Remember the Sunday scaries? That sinking feeling when you realize in just 12 hours, you’ll be on someone else’s timeclock while your personal life feels completely out of control. I used to experience this every single week when I worked in an office, even before I had kids.

The stress compounds when you feel like a mess in your personal life but can’t address it because Monday morning means being accountable to your employer. But here’s what I discovered: there are simple things you can do in advance that dramatically reduce Sunday anxiety and set you up for an incredible week.

The Truth About Time (That Nobody Wants to Hear)

We actually do have time to prioritize what matters. Our phones are preventing us from using it.

Every single one of us doom scrolls. Don’t even try to deny it.

Our mothers managed to do it all, and we wondered how. Well, they weren’t consumed by technology like we are. They had every afternoon, evening, and weekend to stay on top of things because they weren’t subjected to the attention economy.

I’m not here to tell you that you can do it all without something slipping. But you probably can spend more intentional time on yourself and your goals than you currently are. It just means less doom scrolling and Netflix binging, and more time planning your week.

The Power of Planning Ahead

Our willpower is highest when we’re not in the moment.

Sunday afternoon, you actually have the mental bandwidth to think ahead. There’s something almost giddy about planning out the perfect week. Use that feeling in your favor. Get excited about feeling so on top of things that you crave this process again and again.

Think of every decision you have to make throughout the week as friction in your brain. Your brain doesn’t like friction or hard things- it craves the easy way out. When you reduce as many in-the-moment decisions as possible, you remove 90% of that friction. Alex Hormozi says action alleviates anxiety. Instead of spiraling and not knowing where to start, we’re taking action with this Sunday Setup.

The 8-Step Sunday Setup

I want you to follow these steps for four consecutive weeks and watch the difference it makes in your stress and anxiety levels. Spend only 10 minutes on steps 1-5. Set a timer so you hold yourself accountable without overthinking.

Step 1: Grab a Fun Drink

This is essential. The fun drink adds an unserious layer to something serious. A little pocket of joy in the mundane.

For me, early morning planning sessions mean coffee (Melozio Nespresso pods are my favorite). Afternoon sessions mean an Alani energy drink, which has become my 2025 obsession. My husband drinks them now too, and I’ll cut our grocery budget in other areas to make room for the bulk pack at Sam’s Club.

Step 2: Grab Your Planner

I prefer pen to paper, but use whatever works – Google Calendar, Skylight calendar, or any online platform. There’s something incredibly satisfying about writing something down, doing it, and crossing it off your list. It just scratches my brain.

You can use the notes app on your phone, but we all know what happens when we open our phones for one simple task – we get distracted by texts, emails, Instagram. Maybe you need to put your phone in another room and use a computer instead.

I personally have a Brick device to lock myself out of certain apps. If you have one, create a 10-minute Weekend Reset category and block your most distracting apps while leaving browsers and Pinterest unblocked for meal planning.

Step 3: Plan Dinners

We start with dinner because it’s usually the most stressful meal. It’s the one where we’re most likely to give up and order takeout at the slightest inconvenience.

We’re literally searching for reasons to take the easy road. Someone sends you one annoying email? Takeout. Your day has the tiniest hiccup? Takeout.

The key: you only need 2-3 high-protein dinners planned in advance.

Unless you’ve been meal planning for years, anything more than 2-3 meals will leave you feeling overwhelmed. I love having a few things planned plus freezer staples like JustBare nuggets and frozen turkey burgers from Aldi (Kirkwood brand in the black box – 29g of protein per burger).

Keep frozen vegetables on hand too. For me, that’s frozen broccoli weekly and the huge bags of broccoli normandy from Sam’s Club.

We are NOT reinventing the wheel. Spend no more than 10 minutes total. Find maybe one new meal outside your normal rotation. The other 1-2 meals should be things you’re already confident making – things your family loves. This prevents Pinterest doom scrolling.

Simple meal ideas that work:

• Turkey burgers
• Taco Tuesday (ground turkey or beef with all the toppings)
• Crockpot pulled chicken that becomes multiple meals
• Spaghetti (I love using spaghetti squash)
• Chicken alfredo
• JustBare nuggets, roasted potatoes, and veggies
• Burger bowls

HERE is a link to 10 ideas of things I personally make.

Make enough for leftovers at least one night. I have a client with six kids feeding eight people each night. She sometimes more than doubles recipes to have at least one lunch from the same meal.

Step 4: Create Your Grocery List

For months, my husband Erik and I have been using Google Keep – it’s free and we love it. It’s a shared app where we can both add items throughout the week as we run out of them.

This prevents me from calling or texting to ask if he needs anything while I’m shopping. I’m already adding our staples weekly – eggs, milk, bread, fruit, meat.

Now just scan your fridge, pantry, and freezer to see what you need to make these meals. Sticking to familiar meals and introducing maybe one new meal makes this super quick.

