carrots, slices of apples or pretzels. Depending on the age of your kids, they can also prepare their own snack bags and grab them, like you, in the morning.

Start the night before

This really makes a difference! Decide your kids’ clothes for the new week and lay them out the night before. Choose your outfit for the next day or even the entire week, too. This includes shoes, handbag and other accessories. You think we’re going too far? Not at all. How often have you looked at your wardrobe in the morning, thinking “I’ve got nothing to wear”? Half an hour later and there’s no difference. Putting your outfit together gives you a smooth start in the morning and don’t you want to use this time for something else. A few minutes extra sleep, time for a cup of coffee before everyone else wakes up, early morning exercise…

Pack your bags

Just like for your kids’ school bag, pack your own bag at night. Depending on your kids’ age, they may already know what books and project supplies they’ll need for the next day. If they’re younger, help them put their homework and whatever else they’ll need into their school bag. While you’re at it, review any documents you need to sign for them. You don’t want to start signing any school notes as you’re rushing out of the house in the morning.

Look at your own calendar (work and social) and gather what you need for the next day. Do you need to print out any documents for your client meetings? Have all presentations stored in your Dropbox and on your device? Where are you product samples? Don’t forget to take a charger if you’ll be on the go all day long.

Are you planning to work out after work? Make it happen. Put the gym bag next to your front door!

Learn to say no

Saying no before the week even began? Yes! We say no to invites, making sure we still have some time for ourselves. If you have a family, imagine every member saying yes to only 3 events during the week. Now imagine the drive to each place. Rushing around, even if you’re not driving there, coordinating the taxi or car pool can be just as exhausting. This week, 1.6 million students went back to school in our city. Summer holidays for professionals are over, too.

You can use online family calendars or keep track of everyone’s appointments on a paper wall calendar. Together with your family, decide how many play dates and activities each kid may have. Becky from Homestead 128 goes even one step further and says no to play dates altogether, letting her children be children.

By limiting the events you, your kids and your entire family agree to, you can get a breather and spend some time together and start the new week in a relaxed way. Your kids can help you chop some vegetables, read a book (what a novel idea) and play more. And for you, you get more energy and make your life easier.

What’s your favourite way of getting a great and stress-free start into the new week? Let us know by leaving your comment below.

Until next time,
Agni