[262] Family Centered Sunday Prep Routine For A Smooth Running Week

This month on the Real Happy Mom Podcast, we’re doing something special! I’m sharing some of the most powerful moments from the 2025 Let’s Get More Time Virtual Summit—so if you missed it (or just need a mid-year reset), you’re in for a treat.

In each episode, you’ll hear from expert speakers who share simple, practical ways to help you take back your time, build routines that actually work, and finally feel like you’re not always playing catch-up.

Want the full experience? You can grab the Let’s Get More Time 2025 Recordings PLUS two powerhouse bonuses:

• 💻 The Home Management Trellotastic Power Pack (valued at $67) — a done-for-you Trello system to keep your home life running smoothly
• 📓 The Ultimate Habit Journal (valued at $27) — your guide to building and sticking with habits, even when life is busy

All of this for just $17 — no fluff, just the tools that work.

👉🏽 Grab it now at realhappymom.com/moretime

Let’s help you get more time, more peace, and more control—starting today.

Transcript

Toni-Ann: 0:01

Hey, and welcome to the Real Happy Mom Podcast. This month on the Real Happy Mom Podcast, we're doing something special. I'm sharing some of my most powerful moments from the 2025 Let's Get More Time Virtual Summit. So if you missed it or you just need a mid-year, reset your in for a treat. In each episode this month, you're going to hear from experts who share simple, practical ways to help you take back your time, build routines that actually work, and finally feel like you're not always playing catch up. If you want the full experience, you can grab the Let's Get More Time 2025 recordings plus two powerhouse bonuses, which include the Home Management, Trellotastic Power Pack, which is a done for you Trello system to help you keep your home running smoothly. And the Ultimate Habit Journal, which is your guide to building and sticking with habits even when life gets busy you can get all the recordings plus those bonuses in a workbook, all for just$17 during this month. This is a toolkit that has all the tools that are actually gonna work for you. So you can go ahead and grab it at realhappymom.com/moretime. Now let's help you get more time, more peace, and more control starting today. I am so excited to share with you a routine that is gonna lower your stress levels this week and make you more productive, and possibly even make you feel like a supermom by the end of the week. And if you have a million things to do, your schedule is feeling chaotic or you're exhausted, this is a great resource for you. I'm excited to present to you the family centered Sunday routine that I know will help you have a smoother week and get your family organized so that you can be more effective at home and outside of the home. So in this presentation, we are gonna cover the importance of routines because sometimes people feel like routines are restrictive, and I want to help you see that they are actually helping you instead of restricting you. The next we're gonna cover why it's important to get the family involved. And then lastly, we'll cover my five steps Sunday routine. That will set you up for an. Awesome week. Now, a quick note, even though I am saying Sunday routine, this routine doesn't have to be on Sunday. This routine can take place during any period of time when you are trying to reset or get ready for the week. So I know there was a period of time when I was actually doing this routine on Fridays, and that was because of how my work week was going on. So. I just wanna make sure that you are taking care of these things before you actually start your week, whenever your week starts. So I'm a really big believer that routines will help you with having a smoother day and a smoother week. And in particular, this Sunday routine is gonna help with just that. And I know this because of my own experience with helping moms with their routines, and I want to share with you why we actually need a Sunday routines. Now having a routine will allow you to cut down on feeling overwhelmed because you're actually prepared and have a plan in place. Having this Sunday routine is gonna help you to eliminate decision fatigue, and if you are not familiar with decision fatigue, it's when you are mentally exhausted for making decisions. And the problem with decision fatigue is that one of two things happens. Either you don't make decisions at all or you're making really bad decisions. So to prevent you from getting to that point where you have decision fatigue and you want to, um, just kind of throw in the towel and give up, you want to prepare things in advance so you don't have to use up so much of that brainpower to think about things. I. Also having a routine doesn't require that extra brain power and doesn't I. Because routines don't require as much brainpower. You can move through your task without thinking about what's next. So this helps to reduce that overwhelm that you feel during the week. This makes life a whole lot easier and saves you precious time and guesswork out of how you're gonna get things done. Plus, you'll actually feel a sense of calm and control instead of feeling overwhelmed when you have a routine in place. Also having a Sunday routine prepares you for the week, so you're setting yourself up for success so that you can go into the week ready to go and feeling accomplished. Now, I used to do this Sunday routine by myself, but I have learned that involving the family makes it even better. And getting the family involved does a couple of things. One, it does allow the. Family to come together as a team and invoke that teamwork spirit with amongst the family. It also helps teach the kids about responsibility because a lot of times I know myself, I will tend to do things for everyone instead of allowing them to have the responsibility to do different things and be responsible for themselves. So, uh, this routine and getting the family involved in this routine will help. With allowing them to have more responsibility. And then lastly, it helps to lighten up the load and the real person is lighting up the load for is you because you're not