I am obsessed with my weekly reset routine. It is so helpful in helping me start off a week on the right foot, feeling organized and ready to tackle a new week. Plus, because it organizes my life on a weekly basis, it keeps me from feeling like my life is all over the place every few weeks. I highly recommend implementing a routine like this into your life if you struggle to feel somewhat organized.
And don’t feel intimidated by a routine like this. It’s actually one of my favorite things to do on a Sunday afternoon. I sit somewhere comfy (not at my desk) so that it feels less like “work”, make myself a drink, and just start crossing things off my to-do list (listed in detail below). It’s actually quite relaxing and makes me feel like I can breathe a little easier since this prep work helps me feel less overwhelmed as a new week begins.
I divide the process into 3 categories/sections: Get Clear, Get Current, and Get Ahead.
This is the part where I clean things up a little, both digitally and in real life.
I have 4 separate email addresses that I manage (2 personal, 1 blog, 1 real estate). So I’ll go through each of them, make sure all emails are read (I don’t know how people with 8738 unread emails function LOL), and then I either delete the not-needed emails or categorize the needed emails into different folders within my inbox. This way, when I open up my email account to the inbox page, it reads a big fat 0. It’s so satisfying!
Just like with my email inbox, I hate keeping photos on my phone. So every week I take the time to transfer any photos, videos, screenshots to my laptop or hard drive for storage. My husband is one of those people who stores alllll his photos that he’s ever taken from his first iPhone on his current iPhone. Every time I go on his phone and see that he has 74763 photos, I get anxiety. I much prefer keeping all my photos organized via date and category on my laptop or hard drive.
You’re probably wondering what I do if I’m out and about and need to show a photo of a vacation or something to someone. These instances happen so rarely that I don’t find it worth it to store thousands of photos on my phone at all times. So I just pull up a blog post or Facebook/Instagram photo if I ever come across moments like that.
Throughout the week, I’ll take random notes, copy random links, etc into my Notes app. So I like to clear it out once a week to keep my Notes app from getting too cluttered and unorganized. If there’s an article or recipe link I like and want to keep on hand, I’ll then save it to a bookmark on my internet browser so I can refer to it time and time again.
There’s so many things that I’ll screenshot on my laptop or download that it can make my Desktop + Downloads folders super cluttered with files. Then, because it’s so cluttered, I’ll forget what details I’ve saved and never open that file again. So I like to take the time to either delete anything I don’t need, or put it into another folder on my laptop to refer to if I need that screenshot/download in the future. This way, the information is more organized and filed away correctly so it can be easily found later.
I think we all know how easily cluttered this space in our home can become. So I try to keep on top of it by going through it once a week, tossing things that aren’t needed or putting them where they actually belong instead of the junk drawer.
Like the junk drawer, a woman’s handbag can easily get cluttered too. Whether it’s with receipts, other trash, or maybe you were rushed and didn’t take a minute to neatly put away your credit card or cash after checking out. So I like to take 5 minutes to go through my purse + wallet so it can feel a little more neat and ladylike again.
And now that I’ve “cleaned up” a little, it’s time to get current on a few things and update some things.
First things first, I add any plans and appointments for the upcoming week to my Google calendar. This is what I use on a daily basis to stay on top of things and make sure I know what I’m supposed to be doing (instead of getting caught endlessly scrolling through instagram). Ever since I quit my 9-5 job in December 2019 and started working for myself, I don’t have someone to keep me accountable and on schedule/routine. It’s so easy for me to just do nothing all day and then wonder where my day went. I love using the calendar so I know what I’m supposed to be doing instead of wasting my life away.
I have a running list of tasks that I keep. I call it my “Next Actions” list. It’s basically where I brain dump any tasks that come to mind, some time sensitive, some not. I like to go through this list once a week to remind myself of what I have on it and to also check off anything that I may have completed in the past week but forgot to check off.
After I review the above mentioned “Next Actions” list, I then take a moment to think “what else do I want/need to do?” If I don’t do this, I’ll have random moments where I think to myself “oh you need to do this” but not write it down and then it gets forgotten. Whether it’s to send a wedding gift, organize pajama drawer, or whatever other random thing I want to do, I have to write it down in my “Next Actions” list. Then, I see if I have time this week to complete it and add it to my Google calendar if I do. If I don’t, then I’ll wait until next week (unless it’s a time sensitive task). But I love keeping this running list of tasks so I that when I’m bored, I can take a look at it and see what needs to get done.
If there’s anyone I’m waiting to hear back from about something, this is when I’ll send them a text or email to follow up.
Just like my “Next Actions” list, I have a list of projects and goals I am working towards. So I’ll take some time to review them, see what my next step is and put it in my Google calendar. I try to complete at least one action a week (sometimes every 2 weeks) for each project/goal so that I can stay on top of trying to reach a certain goal. Otherwise, 6 months will go by and no progress has been made on a project or goal. For example, my husband and I are currently in the process of redecorating our home office and bedroom (I’ll be posting the reveals on my YouTube channel). So each week or every other week, I’ll try to buy a new piece for the room to keep the project moving along, but to also keep my expenses a little spread out instead of spending a lot of money all at once. So one week we purchased the office desks, another week we purchased the office chairs, next week we purchased a bookshelf, etc.
This section is a little similar to the Get Current section, but involves a bit more planning ahead instead of just the coming week.
I kind of hate this part while I’m doing it, but once I’m done with it I love it LOL I go through our bank accounts and see where our money went and update our excel spreadsheet with these details. I also take money from our checking account and transfer it into various categories within our savings account. And finally, I pay any bills that need to be paid.
I’ll be honest, this is a step I’ve been slacking in. But I’m working on getting better. I was so uninspired throughout the past few months since COVID hit. But the past few weeks, I’ve been really trying to stay on top of it. So I plan some blog posts and YouTube video ideas, I plan on which day I want that post or video to go live, and then I put it into my Google calendar that on Monday I have to block out a few hours to work on Wednesday’s blog post or on Thursday I have to record a YouTube video, on Friday I have to edit it, and on Sunday I have to upload it. You get the point.
I used to be so on top of this before COVID arrived and left me uninspired. During this step, I would gather photos that I liked, take the time to edit them, and then plan out which day to post what photo and what caption to post with the photo. It would just make things so much easier for me.
Do you ever see an inspiring quote that just makes things click in your head or read some really good advice that you want to remember forever but then forget as months go by? Well, I like to keep a running list of notes with quotes, phrases, life lessons, etc that cause a light bulb to turn on above my head. And as my final step during my Weekly Reset routine, I like to re-read these notes to remind myself of them. It’s not a super long list, but it’s just those notes that really resonate with me and stand out to me. It’s an inspiring way to end a week and start a new week.
I use the app/website Notion to help organize all my lists.
I hope this list of steps in my Weekly Reset routine hasn’t overwhelmed you. I promise you, it doesn’t take too long. It typically takes me about two hours and I love every minute of it. Plus, every minute of it is totally worth it since it’ll help you feel less overwhelmed with any tasks you might have and feel more organized in your life!
I’d love to hear about any steps you take to help start a new week on the right foot and keep your life organized! Let me know in the comments below or message me on insta!
♥ Alena
Welcome to Love Everything Lovely, a life & style blog filled with my take on living a life all around lovely and with the goal to inspire you to pursue your loveliest life! I’m Alena, a twenty-something with a heart full of passion for beauty, fashion, and always striving to live my best and loveliest life.