Sometimes coming up with a list of things to do before work can be annoying af, but this short list of self care Sunday ideas is sure to help you feel prepped and ready for the week to come.
Happy first day of Spring and happy Sunday!
Have you ever gotten to the end of your weekend and realized that there aren’t enough hours left in the day to take care of the things that really matter to you?
Yeah, me too, sis.
I’m notorious for pulling together a schedule that would take a regular person 20+ hours to do and expect to do it within 12 all before the next day at work. I honestly think I hate myself at times because why do I do this?
My regular Sunday looks something like this:
Wake up close to noon, scream, lie around, watch some Downton Abbey, scream again, flip through cookbooks dreaming about making the pretty crepes in there for breakfast one day, chug a gallon of water, scream some more, and by then I’m off to the races cause I have 2 hours before bed! I scramble to get my hair washed, one measly load of laundry done, and clean half of the bathroom before bed. If I’m lucky I may even get some work done for the blog or talk to a friend in that time too, but …
I never get to bed rested the night before work.
I think I do hate myself because what the actual f.
The thing is that I’m so burned out after a week’s worth of terse work that the last thing I want to do a lot of the time is actually taking care of myself and in turn, I am just resting to rest. And that’s all good and all, but I deserve to have a few hours that are really about me.
So, fuck it, I’m gonna write some hella lowkey self-care Sunday ideas for you, my fellow tired af millennial. And don’t worry, if you’re Gen Z or someone older, I gueeeess you’re welcome here, too.
This post is all about self care Sunday ideas.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.
Table of Adventures
Put together a vision board
I know, I know, this is an absolute cliche, but bear with me here.
Putting a vision board of your aspirations, inspirations, wants, and needs is a great way to be reminded of what you’re striving and working towards every day. It’s a winning strategy for someone with big dreams and a laundry list of goals they’d like to get done in the foreseeable future.
Here’s what my vision board looks like:
This is really easy to do on Canva (where this was done), with many of the templates that they have. I looked up “vision board” and this was one of the many templates and of course, I changed out my wants for the year.
I used to make them with pictures I found on Pinterest and a presentation board, but because my time is limited (whose time isn’t nowadays?) I went the digital route. The upside? I can carry this around with me on my phone at all times. Win-win!
Do some meal prep
If you’re consistently short on time during the week, I propose doing some meal prep.
I, for one, am terrible at meal prepping, so you’ll never see me doing it manually. I’m actually very picky with my food and I’m getting increasingly allergic to food items so I use a few digital meal planners to get a weekly menu done for me. It’s a lot easier than having to figure out macros and whatever else.
My favorite meal planners are Eat This Much (when I was using this faithfully, I lost 20 pounds so I give it major kudos) and the Intent app (the foods here are delicious – I can’t stress that enough). They’re both great since they help you shop for what you need on a weekly basis with customized grocery lists and you can pick and choose what works for you and your diet needs.
However, if you’re keen on doing things yourself, check out the video below:
But there are times when I just do a meal kit and choose the meals I want for the week and I’m done making decisions right then and there (what a wonderful form of self care, haha).
And honestly if none of the above help you in any way, and you don’t even care to cook, check out meal kits. There’s so many out there that it’s insane at this point to pick and choose what will work for you.
But if I had to choose: Green Chef. I’d choose it because it puts healthy eating at the forethought of your meal choices, they’re relatively affordable, and you can choose what kind of meal kit you want. The image below is with a code that auto populated since I did it in an incognito window.
My second choice would be Sunbasket. I like their choices of meal plans for people who have more of a need for the service like a Diabetes-Friendly version (which I don’t see often in meal-kits). Plus, they’re cheaper than Green Chef if money is an issue.
Check in on your mental health
I’m no mental health professional, so I cannot recommend anything for you. What I will say is that your mental health is important and taking care of it is integral to your happiness and your overall wellbeing.
During the height of the pandemic, my boyfriend struggled deeply with depression and after some coaxing, we decided that him seeing a therapist was necessary. If you can’t afford a therapist there are many readable resources, communities, and workbooks that can help you in almost any situation.
While I can’t recommend what you should do, Florence Noel of Dear Black Women created a wonderful list of mental health resources for anyone in need.
Invest in your personal growth, sis!
There’s a better version of you out there, but guess what? You gotta work to get to her, girl.
I know that can suck to hear but it’s the way the cookie crumbles but that’s also why lemonade + adventure is here. *shameless plug, hehe*
I actually started investing in my own personal spiritual growth by joining the Mindvalley community and getting an annual membership. It was the best decision I made for myself this year thus far (I’ve gotten through three quests this year already)!
I’m currently in Marisa Peer’s program “Rapid Transformational Hypnotherapy for Abundance.” She’s the UK’s most sought-after hypnotherapist and I’m buzzing to get started on her course. If you want an update I should be writing an article on my experience at some point in time.
(Also, don’t worry about the dates at the top, that was when the course was originally posted for her first live class.)
If you’re in the market for starting your own personal growth through Mindvalley, I would recommend checking out their masterclass before making the decision to subscribe to their membership (which is worth it!).
Of course, there are countless ways to invest in your personal growth, too.
A few topics are confidence, career, motivation, health and fitness, leadership, and communication (and that’s just to name a few). There are so many that it’s honestly ridiculous and I do talk about confidence on this site and I hope to bring you even more.
However, I vowed to work on my own personal growth a lot this year, but if you don’t have enough time in your week, carve out one hour a week on Sundays to give yourself the fill that you crave.
Here are some resources I’ve written if you’re curious:
Goals – 11 Great Books to Read This Winter
Habits – 17 Powerful Daily Habits That Improve Your Life
Confidence – How to Stop Doubting Yourself: 5 Practical Tips
Start a love journal
I think it’s really important to write down all the things that you love about yourself on a weekly basis. Plus this process doesn’t have to take long. If you were to start something like this all you need is a small notebook and a writing utensil.
