5 Ways You are Sabotaging Your Week + Tips to a Lovelier Week

It is so easy to sabotage your week when the weekend is over and Monday rolls around. I’ve been there too and am totally guilty of it.

But we’re not going to do that from this point forward!

To be completely open and honest with you guys, August was a tough month for me mentally. I was in such a funk and just couldn’t seem to get out of it. So in September, I decided that things must change. No more ifs, ands, or buts. So I did exactly that and the first thing I needed to change was the way I approached the week ahead of me.

So here are five ways you are sabotaging your week (probably without even realizing it too!) and how you can improve it instead.

1. You are not planning ahead, or you are planning too much.

It’s so easy to just go through life without a plan. But the problem with that is that you have no goals to strive for! And then that can cause you to even be confused as to what the purpose of your life is!

Maybe you’re just a go-with-the-flow kind of gal, which is totally fine! But you need to find something that brings you life! What is it that you want to accomplish with the time you have on earth?

Your goal doesn’t even have to be as big as travelling the world and helping orphans. It can be something as little as just building a beautiful life or relationship with your husband. Make sure you are passionate about this goal, because otherwise you’ll lose your drive.

Plan ahead what you can do daily (or regularly) to help achieve this goal. After a long day at work, it’ll bring you joy to come home and work on a personal goal.

However, be mindful of planning too much in a short period of time. You don’t have to achieve this goal by the end of the week. If you try, you’ll get burned out and very likely end up quitting this goal.

2. You are not planning your meals ahead of time. 

This is something that I still have to work on but I’ve definitely improved upon in the past year or so.

When you don’t plan your meals ahead of time, it’s so easy to just grab fast food or unhealthy food during your lunch break or for dinner. Filling your body with unhealthy food can cause you to feel groggy and want to take a nap instead of feeling re-energized and motivated to continue working towards your weekly goals. I end up coming home from work feeling hecka tired and just take a 3 hour nap on the couch. Then I wake up and it’s 9pm by then! I’ve accomplished absolutely nothing in that day (except go to my 9-5 job) which then makes me feel terrible about myself and my life. This then causes a snowball effect where I feel annoyed and take it out on my husband, which then causes a strain on my relationship. Point is: Lack of meal planning is a recipe for a bad mood and lack of energy/motivation. So make sure to plan ahead healthy meals for the week ahead.

I love this article from a fellow Philly blogger, Merry, on mastering your meal prep. You can view my Pinterest board where I have saved lots of easy recipes.

3. You do not make time for yourself.

It is SO important to take care of yourself. Not just by eating healthy food and working out, but by also taking an evening (or even an hour!) to treat yourself, whether it’s taking a bath, getting your nails done, or just taking a moment to sit in silence. You need time off. I love using the weekend as my scheduled time for myself. On weekdays I’ll make sure that everything is cleaned and all my chores are done so that on weekends I can do whatever I want. This is my time to sleep in, work on my hobbies, go on a weekend getaway, or just sit at home and be bored (which can be fun sometimes too haha). Without this time off, I’d be super burnt out and hecka tired during the week. Plus, I always look forward to the weekend as a little “treat” at the end of a hardworking, goal-crushing week!

4. You start the week with a negative mindset. 

We are allllll guilty of saying or thinking “UGHHH it’s MONDAY!”

Let’s change that thought to “It’s Monday, the start of another week & opportunity to crush some new goals!”

I know this is so cheesy, but a positive mindset really will bring you positive vibes to your week!

After a rough August, I started implementing the following strategy into my Mondays:

When I come into the office on Monday morning and start writing my to-do list for the day/week, at the top of the page I will write a motivational quote in a bold color (or highlight it) so that it stands out on the page. This way, everytime I look at my to-do list, I’m pushed to crush it! It’s really helped me to keep a more positive outlook throughout my day instead of feeling annoyed that my list is so long.

5. You wake up late.

Oh boy, if I saved a dollar for every morning I work up late, I’d probably be able to quit my day job by now. Truth be told, this is still a struggle for me 80% of my week. However, when I wake up without hitting the snooze button I notice that my days are SO much better compared to when I wake up late. If I wake up on time (or early), I am more at ease during the day and am able to respond a lot better to any stressful situations that may come up at work. On the other hand, if I wake up late and hit the snooze button way too many times, I feel super scatterbrained throughout my day. This causes me to be unmotivated, tired, and just not in the mood to be at the office. Rushing out of the house in the mornings is not a good way to wake your brain up. I always prefer waking up earlier and starting my day on a calm note.

On a sidenote: I am OBSESSED with these earrings from a local boutique, Ellie on the Mainline.

P.S. If you just can’t get a handle on waking up on time, I’ve published the following posts that you may find helpful on a morning when you’re running late:

My Quick 5 Minute Makeup Routine

The Best Way to Cover Up Your Under-Eye Circles

I hope you found this blog post useful to you today. My wish for you is to stop sabotaging your days and weeks. I know it’s hard, I’m still working on it too.

I’d love to hear any tips you may want to add to this list that help you have a better week! Feel free to share them in the comments below or send me a message on instagram!

♡ Alena