having to do everything for everybody because everyone is taking part in this Sunday routine. So if we haven't met yet, I am Tony. Hello. I am a full-time dentist reservist in the Navy and the creator of Real Happy Mom, the podcast and platform to help busy working moms to get more time and achieve their big goals without pulling their hair out. And I am also a boy, mom and a wife to an amazing husband. And a couple of fun things about me is I am a huge WWE E fan. I love lots of balloons at parties. I feel like a party isn't a party unless you got a lot of balloons. And my favorite place in the world is the beach, a comm beach. I must make sure I clarify, so I know that I can help you with this routine just because I know what it's like to juggle all the things, and I have experimented with this and figure it out. Five things that are gonna help you to feel more prepared for the week, and that is the Sunday prep routine. And the first part of the Sunday prep routine is prepping your clothes and getting your clothes ready for the week. So even if you wear a uniform every day, or your daily attire is yoga pants and a t-shirt, doing this will help you to eliminate that decision fatigue that I was talking to you about. Earlier. So getting all of your clothes ready and prepared in that area is gonna make it so easy for you to grab and go so that you don't have to think or search or look for anything because everything will be ready to go. But before you start preparing your clothes for the week, you want to check the weather and the forecast. I know I've been caught in a situation where I wished I had a jacket or worn my other shoes that were a little resistant to the rain. So I didn't have to walk around in wet socks. So check the forecast and make sure that you are dressing appropriately to see if there's gonna be rain or snow, or maybe it's gonna be a little hot and you want to have some cooler attire for that day. Also, um, I know here in Jacksonville, Florida, sometimes the weather can be a little goofy where it starts off really cold and it's warm or vice versa. So just make sure you're paying attention to those things when you're checking the forecast and preparing your clothes. So next thing you want to do is look for, um, any special occasions that you have going on during the week, um, and plan on what you're going to wear. For those special occasions, whether it's meetings, big events, a date night, you wanna make sure that you have all these clothes ready so that again, you don't have to think about it and you can grab things and go and not have to worry. If you look better in the polka dots or the stripes, the blue versus the black. You already know what you're wearing and everything is ready to go. And then a quick note about this one is also make sure to make note of any clothes that need to go to the cleaners because, um, this will be a good time for you to get those things to the cleaners so you'll have it ready for the event that you are preparing for. Last thing, you want to include the kids in picking out their clothes, their outfits for the week. Um, I know that my kids, they, they sometimes change their minds, um, on what they decide to pick out. But once they get into a routine of picking things out, at least they'll have things where they can just pick it up and go. And again, you don't have to think about, oh, what is Billy gonna wear today? Or, oh, what should I put Becky in for school today? Everything will be ready because the kids are gonna be taking part in picking out their outfits, and your spouse and partner can do the same thing as well. So the next part of the Sunday prep routine is planning out your menu and getting those meals, uh, prepared or at least thinking about what meals you're gonna be preparing during the week. So on my podcast, the Real Happy Mom Podcast, on episode 1 25 ad, my friend and guest, Andrea Hayman, talk about her two by two by two system for planning out meals for the week. And, um, if you are like me and are struggling to figure out what to plan for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, she has a really simple solution for this. So, um, for her system, she talks about picking out two recipes that are super easy, that take minimal time for you to create. Put that on the menu. Then two that are a bit more elaborate or creative. And this may even be a new recipe that you wanna try. And then two recipes that are in your wheelhouse that you're really comfortable with, that you can prepare in 20 minutes or less. And when you add all of these meals up, it'll be six days worth of meals, but that leaves one day and that day is a day for leftovers or eating out if you like. But that is a really great system that I know has helped me with planning out my meals, especially dinner for the week. Also check what you already have in your pantry or in refrigerator that you can use to create the meal plan. And, uh, also create a grocery list. So. I have a resource that I'm going to mention to you at the end of this presentation. And in there is this, uh, meal planner here that you can simply write out what you're having for breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day of the week. Use this here to get things planned out and then put it in an area where you are going to be seeing it regularly. For me, it is on the refrigerator, and this makes it easy for you to glance and see what exactly you are gonna be doing for each day. And you don't necessarily have to be locked into it. You can change your mind, but at least you have an idea of what you're gonna be having, um, each day of the week. Then lastly is just creating a grocery list and also involving the kids in preparing this grocery list is really gonna be super helpful so that they can be in a part of picking out the snacks or whether it be, um, certain items that are gonna be included in the recipes that you will be creating during the week. So considering the family and having them involved in this meal planning and preparation, this is gonna be super helpful. And, um, also getting them involved in actually prepping things. If you wanna take it a step further as far as either chopping up