Happy Sunday.
I sat down to do a little prep and planning for the week ahead and realized that it’s going to be a busy one on the social front in addition to what I have on my plate for work and personal. This means even more prep and planning is necessary because it can be hard/draining for me to have a lot of social plans throughout the week while also feeling balanced with work and rest. This has always been the case and is even more so now that I’m expecting.
I am not much of a live by a planner/calendar type of person but during times like these, taking a moment to get really clear about the most important priorities and intentional about making time for them can really help to keep me grounded and calm.
I hope this little glimpse into how I’m going to structure a busy week is helpful to you guys! Here’s the game plan…
THIS WEEK’S MEAL PLAN
Sunday: spiced bone-in leg/thigh quarters with roasted carrots, onions and fennel
Monday: stuffed acorn squash with apples and sausage
Tuesday: friend holiday party
Wednesday: out to dinner for a friend’s birthday
Thursday: sweet potato noodle bowls with almond butter shrimp
Friday: Y2 holiday party
Saturday: Tanner’s family Christmas
THIS WEEK’S PLANNED WORKOUTS
I don’t usually plan my workouts but I need one this week to feel on top of things with the holiday craziness.
Sunday: walk + yoga
Monday: short run (3-4 miles) + teach strength
Tuesday: yoga + teach strength
Wednesday: teach strength
Thursday: short run or FlyWheel + teach strength
Friday: yoga or rest
Saturday: some sort of workout (probably run or yoga) before I teach at 11:15a since the rest of the day will be Christmas with Tanner’s family
THIS WEEK’S WORK STRATEGY/GOALS/TO DOs
Here are my top work priorities. As long as I tackle these big things, I will feel good about the week.
- Write at least four blog posts for Peanut Butter Runner
- Schedule and shoot for a video project (this is a BIG one)
- Photograph the recipe for my sweet potato shrimp noodle bowls to blog about next week
- Knock out at least five of the hottest things on my list of personal tasks for Y2 including a New Year’s workshop with Dorie, planning and communication for our Winter 2018 teacher training (which is sold out!!!!), executing a big annual sale that we do every December, organizing our management team’s 2018 off-site strategy meeting and starting on a menu/brand revamp for the restaurant.
- Communicate with my supervisor at the Y to figure out some changes going on with role/title structure in 2018
THIS WEEK’S PERSONAL GOALS/TO DOs
- Writing thank you notes for baby gifts we have received so far
- Reach out to 3-4 friends who have been on my mind lately for a quick check-in/thinking of you
- Have Christmas shopping done for Tanner’s family Christmas by Thursday. Do as much online/prime as possible.
- Prep for and manage delivery of new couch/rug for our den/family room
- Walk the girls at least four times
- Schedule grooming appointments for the girls (they are long overdue a trim and professional grooming)
- Figure out what we’re going to do for the actual Christmas holiday
- Get my nails done! (gotta make some time for pampering even during crazy weeks!)
WHERE I’M WAVING THE WHITE FLAG/SETTING BOUNDARIES
- Having our housekeeper come on Monday to do a deep clean
- Not picking up any additional classes to sub
- Making sleep a priority and aiming for 7-8 hours a night, no exceptions
- Making my workouts a priority and holding space/time to do them. I am 100x more productive and happy when I do this
- Being super aware of mindless time spent on social media and limiting that this week to focus on work
- Reading my book in bed at night and not playing on my phone for 30 minutes before reading. First, I think this is better for my mental state and second, I fall asleep so much faster!
Your turn! I would LOVE to hear your strategies for staying grounded/sane at home and at work when life gets busy.
How do you organize/manage your time/to-dos?
How do you prioritize your work?
How do you fit in workouts and healthy eating?
I use the Moment app to keep track of my phone use. Kind of shocking to see the actual numbers of time waste— ummm spent, on my phone and even specific apps.
Also, HOW do you take such cool photos of yourself running?? ??????
I can’t even begin to imagine how shocked I would be…haha.
Lots of creative propping of the phone. I usually set the self-timer for 10 seconds and it takes a “burst” of 5-10 photos. Usually at least one is okay. 🙂
I’m looking forward to your sweet potato noodle and almond butter shrimp recipe. It sounds delicious!
You guys are going to go crazy over it. It’s super delicious and one of our fave dinners.
I can’t wait for the sweet potato noodle bowl recipe!
I’ve meant to blog it for SO long. Y’all are going to love it!
You’ve got a LOT going on this week – but way to go at prioritizing yourself! 🙂
I was on a week-long vacation with my parents and brother last week and it was SO GOOD to completely be away from work both physically and mentally. However I am also excited to go back tomorrow and get into my regular routine of working out – though I guess 5 days of playing golf does count as somewhat of a workout! It will be a shock when my alarm goes off at 5am for the first time in 10 days haha!
Oh your vacation sounds amazing! Was it beach or mountains? (Or something else?) And yes, that post-vacay shock is never nice but so great that you got away!
It was a desert vacation! Palm Springs, CA 🙂
I love that you included personal goals and “white flag areas.” Such a great idea! Hope you have a great week.
Thank you Emily! I have really tried hard to make space for those kinds of things in my life and to set boundaries around them!
This was a super interesting post! I liked seeing how you’re scheduling your week and how you are trying to prioritize even the “small” things.
Thank you Rachel. I definitely don’t do this all the time but it’s SO helpful to prevent myself from becoming super stressed or melting down and it keeps me so on task and focused.
I loved this post! Thanks for the insight into how you plan in each of these categories. I love what you said about how planning makes you feel more grounded. I’m not a natural planner/type a person but a little forethought really helps me nail down all those thoughts that are swirling about in my head!
Way to take care of yourself. I hope it’s an awesome week! <3
Thanks Christin. I don’t tend towards this style either but I find that when I’m “swirling” as you say, it really helps me to focus and be way more productive! I hope you have a great week too.
Oh man, I needed this post! My week is CRAZY. Scheduling workouts is a great idea. I usually just go with “What feels good”, especially when I’m injured, but I like the idea of being intentional about it (with, of course, the option to opt out if my hamstring is still mad!).
Hope you survive a nuts week! xo
This time of year is tough in general. I am terrible about scheduling workouts. When I’m specific about it, I never end up following the plan! Like today…I said I was going to run and teach strength and I did hot yoga and walked instead! 🙂 I think it’s better for me just to “hold the time” and prioritize a workout when I’m busy and stick with the intuitive ones! (Unless I’m actively training for something)
I love the idea of writing boundaries for the week, instead of just to dos.
Hey, do you have a recipe for your apple and sausage stuffed acorn squash? It looked so yummy on your insta story!