Making the Week Easier on Ourselves

There’s that old Lionel Richie song that says “Easy like Sunday morning.” And while Sundays can be a great day of relaxation and restoration—a true Sabbath from which to find God and grounding if we prioritize this—they can also seem somewhat “uneasy” at times.

The week ahead can seem overwhelming and confusing. What should we prioritize? How should we schedule our times? What happens if we make goals and aren’t feeling well enough to complete all of them?

Before the week even really begins we might feel rushed and overwhelmed. Before the week even really begins we might feel stressed or defeated.

How can we make Sunday, and the rest of our week, truly “easier” on ourselves?

Here are a few suggestions to begin the week off on the proper footing. Hopefully these can help the week to be not only be productive but restorative in all of the deeply important ways we desire.

1. Start with God and spiritual health. Although we will definitely have other things we want and need to tend to throughout the week, it must all begin with a firm foundation of faith. Each morning make it a priority to spend some time with God. This could be done in the form of Scripture/devotional reading and journaling. This can be done in the form of listening to sermons online and taking notes. This can be done in the form of listening to worship music and prioritizing some prayer time. Without a firm foundation of faith, it is very easy to lose perspective and get caught up in all of the wrong priorities and thoughts. Without finding God each day it is so easy to feel easily overwhelmed and insufficient of strength. But with God we find help for our anxiety, a friend for our worries, extra measures of strength, and a larger perspective that grounds us.
2. Set goals, but be understanding with yourself when surprise stresses (or a lack of energy) might keep you from accomplishing all of them. I am a big proponent of weekly goal-setting, but I’ve also been in places where I’ve felt too fatigued (not just of body, but of spirit) to accomplish them all. And if a person isn’t understanding when this happens, the self-loathing and fatigue increases. A better strategy is this: be encouraging and disciplined with yourself and continue to set some goals, but meet yourself where you are at (keep the goals doable), and when they aren’t met be a friend to yourself rather than a stern taskmaster. You’ll actually be more prone to keep working toward your goals on a weekly basis this way.
3. Make sure to plan something fun and enjoyable in your week. This could be something as simple as a trip to a park or coffee shop. This could be planning a favorite meal, or setting aside time to watch a movie or two you haven’t yet seen. This could be planning a get-together with family or friends, or it could involve browsing stores for clothes or house items and in doing so relaxing mentally. Each week, right alongside those goals, there must be rewards and relaxation built in so that there is a necessary sense of balance and enjoyment.

Stay encouraged, and God bless the beginning of your week!

Michael