It doesn’t matter if you had the perfect plan, Monday went amazing, and then you woke up Tuesday and everything went wrong. Or it’s Friday and you feel like you might as well give up since it’s already the weekend.
I get it!
It happens to the best of us, and sometimes we just really need and want a mid-week reset because life happens and change takes time.
So I’m going to share my 5 steps and reminders to reset your week no matter how behind you feel.
- Start small with mini wins
- Brain Dump and prioritize
- Create a “reset list”
- Lean on easy meals and movement
- Permission to be “good enough”
Start Small
Instead of a full reset, choose one doable thing (meal prep, walk outside, 10 min clean). If you’re anything like me, my to-do list starts out normal, and then grows as the day and week goes on. Once it gets to a certain point, if feels like it will take forever to accomplish, so why even try!?
Starting small with just one doable thing reminds you that it really isn’t that hard, and a lot of things don’t take that long to do.
I can get a lot done in a 10 minute clean, usually the whole kitchen or vacuuming the whole house (ours is a little small, but that’s still 2 floors). Meal prep always means I’m eating a meal too, so there’s that to look forward to. And honestly, walking down our street and back is really only 15 minutes.
Mini reset = momentum
If you’re able to be reminded that it’s not that hard or bad, you’re more likely to keep going. OR just feel better about where you’re at and that you accomplished one thing.
So start small and call it good, or keep going if the momentum and want is there.
Brain Dump and Prioritize
This is my favorite thing to do, and so much so I put it in all my journals I wrote, named a podcast after it, and now my virtual assistant work I do. But here’s how a brain dump works:
Quickly dump everything that feels overwhelming, big and small, or just emotionally how you’re feeling. Then from that, pick the top 3 things you want to focus on for this week (JUST 3). It may be helpful to create a list after you’ve done your brain dump if you were writing out thoughts and feelings too, but it’s still the top 3.
And the top 3 is based on what needs to get done the most, and not something that would be “really nice” to get done. Those can be worked on or sprinkled in later. This also helps you put into perspective the things that are important to you in accomplishing the goals you have, and not just extra noise you feel needs to be done.
I tend to easily fall into seeing everything as important and really needing to get done. But as time has gone on, I’ve realized it’s my perfectionism kicking in and causing me to delay any progress I could be making.
Does every blog post need to be 100% perfect? No, I’ll keep learning as I go on.
Does my workout program I made need to be exact with everything I need all the time? No, that would cause me to be in the gym for hours and I want a quicker workout.
Does my routine need to be exact every day for it to be productive? No, sometimes I have to stay late for work, I get sick or am just exhausted; if I want a balanced life I need to be flexible.
A lot of this comes learned over time and coming to terms with sabotaging ways or reality. Once you accept that and work on being ok with the learning process, things will be SO much better.
You can’t be perfect at everything right away, or even good at it. But if you want to get better at something, learn more things and actually make progress, you have to start somewhere.
And there’s NOTHING wrong with starting.
Create a “Reset List”
Sometimes you just need a reminder or moment away to step away and get ready to start or for your next project. That’s where having a ritual or routine to start or move to your next project really helps get you in the mindset for your next thing.
This can look like a small ritual to mentally reset, something that only takes about 5-15 minutes to do. And it’s nothing crazy!
This can be starting a new journal page, taking a cup of coffee outside, a special playlist that means you’re moving onto your next thing, or a quick stretch to get your body moving. But make a list of different options, or associate each thing with a certain project.
For example:
I go for a walk before I start my blog post.
I go for a morning walk with my coffee before getting ready for work.
I do a quick stretch before my next task.
Or even putting on a YouTube video before starting to put away the dishes.
Associating your chosen reset ritual makes it feel GOOD, not like punishment or failure when starting. I look forward to my morning coffee walk or reset walk, even setting time aside to read for a bit before I clean or start something else allows enjoyment in between projects.
Again, the goal is to get you in the mindset for something new or even just starting. And the more you look forward to that thing, the more likely you are to make it happen.
Lean on Easy Meals and Movement
When overwhelmed and stressed, having a baseline for go-to meals and movements/workouts is a must (check out my other blog posts and YouTube playlists for more of a breakdown and examples). I live and breathe this!
Baseline meals means you know what foods work best for your body, what it gravitates towards when you’re stressed or tired, while knowing what it needs to function best and refuel enough to feel better.
Same with movement. Sometimes your planned workout isn’t going to work for you that day. And I know people push and preach to follow your plan not your mood, and there is something to it. But there are other times that it’s just going to hurt you rather than help you.
For example, sometimes I’ll get home from work after not eating anything all day, running off of 3 hours of sleep, and working 10 hours compared to 8. If I go to the gym and have my scheduled workout, I may injure myself, drain myself more, or just have a crappy lift because I have no energy or focus. So instead, I go off of a backup plan. You can read more on my blog The Best Workout For You, and my YouTube Channel that goes over some real-time examples.
So my baseline and go-to meals when I’m overwhelmed and stressed are bag salad with frozen shrimp I can thaw quickly, protein noodles with mushrooms, a quick sandwich or smoothie on the go, even frozen chicken strips are better than nothing at all.
Backup workouts for me are long walks or even just walking down the block if it was that bad of a day, otherwise I do a longer stretch and mobility session, go for a bike ride or do a quick garage workout.
Having backup plans and a baseline to lean on when things aren’t going right allow you to still make progress and the next best decision without feeling bad. Check out Why Diets Don’t Work if you struggle with feeling guilty if things don’t go to plan with your health.
No decision fatigue = better chance you’ll actually reset.
Life is hard enough as it is, don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be by putting pressure on yourself to be perfect or feel guilty when things don’t go as planned. It’s better to stray a bit and need to adjust, rather than not do anything at all.
Permission to Be “Good Enough”
For me, this was the hardest part, and most likely will be for you too. When you want the things you do, work on or accomplish to be perfect or at least above average, that’s going to make just getting things done or being fine with them being “ok” very difficult.
But here’s the thing, nothing is ever going to be perfect or up to expectations all the times. Sometimes it’s going to be good enough. Sometimes it will just be done. Then maybe next time it’ll be a little better.
The small changes you make and the progress you start is going to outweigh doing nothing or waiting for “next Monday” or “when things slow down” or “once I have X, Y and Z done”. Because that better day never comes, things never slow down or they pick up when you decide now is the time, and X and Y may be done, but Z will not be perfect.
The sooner you come to terms with Good Enough and work on things needing to be perfect, the MORE you’ll get done and the more progress you’ll make.
I’m constantly needing to challenge myself when it comes to making these changes, but looking back, progress has been made. It may not be to the extreme that I want, but the lasting habits and mindset shifts I’m making WILL last and lead to a more solid foundation where I don’t need to keep looking up “How to stop sabotaging myself” or “How to actually make change happen”.
Those searches are long gone, and now it’s working on creating the schedule and habits I want and need for the choices I’m making in life now.
So don’t stress. Things will start to snowball and add up. Just set your baseline, create rituals and lists to fall back on, and just keep trying. This isn’t a perfect fix, but it’s a start. And the more you come back to it, the more it’ll stick and the more you’ll realize you ARE making changes.
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