Some Sunday Reset Checklists are all about changing your bed sheets and cleaning out your fridge. While those checklists can be super helpful in their own ways, I want to share with you my Sunday Reset Checklist that I use to recharge, reset, and get ready for the week ahead.
Keep reading to find out how you can set yourself up to reach your weekly goals every Sunday!
This post is all about Sunday reset.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. Full disclosure here.
A Medical Student’s Sunday Reset Checklist
So, What Is a Sunday Reset?
A Sunday reset is an opportunity to review the past week, note what went well and what didn’t, and use that information to make an intentional plan for the upcoming week. Through intentional planning, you can make sure that all the little tasks you do throughout the week actually line up with your bigger goals for the month as well as the whole year.
In other words, you can cut out the busy work and really focus on chipping away at your 2024 goals one task at a time without feeling stressed or overwhelmed. In fact, a huge part of my intentional planning is making sure I use my time wisely so I can also have free time to enjoy the things I love every day!
Why I Started Doing Sunday Resets
Unfortunately, my last few weeks of studying for Step 1 last year didn’t exactly go as planned. I ended up falling into some traps that I’m usually able to avoid like not taking breaks, studying too much (yes, that’s a thing), and taking my first practice exam way too late. That was one of the wake-up calls that made me realize that I needed a new weekly reset to avoid such unproductive routines to begin with.
I also had the long standing goal of monetizing my blog in 2023 by applying to a program called Mediavine. But looking back, there were still so many requirements for the program that I hadn’t met yet, so I would have needed to upload a ton more blogs before I would have been able to successfully apply. But, I realized that instead of doing tasks that would bring me closer to that goal last year, I was spending my time scrolling on my phone right after waking up, watching Netflix in the evening, and doing random things whenever I had a spare minute in between classes.
Something needed to change.
So, in 2024, I’m embracing my cozy girl era! To me, coziness means being productive and making progress towards my big, yearly goals while still incorporating lots of little things throughout the day that make me happy. It’s basically maximum levels of productivity with minimum levels of stress.
In my cozy era, I plan to:
- Fill each day with intentional tasks that promote quality over quantity.
- Make sure I can look forward to every day by only doing tasks that are fun or enjoyable and delegating the rest.
- Give myself space to rest and recharge to avoid the stress, overwhelm, and failure spirals of 2023.
Sunday resets have become a huge part of my cozy girl routine. I used to spend my Sunday evenings sitting on my couch dreading all the tasks I would have to do throughout the week. But, thanks to this new reset checklist, I now feel like I have my life under control. I’m making steady progress towards my big 2024 goals, and it feels great!
It’s important to have your goals in mind when you do your Sunday reset. If you need help setting up your goals and milestones for the next few months, check out my previous Sunday Reset post for more information on how to get started.
The Sunday Reset Checklist
Now, for the moment you’ve been waiting for… Let’s take a look at what the Sunday Reset Checklist actually looks like! Here are the questions you can ask yourself as you reflect on the past week and prepare for the next one.
1. What went well last week?
Write down your wins from this week! Include both big and small ones. They don’t all have to align with your bigger goals either. Anything that you were proud of or that made you feel accomplished is game for this list!
My wins from my first Sunday reset were:
- Setting up my iPad home screen in a way that helps me always see my goals and gives me access to the tools I need to accomplish those goals.
- Making a Step 2 study plan that builds from the mistakes I made while studying for Step 1.
As you can see, your wins can be anything from knocking out a huge study block to simply getting some organizational stuff done. Don’t be afraid to let yourself celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how big or small they are.
2. What part of your routine do you want to KEEP?
Now that you know what went well in the past week, you can think about what parts of your routine you want to keep doing. Maybe you started using a new tool to track your productivity, and it really worked for you. Or, maybe you tried moving your study block to a different time and found that you could focus way better.
