Preparing Yourself for Success

There’s nothing worse than that creeping, anxious feeling that wells up in you on a Sunday night. You know you’ve got a long week ahead, and you feel like you’ll never find the strength to get everything done.

So how do you make that feeling go away? If you prepare for your week on Sunday, you’ll find that anxiousness never really hits. Throughout the week, you’ll find things run smoother because you did the prep work ahead of time. Even when things go off track, which happens to us all, you’ll find that you stay in control.When Sunday night arrives, don’t dread Monday morning. Instead, prepare for it and the week ahead, and you’ll find your Monday mornings aren’t so bad.

Plan out your outfits

How often do you look at your closet and have a difficult time picking out something to wear? Pants or skirt? Jeans or khakis? Sweater or button-up? What’s the weather supposed to be like this week anyway?

Before you start planning outfits, take a look at the weather forecast for the week. Is it supposed to rain? Will it be uncomfortably hot? Now weather forecasts change, but looking ahead will help you plan a little more wisely.

The trick to planning out clothes for the week is not to assign outfits for specific days. Instead, just choose five looks that will fit the weather for the week and pick one each day. This helps in two ways:

1. You spend less time looking at your whole closet. Instead, you’re just looking at a few to choose from, which will be easier and faster.
2. You still have some flexibility with weather. If the rain is pushed back a day, save the rainy outfit for another day and go with something for clear skies.

When planning outfits, think back to your calendar and what you’ve got planned for the week. If you know you have an important meeting, make sure you select a nicer outfit and iron it. If you’re going to be doing a lot of walking one day, add in an outfit or two that goes well with comfortable shoes.

As you get into the habit of planning your outfit, you’ll be surprised at how much more time you have every morning. Instead of spending five minutes deciding on what to wear and getting dressed, you’ll be dressed in 30 seconds and ready to go pack a lunch.

Meal prep for the week

For dinners, plan which nights you’ll cook a meal and which ones will be easy meals, such as grilled cheese or even a frozen pizza. If you can, start working on those meals right away: take out any frozen meat to thaw or cut up and measure vegetables. You can even cook rice or noodles ahead of time and then pack them in plastic containers to be reheated later. They won’t be seasoned, so they can be used with whatever you need.

You can pack your own lunches at this time as well. Put salads together or make a few sandwiches in advance. When all you have to do is grab a sandwich and go, you’ll find that your morning run a little easier.

You can also pre-pack lunches for your kids. A few ham and cheese sandwiches will sit in the fridge for a few days.

What’s more, try to pack snacks ahead of time. This more than anything else will save you time in the mornings. While it may be easier just to buy bags of chips, packing your own gives you the flexibility to make healthier snacking choices, and if you’re reusing plastic containers, you’ll cut down on the amount of waste you throw away.

Try a few of these snacks:

• Chopped veggies with ranch dressing
• Strawberries, blueberries or grapes
• Nuts
• Pretzels

Pack as many of these snacks as you like and grab them throughout the week.

Set yourself up for success,

God Bless,

Jani