Sunday Rituals for a Successful Work Week: Tips for Career Women, Moms, and Students on Staying Healthy and Productive

Happy Sunday! It’s Sunday, which means it starts a new work week for all my career girlies out there. Here are some tips that I do every Sunday that will set up my week for success to have a productive and amazing good start to the work week. And again, if you don’t work a 9 to 5, these are amazing for, you know, moms whose kids are just going back to school, or if you just got back to college. You can also implement this because you do have a different new schedule. Whether you work a 9 to 5 or you’re just starting back at school, your flat, your schedule is not as flexible, you know, as it used to be. So you always have to be prepared. Sundays I love because it can make or break your week. I like setting it up to be successful, to be on top of my game, because, as you know, Monday through Friday, it just shifts daily, you know, different classes, you have different meetings, different topics on different days. You just have to be ready on what the work week throws at you. And it all starts with your mindset. Staying healthy while working a demanding job can be doable and can happen. Okay, it can be challenging, but it is doable. And these are the tips that I do to stay healthy, maintain my weight, not gain weight while working a, you know, more demanding job. It all Starts with strategic planning and just getting your mindset right going into the week. Sunday nights I start my wind down a little bit earlier. I always massage my face again before bed because it just releases tension. I make sure to take my magnesium earlier to get my sleep set up. I always lay out my outfit the night before be so it’s one less step to do in the morning. And I make sure all my laundry is put away as I always like to get my laundry done and put away because starting Sunday with all clean clothes is just an amazing feeling. On Sunday nights, I try to make sure I go to bed between 9 and 10 just because prioritizing sleep is so important as it affects your mind and affects your hunger hormones. So sleep is crucial if you want to keep your weight in check. Just to keep your hunger hormones and everything in check too. Step 2 stay hydrated. You guys know I love my electrolytes and keeping hydrated. I always have a water bottle on me because not staying hydrated can lead to unnecessary snacking, especially in the office. Once you start snacking, I find it harder to stop. So what you’re gonna do is have your water, keep sipping it. Make sure you are hydrated throughout the day because you don’t want to lead to unnecessary snacking or you think you’re hungry but you’re not. Step 2 exercise. Especially if You don’t live in New York. You know, getting your walks in. 10,000 steps a day. Even if on lunch break, you can take a five to 10 minute walk, even a 20 minute walk. Every steps count. I try and work out three to four times a week. Just because when you’re sitting at your desk all day, you’re literally not moving, and that’s not good for you physically or mentally. So you need to make sure that you’re getting in some movement by taking advantage of, you know, your lunch break, going on a 10 minute walk, even if it’s around the parking lot, if you don’t live in New York. I’ve done that on work trips, or, you know, going to a track and doing a few loops around a track, just like that. Or waking up early and doing a little bit of a toning workout, you know, setting small goals. If you don’t work out at all, try and set up two days a week to work out, then three, then four. Number four is make use of breaks. Whenever I have a little bit of a break, I always try and stretch my back, my shoulders. Just stretching your body can release tension and help you focus better. Go on a little bit of a walk, etcetera. Whenever you have a break, try and do a little bit of stretching, a few movements, not just, you know, sit slumped over, you know, all about 5 is To manage stress. Because if you don’t manage stress, you’re gonna emotional eat, or it’s just gonna affect your hormones, and they’re gonna skyrocket. And, you know, you just have to practice meditation, being happy, going on walks, just being mindful of your stress levels, and just overall how you can combat that is by setting realistic. What I mean by setting realistic goals. If you, you know, never work out, and then you think you’re gonna work out seven days a week at 6 a m. Before work for two hours, be realistic. Okay? Start with one or two days a week. Also, you can start with 10 minutes. That’s better than nothing. You can start with 15 minutes. Some days I only work out for 20 minutes. Other days, I work out for an hour. Other days, I work out for another hour and 20. Some days, I work out for 30. You have to focus on your body again, but you can’t overall your whole entire diet and exercise routine, because you have. It’s not gonna work. You have to do small, achievable goals. Basically, balancing work is just strategic planning to be healthy. Um, you know, you can plan your meals. You can schedule, you know, workouts or little breaks to take to go on a little walk. You can do meditation. You just have to schedule and optimize, you know, time management. That’s the number one. Understanding what food affects your body during work is A thing I love developing and learning. As food does protect, does help your productivity at work. You know, if you eat certain foods, it can make you less productive and, like, more sluggish and less energy and brain fog versus other food. Fuels your body and makes you feel really good at work. I’m gonna give you a few examples. A quick and easy guide. Obviously, Whole Foods, you guys know that’s gonna be good for you. Lean protein. Turkey, chicken, that’s amazing for protein. Helps combat midday fatigue. It keeps. Helps keep your blood sugar and your energy levels stable. Fruits and vegetables improve moods, you know, helps you with energy. Again, just you can look into the benefits. I’m not a nutritionist, but online you can Google search, and it will tell you all the benefits of all of these. But I’m just gonna give you foods I try and eat versus avoid. Hydrating food. It just honestly helps you with concentration. When you’re dehydrated, you can’t concentrate as quick. So hydrating food is really good. Also avoids headaches and stuff like that. Whole Foods versus processed foods. I don’t even think I should explain that, but obviously, Whole Foods gives you good energy and nutrients for your body. Versus processed food, which will make you brain fog, sluggish like you. You know, you can, again, research, because I’m not a nutritionist, but a Google search will tell you all of the benefit. If you just said live. Give me Three general tips, you know, as someone who’s starting from level zero, what would they be? And my first one would be, avoid excessive caffeine intake. You’re gonna get jitters. Your hormones and your mood is just gonna go up and down. You’re gonna get slumps. I would combat that with herbal teas and even green tea, because it gives you caffeine without the jitters. I would say do that. But just the first step one is to being avoiding just excessive caffeine intake. That would be my first tip, my avoid sugary snacks, because it just. It might give you a quick energy boost, but then again with the crash. And to combat that, if you’re a big snacker, and, uh, carrots are really good for energy. I love eating carrots. So, you know, have that on hand or just prepare yourself healthy snacks, but just avoid sugary snacks in general. And how you’re also gonna do that, this is. Leads to. My third tip is stop skipping meals, because that’s gonna lead you to grabbing the donuts, process snacks at the office. Skipping meals can just, you know, lead to your cognitive functioning going down, your concentration going down, your energy going down, and then you look for that quick fix of snacks or you’re lazy, etcetera. So we’re. That’s what we’re not gonna do. By incorporating these food choices in general, it’s gonna make your productivity at work go up, your cognitive functioning at work going up. Just improve your work life balance. You feel so much better. I can tell you, on the days I eat like shit, I feel like shit, and I’m brain fogged, I’m headache, I’m not in the best of mood. Versus now that I incorporate these in my everyday life, especially Monday through Thursday, I feel insane. I feel amazing. And my overall productivity at work days are just skyrocketing. They’re amazing.