Sunday is a day of … what?
For some people, Sunday is just like any other day: Wake up. Grind. Get stuff done. Go to bed. Ready go, Monday morning.
To others, Sundays mean sleeping in, pancakes and coffee, maybe do laundry, call that friend you haven’t talk to in a while, make a nice dinner with someone special, and then enjoy the night before returning to work the next day.
I suggest finding a balance somewhere between those two.
But, more important, I suggest making a concerted effort to do these five things.
1. As soon as you wake up, while you’re still in bed, ask yourself how you feel.
This is something a lot of people struggle with.
They are so used to jolting out of bed as soon as their alarm sounds. But take a moment to ask yourself how you feel. Not how you think you feel. How does your body feel? Are you hungry? Tired? Do you need another hour of sleep? Is something stressing you out? Do you feel energized? Why or why not?
Ask yourself this question and then sit with it for a moment.
When you ask your body how it feels, it will tell you what it needs. And it’s in your best interest to take care of yourself sooner rather than later.
2. Do something before you check your phone.
We all have a notoriously bad habit for checking our phones as compulsively as we check the fridge when we’re hungry — and even when we’re not hungry, we’re just bored.
That’s the worst way to start your day.
Before you go scrolling through your email, probably stumbling across a to-do that immediately puts you into a bad mood, go do something for yourself. Make a cup of coffee and pick up a book. Read the newspaper. Go for a run. Write. Paint. Play the piano. Anything that is just for you and only you.
It is refreshing to the soul.
3. Make a green smoothie.
I am all about eating healthy.
How are you supposed to perform at the top of your game if you’re not feeling well? Here’s what you do:
Grab a blender, and mix up half a frozen banana, kale, a handful of spinach leaves, a half-cup of frozen blueberries, a splash of apple juice, and if you’re really feeling ambitious, half of an avocado. Mix it with water (or almond milk) and enjoy.
You’ll feel so much clearer than if you had just eaten a huge pancake breakfast — or worse, not eaten anything at all.
4. Go outside.
Early in the morning, going outside is the fastest way to get “in tune” for the day.
What kind of day is it? What is this day asking for from you? Is it a grind-mode-hustle day? Or is it a curl-up-with-a-book day?
Going outside gets you out of the “familiar” energy of your living space and in touch with the day itself. And once you know what kind of day it is, you need to ask yourself how you can interact with that type of day to get done what you still need to get done.
It’s all a dance, and the more aware you are, the more effectively you’ll be able to move.
5. Clean and get clean.
Whatever is messiest in your life, you need to clean it.
Kitchen? Clean it.
Desktop? Clean it.
There is something to be said for feeling like everything is where it needs to be — and it truly does have an impact on your life. As someone who absolutely despises cleaning, I have learned that the cleaning process really doesn’t take that long. Especially when you do it on a regular basis.
Make it a habit, and keep your life in order.