vegetables or putting things in certain containers so that things are ready to go throughout the week. Again, we want to involve the family so that you're not doing everything yourself. So the next part of the Sunday routine is cleaning out your bag, purse, backpack, whatever it is that you are carrying with you on a regular basis. Because if you're like me, you may be collecting things throughout the week. So we want to go ahead and reset everything before the week starts. So the easy, simple way to do this is just dump out everything that's inside of your bag and sort out the items that need to stay in your bag and the things that don't need to be in your bag. I'm always amazed at how many receipts and random things that end up in my bag, and the same for the kids. Take some time to have them. Go ahead and take out everything that's inside of their backpacks and get them cleaned and organized so that they are ready to go for the week. And then if you can include your partner or spouse in doing the same thing for whatever bag they're using, this will make it even more helpful so everyone knows where everything is and it's ready to go. Once Monday morning rolls around. Up next is planning out your week for you and your family. Now this one right here is one of my favorite parts, but it can take a little bit of time, um, until you get used to how you want to do this as far as what system you're gonna use to plan out your week. But I have one that I'm gonna share with you here. So I first like to start by brain dumping. Everything that needs to get done. Um, a lot of times we're walking around thinking about, oh yeah, I need to schedule that doctor's appointment. Or, oh, I forgot there's that hole in the wall that needs to be patched up, or the light bulb needs to be replaced. Sit down and just brain dump everything that has been on your mind that you're thinking about that needs to get done. And I personally like to brain dump things into compartments. So breaking down, what do I need to get done in the home? For the kids at work in your side hustle or business for yourself and for others. And once you've taken time to just dump out everything that's on your mind onto paper and have a list of things that you need to get done, then it's time to prioritize your brain dump and, uh, get some things, uh, in order so that you know what you're gonna focus on. During the week, so in episode 2 37, I talk about five ways to prioritize your task so you know what to focus on next. If you are having a little trouble with prioritization, definitely check that one out. But I like to go through each task and determine what really needs to be done, um, that particular week or what can be postponed or delegated, and sometimes even eliminated completely. And then from there, I'm left with things that I can, um, move into different groups and see where I can get things done during the week. And then also don't forget if you can, to batch some of those tasks together. Because I know, like for me, there was one time when I had to make a call to my aunt who I haven't talked to in a long time. Also had to make a call to schedule an appointment for the kids, and then I also need to call to cancel a subscription. All of these things were calls, which means I needed to be on the phone and instead of doing one call on one day, one the next day, and then the other. I did all of them at the same time. This like eliminated a lot of extra time that I would spend, and I just knocked all of those things out. So if you can batch those things together so you can see where you can fit things in when you have even a small block of time of even 15 minutes up. Next, you want to plan out your week on your family calendar. Um. I like to sit down and actually look at everyone's calendar. So see what your spouse or partner has going on, see what the kids have going on on their calendar, especially with school. See if there's events, meetings, um, events that are coming up, and then see if there's any schedule conflicts so that you can get those things ironed out before Monday hits. Then the last thing is you don't wanna forget to make time for yourself. Um, honestly, I would definitely start with this first, but a lot of times we tend to focus on others, but I just wanted to make a reminder to make time for yourself, and then also include some time for some family activities like game nights, movie nights, or even a scavenger hunt. So the last part of the Sunday prep routine is restarting devices. Now, I will tell you that I am not the super tech savvy person, but my husband is, and he has gotten me really into this. Um, and this is the reason why I wanted to share this with you, and the reason why restarting your devices is so important. Because it's gonna help with your devices, uh, so that they're not crashing. It also helps your devices to retain memory and run smoothly and even prolong the battery life because nothing's worse than getting ready to do a Zoom call and your computer decides it wants to do an update. So take some time, go ahead and restart all your devices. Um, this includes your laptop. Your phone, tablets, all those things, go ahead and restart all of those things so that you don't run into roadblocks or, um, run into situations that are gonna cause you to be late or get frustrated, like how I did when my computer decided wanted to do an update. Um, go ahead, restart everything so that you can have things run smoothly without any technical difficulties. And then lastly, encourage your kids to do the same thing with their devices. Because we live in a day and age where everyone has some type of electronic device, and we wanna make sure that everything is running as smooth as possible. So now I've given you the five steps of the Sunday prep routine, and you are ready for the week. Now that does it for this episode of The Real Happy Mom Podcast. Make sure you head over to realhappymom.com/moretime to listen to this full presentation as well as the other recordings, plus some really great bonuses. Okay, and check back next week for another one of the great presentations from the Let's Get More Time Summit. Take care, and with lots of love.