Monday, 7/7/25: Talking about a weekly planning routine

Happy Monday!

It’s a new week, which means it’s time for your next Monday motivation newsletter.

Read on below for some steps to a happier Monday and some positive thoughts to get your week started.

Three Steps to a Happier Monday

Each newsletter starts with three prompts to inspire gratitude and simple intention setting. Take a moment and jot down answers to these three questions. To give an example, I share my answers below.  

Step 1: What are three things I appreciated from the weekend? 

Step 2: What is one thing I can be excited about today?

Step 3: What is my intention for this week? 

GRATITUDE: From my weekend, I am thankful for downtime, long walks outside and being able to set no wake-up alarms! 

TODAY: Today, I’m most excited to start my new book!

INTENTION: My intention this week is to get back in the habit of doing a workday shutdown routine. 

Okay, your turn! And if you want to share your three steps, I am all ears. 🙂

Meaningful Musings: Weekly Planning

Happy Monday!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend and are easing gently into your week.

If you’re anything like me, yesterday came with *just* a touch of dread. I had a great few days off work and found myself feeling a little sad that the long weekend was over.

When I start to feel that way, I turn to one thing that never fails to help: my weekly planning system. I love all things planning and organization, and I enjoy sharing my systems and hearing about other’s. So today, I thought I’d walk you through my weekly planning routine in case you’re in need of a reset too.

For me, weekly planning isn’t about mapping out every detail or sticking rigidly to a schedule. Instead, it’s about helping myself understand the shape of the week ahead – what’s unique about it, what’s already set in motion, and where I might need a little more flexibility or support. It helps me feel like I’m steering into the week instead of tumbling into it reactively.

Let’s get into it! 

When do I plan the week?

This varies week to week. Most often, it’s Sunday morning with a cup of coffee. But sometimes it’s Friday afternoon, or early on a Monday morning. I really don’t think you can go wrong here. No matter when you’re reading this, it’s not too late to plan and shape your week.

How long does it take?

About 30 minutes, start to finish.

My Weekly Planning Routine

Step 1: Gather your tools.

I keep this super simple. For this planning routine, I use a college ruled spiral  notebook, a great pen and easy access to my work and personal calendars / emails. 

Step 2: Plot your reference points.

For some reason, I always start with the weather. I write down each day of the week and jot the high/low temps from the 10-day forecast. Maybe this is a habit from years in Chicago (where weather can really shape your day), but it’s a helpful, orienting place to start.

Then I layer in other “fixed” elements of the week. I write down all my work meetings, any appointments and any other notable items, like which days Matt will be in the office.

Even getting this far makes me feel so much better. The swirling chaos in my mind starts to take shape on the page. It feels like a fog has lifted and I have a much clearer view of the week ahead of me. 

Step 3: Decide on meals and movement.

With the shape of the week in place, I quickly plan out meals. I keep breakfast and lunch pretty routine week to week, so I mostly just focus on picking a few weeknight recipes to make for dinner.  

Then I sketch out my movement plan for the week. These days, I’m either walking or doing a Sculpt Society video, so I’ll jot down which days I’ll do what. 

Step 4: Collect your to-dos.

I pull forward anything from last week’s personal to-do list and check email for anything that needs to be added. I also look at the calendar for upcoming birthdays, weddings, or events that require prep and add actions accordingly to the list.

Once I have the list, I loosely map tasks to days. I like to keep it open-ended: for example, “Run errands Tuesday after work” rather than “Drop off dress for alterations and go to Target” – that way, there’s flexibility if things shift.

I also decide which daily cleaning task I’ll do on my lunch break, which is a new habit I’ve adopted since moving in our house. I love it. This week the plan is: Monday: floors; Tuesday: bathrooms; Wednesday: kitchen; Thursday: dusting + wash towels

I also do a similar run-through for work projects: writing out to-dos by initiative and plotting them based on meetings and deadlines.

Step 5: Refine and fine-tune.

Finally, I zoom out and ask: How does this week feel? Sometimes I assign a little theme to make this week stand out against the rest. This week’s theme is: “A normal workweek (which feels novel after two very not-normal ones) + travel to DC (going for my friend’s bridal shower!)”

I also like to survey my plans and sprinkle in a few seasonal or everyday joys to look forward to. Or maybe write down a few friends or family members I want to reach out to. Or if it’s an especially busy week, I’ll take something off my plate or ask Matt for help. And you know I always pick out something to look forward to on Monday. 

And that’s it!

This simple process helps me feel more prepared, more anchored, and more open heading into a new week. If you’ve been feeling a bit off today, I hope this inspires you to take a few minutes for yourself and try it out.

And if you have a weekly planning routine you love, I’d love to hear it.

Picture of the Week

That’s all for today! I hope you found something in today’s newsletter that sparked motivation, made you smile or inspired a positive Monday thought. Don’t underestimate the power of starting small… a fulfilling week starts with just one fulfilling day. You’ve got this! 

Let’s make it a great Monday!
Megan