As you can see, my love journal starts with me talking about my greatest asset. (¬‿¬)
Personally, I wouldn’t type this out as there are so many more benefits to writing things out versus the alternative. Because I know you’re probably wondering, some of those benefits are recognizing and processing your emotions in a way that typing just doesn’t do, it boosts brain activity, and it helps improve your memory.
I dunno about youuuu, but I could use a way to boost my brain and improve my spotty memory and if writing things out is one of the easiest ways to do that, I’m gonna do it.
Relax all Sunday morning
If you can, and I’m sure that that may be difficult for some of you, take some time to really relax before you have to go back to icky work the next day.
Some ways that I take some time for myself on Sunday are as follows:
- Reading an easy-going book
- Sleeping in (because yes!)
- Drinking some delicious, hot tea
- Lighting some candles and tidying my bedroom
- Watering my plant family – I killed five plants last year *distressed sounds* and I replaced them recently so I’m really babying them
My plants consist of a Peace Lily (revived from my mom neglecting it for over a year), an Arabica coffee plant, a Baby Rubber Plant, a Fiddle Leaf Fig, Swiss Cheese plant (Monstera Deliciosa), and … honestly, I don’t remember the name of this plant on the left side, lol. It’s a plant though!
Watering my plants every Sunday and making sure they’re doing well can be stressful if the plant is actin’ a fool, but otherwise, it’s nice to watch them grow and now that it’s Spring, they’re about to grow like crazy.
Plan the week ahead
I am a huge Happy Planner planner. I love everything from the planner itself to the stickers to the little colorful discs on that hold the planner together. So. CUTE.
But I will be super transparent with you, while it has been the only thing to interest me in keeping on the relatively straight and narrow with my day-to-day things, they’re an expensive investment. They do run sales on their products on the regular though so don’t fret if you’re wanting to try it out!
That being said, on Sundays I sit down and I write out my plans for the week.
Here’s what my week has looked like (so busy!)
When I wasn’t working full-time it was how I managed to get posts out all the time. I wrote down my plans throughout the day too if I needed (because forgetting about one thing can really derail your life, I swear).
Plus, writing your weekly plan is a way to help mitigate decision fatigue. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, it’s when the quality of your decisions throughout the day begins to deteriorate. It’s why at the end of the day you’re all petered out.
One of my favorite YouTubers, Patricia Bright, talked about how she manages her decision fatigue. She does everything that is important to her personally and her business before 3 PM when she knows her decision-making starts to go into flux.
Here’s the video I’m referring to by the way:
The takeaway? Planning your week before the week begins is a great way to help in decision fatigue and it means you’re putting your needs first by not forgetting the important things in life.
Plan your work outfits today!
Just like planning your week out in advance is a chef’s kiss of productivity and helping with decision fatigue, so is planning out your outfits for the week!
Make sure to check the weather, grab a cup of tea, and put on your favorite playlist while you take 30 minutes to gather your outfits for the week. Don’t forget your accessories and your oh-so gorgeous smile, beautiful. ♡
Spend time trying something new
Depending on the season, there’s always something new that you can do (and you don’t have to go outside to do it).
Take for instance the spring season that is now among us. I love plants, but a really great way to take care of yourself is getting a new set of flowers on a weekly basis or going to a field of wildflowers and taking pictures and then grabbing enough to make a bouquet for your side table.
Next week I’m going to brunch with a group of my friends. We haven’t seen each other in over a year and it’s a fun way to get back into the swing of things as a friend group, but also we get to do brunch together for the first time!
A few more ideas that may tickle your fancy:
- Finger painting
- Learn a new dance routine (Tik Tok is your best friend for the trends of the month)
- Put together a picture gallery in your bedroom
Take care of your body
You only get one of these.
If you’ve been slacking in your workout duties, Sundays are a fantastic day to restart and jump back on the wagon.
For the last two weeks, I have intermittently been trying to do a Jump Rope Challenge of 1000 jumps per day for seven days straight. For some reason, I can’t manage it (been a super procrastinator, sigh), but maybe if I tell myself that there’s a reward at the end of each 20-minute jump session I’ll do it.
Of course, exercising isn’t the only way to take care of yourself! Here are some ideas I enjoy doing (that I don’t limit to Sundays):
- Breathing exercises
- 5 minute dance breaks
- Nightly stretch before bed (I learned this from a YouTuber – I can’t remember her name – but it was a game-changer)
Spend time in nature
Because of COVID I found myself indoors a lot of the time, as did everyone else.
But being indoors means drier air, less humidity, and little to no fresh air. And even though I live on a trail in Connecticut, until the state said it was OK to do normal things outdoors, I didn’t leave the house (which was hell after a while).
But now? I walk on the trail daily because it’s an easily accessible thing for me to do. I could – so to speak – jump rope on the trail, run, or even do cartwheels if I felt like it, too. However, the thing that gets me excited about it is just the fact that I’m surrounded by beautiful trees and the weather is now gorgeous.
There are times when the world is starting to wake up that I also sit on a bench on the trail, sip some hot tea, and people watch. It’s an easy way to wake my body and to get fresh, clean air through my lungs.
If you’ve got somewhere lush and green closeby, sit and be still with nature on Sunday and reconnect with Mother Earth for a little while.
OK, Cool – Have Fun
As you can see, it’s not hard to do self care on a Sunday before the workweek begins. Take your time, add things in slowly, but don’t feel like you have to be “That Girl” if you’re OK with being lazy.
Not all of us can be that girl anyway, haha. Me included.