Happy Sunday, everyone! I hope you have had a wonderful weekend decompressing after your busy week! If you are an insanely type A planner like me, then I know you are spending your Sunday ramping up and preparing for this week's agenda. For some of us, that means cleaning the house, making our to-do lists, prepping our meals, and even planning our outfits for the week--all the things that make the corporate chaos run a tad bit smoother. My Sundays typically include: a home improvement project (I recently bought my first little home); picking up the house; deep-cleaning at least one room; making a workout schedule for the week; and planning out a few work outfits for the week. (Disclosure: I no longer meal prep anymore. I hate grocery shopping and cooking--although I wish I didn't. And I started using a local meal prep and delivery service, which has been THE very best personal health and time-saving decision I have ever made!)
These little Sunday routines help me find confidence, composure, and clarity before any disruptions end up in my inbox on Monday morning. As I recently told a friend of mine, Plan B should always be a reminder that Plan A is never going to go exactly how we expect or wish. So my Plan B includes mini backup plans for those little things I can still control in an unpredictable situation that are guaranteed to improve my feelings about myself and my life, which often affect my work product too. Try to figure out what factors you can control in an unexpected situation and then prioritize those factors that will remind you that you are a brilliant, confident, and bad ass boss babe.
For me, there are two (kind of three) things that I always add into my weekly Plan B prep: 1) my workout schedule; and 2) pre-planned work outfits. The third thing is eating healthy on a regular basis, but I essentially eliminated that concern with the meal prep service I use. Eating healthy everyday gives me the energy I need for those busy days and it also reminds me that work-life balance includes feeling healthy and good about ourselves. Having a healthy meals in the fridge every evening brings me comfort that I have control over my long-term health!
And that leads me to my workout schedule. I make two schedules. I make my ideal workout schedule for the week, which is often accomplished. But I also make a second schedule (a Plan B schedule) to prepare for my planned week turning very unplanned. Rather than including dates, times, and types of workouts like I do in Workout Schedule #1, Workout Schedule #2 includes a desired number of workouts (typically 3), a minimum number of minutes for those workouts (typically 25 minutes), and a little reminder that I am doing my best. If you are anything like me, you might feel like you've failed yourself if you miss a workout. Or you might ignore your exhaustion just to push through a workout because it was on your list. But if you are like me, then you have likely had the experience of running on fumes, working out anyway, and then hitting a wall of exhaustion that results in more negative consequences than skipping one workout. My Plan B workout schedule provides me with the structure to feel healthy and good about myself, but it also helps me recognize that life happens.
In a similar manner, I put together at least three outfits before the week gets started. Mondays and Tuesdays especially tend to result in unplanned chaos for me. And by Wednesday, sometimes I am so sleepy, stressed, or personally unmotivated to style myself for the day. However, I have realized that dressing in a fashionable and professional manner brings me internal composure and security, resulting in external confidence and better work product. So when Plan A gets thrown out the door for unexpected and immediate action items at work or any other circumstances that might be out of my control, my pre-planned outfits still give me the feeling that I've got my shit together. And it is amazing how much that changes my motivation and confidence to take on the rest of the day!
If I don't wear those outfits, I don't necessarily keep the same pre-planned outfits for the following week. I still take a few minutes on Sunday to reassess those outfits and determine if I would be happy wearing them this week as well. If not, I take a picture of the outfit and put it in an album on my phone for "Planned Outfits" just in case I have more less-than-inspirational days in the future. Then I plan out three more outfits for the following week. It's a fun exercise to help keep my fashion inspiration up and prevents me from feeling like I'm in a "rut" (where I wear the same go-to outfits every week).
Can you guess which outfits from this week were pre-planned?
What kind of action items do you prioritize to plan for your week and to plan for the unexpected each week?
Outfit Info: I will start posting links for each piece I'm wearing soon! It's taken me a little bit to figure out how to use technology. Haha. The majority of my outfits all include pieces from Express, who is currently having an online sale for 40% EVERYTHING! So check it out and let me know what you find! My yellow skirt above is currently available for $35! I'll be sharing what I bought today from the sale as soon as it arrives! :)
Xo, Pax