Step 5: Write Down When You’ll Cook These Meals

Write in your planner the specific nights you’ll make each meal:

• Monday: Meal 1
• Tuesday: Leftovers
• Wednesday: Taco Night
• Thursday: Leftovers
• Friday: Out to dinner
• Saturday: Meal 3
• Sunday: Leftovers

Edit to fit your schedule. If your kids have sports practice Tuesday night, plan a quick meal – leftovers or something from the freezer.

Writing this in your planner makes it feel less like a cop-out and more intentional. It’s a constant visual reminder so you remember to thaw chicken in advance or start the slow cooker that morning.

No more wanting to snap when your husband or kids ask what’s for dinner – you already know. You can say “tonight we’re having spaghetti!” versus not having a plan, realizing nothing is thawed, and potentially ordering takeout in frustration.

This prevents the spiral. It’s being proactive versus reactive.

Those steps 1-5 should take no more than 10 minutes total. Set that timer.

Step 6: Write Workouts in Your Planner (If This Applies to You)

If you’re already consistent with exercise, great. If not, write down the specific days and times you’ll work out.

Not “I’ll work out four times this week” – that’s too vague.

“Monday 6am, Wednesday 6am, Friday 6am, Saturday 9am” – SPECIFIC.

Decide your first workout in advance. What are you actually doing Monday? Know exactly what your first exercise will be when you step into the gym.

You have control over your calendar. Yes, you’re busy. Yes, you have kids. But you also have pockets of time. You get to decide what’s important.

Step 7: Prep a High-Protein Breakfast (Even Just for Monday)

Breakfast sets the tone for your entire day of eating. It’s that first small win that compounds into other wins. If you start reactive and grab whatever, you’ll stay reactive all day.

Two simple options:

Protein overnight oats:

• Old fashioned oats
• 30g protein powder (chocolate tastes best)
• Almond milk or regular milk
• Mix the night before, grab and go
• Add fruit for fiber

Kodiak Cake pancake bake:

• Mix Kodiak Cakes pancake mix with milk or water in a single-serving glass dish
• Add fruit
• Bake in the oven
• Make a large batch in a sheet pan for 6-8 servings for the family

Both are high-protein, prevent the blood sugar crash at 10am, and are incredibly easy.

Protein at breakfast stabilizes blood sugar, reduces cravings, and helps you make better choices later because you feel full and have that small win under your belt.

Step 8: Pack or Plan Your Lunch for Monday

The Monday lunch rule: At minimum, have Monday figured out.

Don’t dive into planning Monday through Friday lunches unless that’s already your process. Even a turkey sandwich is high-protein if you use enough deli meat and add cheese.

Goal: 25-30g protein minimum at this meal.

Simple options: leftovers from dinner, rotisserie chicken on a salad, deli meat roll-ups with cheese and veggies.

If you plan lunch, you won’t be starving at 2pm raiding the pantry for your kids’ goldfish crackers. It’ll be easier to control yourself around breakroom snacks.

The “Before All of That” Reminder

Church, lunch with your family, and rest are so important. We’re not trying to work ourselves into the ground.

As a Christian, it’s easy to honor the Ten Commandments except for the Sabbath. This is something my husband Erik and I have talked about a lot as our kids get older. We want to honor the Sabbath with actual rest, church, and time together.

I always delete social media from my phone on Sundays. It provides a barrier I need. But deleting the app doesn’t slow down my body and mind – I need to take further steps.

When you find your identity in Christ, you’ll find you’re not striving for approval like you once were. Your efforts take on a new meaning of stewarding the body and life you’ve been given.

I am a busybody. A doer. A producer. But first and foremost, I am a child of God. All my efforts and completed tasks can help build the life, body, and performance I desire, but if that’s where I place my worth and identity, it will feel incredibly empty.

The Bible refers to chasing worldly achievement without God as “chasing after the wind.” That’s a battle you’ll never win.

If you listen to this and take zero action on these tasks outside of being in a right relationship with God, you’re actually checking the most important box. But I also want to challenge you to live a life of excellence in every area – excellence we can strive for without letting our entire identity get wrapped up in it.

My Challenge for You

I don’t care what 1991-2025 looked like for you. You can be totally unrecognizable by December 2026 if you set yourself up for a winning week on a regular basis.

You can go from reactive to intentional. You have full control over your daily decisions. Nobody is coming to save you.

Every day is a deposit toward the person you want to become. Small amounts add up exponentially over time. The first penny in the jar is just one penny, but it’s also everything because it’s the start.

Your action step: After reading this, create your own Sunday Setup.

Set a timer for 10 minutes and complete steps 1-5:

• Fun drink
• Grab planner
• Plan meals
• Grocery list
• Plan nights you’ll make meals

After those 10 minutes, plan your workouts, make a high-protein breakfast, and pack your lunch for Monday.

You have everything you need to start right now. The only question is: will you?