Picture this.
You’ve had an amazing weekend relaxing, socialising, doing the things you love and then Sunday night rolls around and your body slowly starts to fill with dread.
That high-vibed sensation that carried you through the weekend is swiftly leaving you and a big storm cloud looms above your head as you think about another depressing workweek.
I hear this scenario all too often from both my clients and loved ones.
And I get it. That used to be.
I suffered from Monday-itis on a Saturday. I clung to the fact that I only had one more ‘night of freedom’ before I had to wake up and plough back in to my version of ‘Ground Hog’s Day.’
BUT after making myself miserable for quite some time I realised that I had a choice.
I could either choose to be negative or I could create a week that lit me up and got me excited about the next 7 days.
(And before you say, ‘Ainslie what would you know? You don’t have to go to a 9-5 job anymore. Well let me tell you, there are plenty of things I don’t love as a part of my business AND I worked full time in my marketing career and ran a business on the side, which created a HEAP of dread! So I do have some expertise in this area).
Yes, I am a Type A, perfectionist of a Virgo and I like to make plans.
Now before you roll your eyes and judge me (I kinda don’t blame you!) I want you to hear me out.
Planning + Structure = Freedom.
And again – Planning + Structure = Freedom.
On a Sunday night I love to sit down at my desk and create my week.
First, I write down all the things I MUST do during the week (lets call them non-negotiables) and put them in the calendar as specific blocks of time.
This would obviously include going to work, your commute time, any appointments, exercise sessions, work functions, grocery shopping etc.
See, the thing is, when we actually take time to sit down and look at what we have on in a week we change our relationship with time.
We can actually see how much we have…..or how much time we waste!
So you’ve written down and scheduled in your must do’s for the week, now you can go wild and create your very own ‘Love List.’
A ‘Love List’ is all the things that you would love to do during the week and things that bring you joy.
For me a big source of joy is socialising with my friends, so catching up mid-week with friends for a coffee, a walk, a lunch, dinner or skype date is a must.
Mixing up my exercise routine also brings me joy, so each week I think of something different I can do – whether it’s going for a hike, trying out a new pilates class or doing virtual yoga with my instructor back in Australia.
In addition to socialising and exercise, you may really love to unleash your creativity through painting or enjoy curling up on the lounge with a stack of magazines. Cooking an exotic new dish or having a long soak in the tub may bring you an immense amount of joy.
What ever you love to do, I want you to write it down on your Love List…..nothing is too small, insignificant or silly!
This is an act of self-love and I’m telling you, THIS is a non-negotiable. (We’ll get to your plan for this list shortly).
The thing that frustrates me the most is when clients say to me, “I just don’t have time to do x,y,z.”
Look, I’m going to be blunt and call bullshit. As you know, we all have the same 24 hours in a day. However, we all choose to spend our time differently.
Some of the most successful (and joyful) people I know manage to achieve a ridiculous amount in just one day.
The not so-secret ‘secret’ is they priositise and MAKE THE TIME to do what they have to do.
Now that you’ve marked down all your Must Do’s in the calendar you can now see the pockets of time that you have available and you can prioritise your ‘Love List.’
You may have an hour lunch break where you can go to a pilates class, read your thrilling novel or research that short course you’ve been dying to start.
You may have a few hours between when you get home and your dinner prep, so you plan to go for a swim with a friend at the beach. You may realise you waste time in the morning and instead of watching Karl and Lisa on The Today Show (oh I miss them!) you could actually go for a 30 minute run before you head off to work.
NB. You must schedule in your ‘Love List’ items.
The reason why I say ‘schedule’ is because as soon as we get busy or stressed the things that we are most looking forward to, or the things that will bring us some satisfaction (and are acts of self-care), simply fly out the window.
But when we’ve ‘scheduled’ them in we have committed to them and they are now a part of our ‘weekly plan.’ You’re simply making these Love List items, non-negotiables…..which is exactly what we want!
For me, this is the most important, transformative and fun ‘Life Hack.’
You deserve to have a joyful, fun and inspiring week, so CREATE IT!
You want to start your week on a high, so why not end it on a high too?
Before plunging into gloom and doom on a Sunday night, do something that lights you up and raises your vibrations.
You can simply pick something off your ‘Love List.’ You may want to savour a few (or many) pieces of dark chocolate, watch endless episodes of Nashville, plan out your week and draw some Oracle cards.
That’s my ideal high-vibed Sunday night….although my husband could do without Nashville and he isn’t much of a planner!
So in short, if you plan, prioritise and inject things that bring joy into your life, you are creating a kick-arse week for yourself that you can’t wait to sink your teeth into!
This month I’m thrilled to be gifting one lucky reader a ‘Create Fearlessly’ 2016 Digital Calendar from my The Strategy Lab!
Think 12 months, 12 electrifying quotes of inspiration to keep you focused, fuelled and on fire! This awesome and uplifting calendar will definitely help you create a kick-arse week!
To enter the competition all you have to do is jump on my ‘Great Mail’ newsletter (add your details below this post) AND tell me what activities or things off your ‘Love List’ do you plan to add into your week to make it kick-arse? I would love to hear all of them! Just share in the comments below!
Entries close Tuesday 9th Feb 2016, 9pm AEDST and the lucky winner will be announced on social media on Wednesday 10th February.
And if you want to stay up-to-date and have exclusive access to all my ‘Great Mail’ gifts and weekly doses of inspiration and insight, make sure you sign up to my newsletter below!
Love,