As you think about what worked well, you can also keep in mind what sorts of tasks you have planned for the upcoming week. Make a list of the parts of your routine that will continue to be helpful with those tasks so you can keep them around for next week too.
3. What do you want to IMPROVE?
Were there any parts of your routine that felt like they could work for you, but they were just a little off? Those might be areas where you can make a few tweaks that will improve your results. For example, if you find that working out in the morning leaves you too tired for the rest of your day, you might want to try switching to an evening workout.
Or, maybe you were close to accomplishing your studying goals, but you missed the mark by a few points. Think about the changes you can make to your routine. This is to optimize your outcomes and maximize your productivity without making yourself stressed.
4. What do you want to START doing?
Was there anything missing from your routine? Is there a tool or a task that you think could help you stay on track better? Brainstorm some ideas for tools and tasks you can add to your routine to make your life that much easier.
One of the most helpful tasks for me is meal planning. I didn’t used to plan out all my meals. This is until I realized that it happened a lot that preparing meals and eating fell into both my productive time and my free time. Now, George (my husband) and I plan out our meals pretty much every week. It saves us lots of time, and I’m so happy we decided to make it part of our regular routine.
5. What do you want to STOP doing?
What didn’t work well for you last week? Did you find yourself participating in behaviors that brought you down or made it harder for you to accomplish your goals?
For me, a big thing that I needed to work on stopping was overthinking. I would have this thing that I really wanted to do, like setting up my iPad, but I would always get hung up on not knowing where to start or wanting it to be perfect immediately. Learning how to stop overthinking is definitely a process. But I’m trying to work on just getting started on tasks without spending so much time thinking and ruminating about all the little details.
6. What are your big 3 goals for the upcoming week?
This one is pretty straightforward – What do you want to accomplish this week? I’ve found that 3 is the magic number for setting big weekly goals. Having more than that would be overwhelming. Also, you can always do more if you get through your goals faster than you expected. It’s better to be able to go above and beyond rather than feeling bad about not being able to accomplish everything because there were just too many.
My big 3 goals for my first Sunday reset were:
- Finish my January content calendar
- Record one YouTube video
- Take a practice Step 2 exam
Remember, not every goal has to be something monumental. As long as you’re making progress and doing something you want to do, that’s what matters the most.
Productivity Tools I Love to Use
Accomplishing your goals is easier and more fun when you have the right tools to help you do it. Here are some of the productivity tools I use. They help me pretty much every day to keep on track with all my tasks and stay organized.
1. Full Focus Planner
The Full Focus Planner has been so helpful for planning out my weeks this year. It’s designed to help you make progress toward your bigger goals by setting the right daily and weekly tasks. It’s all about working smarter not harder and avoiding crazy stress that comes with big, long, overwhelming lists of tasks.
2. Toggl for Time Tracking
Now that I’ve fixed the settings exactly how I want them, I’ve been really enjoying using Toggl. It helps me to track how I spend my time. This lets me see how long I actually spend working on a task vs. how much time I blocked out for that task in my calendar. Having info like that makes it way easier to plan out a schedule that’s actually realistic enough to maintain.
3. iPad
I do a lot of planning digitally as well. My iPad has been a complete lifesaver when it comes to keeping track of everything. I always have my schedule for the upcoming week blocked out in my calendar so I know what I need to accomplish. Plus, I love being able to access all the apps I use for digital planning on one device that I can take with me anywhere.
4. My Digital Planner
You can start getting organized right now with these free monthly, daily, and weekly digital planning templates. Who said your cozy era can’t also be your goal-crushing era?
Final Thoughts on Sunday Reset Checklist
I hope this Sunday Reset Checklist helps you feel ready to embrace your cozy era and start knocking out those lofty 2024 goals. Even if you’re a little skeptical, I recommend trying out a Sunday reset over the next few weeks. You might be surprised at what it can do for you and your productivity!
Related Posts
How To Romanticize Studying: 5 Cozy Ideas from a 4th Year Medical Student
