Hello friends!  I hope this Sunday finds you happy, healthy, and rejuvenated.  I report back (online) tomorrow for professional development week and I have to be honest: even though we are going to be 100% online for the first four weeks at least, I’m really excited to get the school year underway!

As promised, I am back with the second part of my post about how to use your weekends to make your weekdays more serene!  If you missed the first part, you can find it here!

Three – Clean the House

I know, I know.  If you are like me, you legit don’t want to hear those three words.  But seriously, hear me out…

There isn’t much that stresses me out more than a messy house.  I say this, but you should know a couple of things about me – 1.  I’m a serious packrat.  I put way too much sentimentality (thanks, Mom) onto objects AND have that mindset of, “I could totally use this someday,” and then I end up never using it.  Anybody else?  Oh,  just me?  2.  I’m super lazy about cleaning and this spills over into my work life, but that’s a story for another day.

All that being said, know that if you are lackadaisical about keeping house, I see you and I hear you and I stand beside you sisters and brothers.  Now for the tough love…it’s gotta get done.

For me that generally means doing ALL the dishes, wiping down the kitchen counters, tidying the living room (sometimes vacuuming and dusting come into play if I’m feeling especially fancy), and cleaning my bedroom and bathroom.  I’m talking an hour, two hours a week, tops.  I change my sheets and put all the hair products and makeup away that I have left out on the counter all week, and make my home feel habitable – you know, like a home again – instead of a warehouse of stuff.

Also, can we all just agree that there is nothing quite like getting into a bed with freshly washed sheets?  I try to change my sheets on Saturdays so that I can relish that clean sheet feeling into a Sunday morning sleep-in.  This doesn’t always happen and it sometimes waits until Sunday, but if I wake up on Monday morning with the same sheets I slept on the week before – I realize I’m probably being dramatic – I feel like I’ve failed at the most basic level of adulting.

Four – Check Your Calendar

This one is pretty simple.  Just be aware of what’s coming up in the week ahead.  The more you read my posts, the more you will notice that I am basically a 24-7 hot mess.  While I consider myself a fairly intelligent, even somewhat intellectual, person, sometimes the contents of my brain can be rather scattered.  I, of course, chalk this up to my intelligence. ?  I say all that to say this:  I, personally, need to make myself aware of what’s coming up in the days ahead.  If I don’t, there is a good chance I will either a. forget about it completely, b. remember at the last minute and be in a massive, unprepared rush to accomplish or attend whatever it is that I forgot about, or c. have an anxiety attack realizing the next day something important is happening, when I could have been aware of it earlier and had more time to have an anxiety attack…I mean prepare myself mentally and physically for said event.

I am actually a little bit calendar obsessed, so I currently own two planners in which I record all the things.  I also put appointments and big events into my phone.  Do whatever works for you.  Just make sure you are checking in with yourself to see what lies ahead.  I promise this will make your work week at least slightly less stressful.

Five – Do.  Something.  You.  Love.

Okay. Let me say that again – do something you love!  Spend time with family or pets or friends.  Go for a run (if you’re into that kind of thing).  Binge some Netflix.  Do something crafty.  Go shopping and buy something you have really wanted (of course, we are teachers, so stay within your budget and please don’t go telling your spouse or significant other that you could buy that $1,500 bag because Deedee said so – y’all don’t bring me into it.)  Read a book! Head out to brunch – maybe on a lovely patio somewhere until after Covid.

Take care of yourself!  You are an amazing, incredible, hardworking, loving creature who gives so much of yourself five days a week to your students…and likely seven days a week to your family and friends!  This is quite possibly the most important tenant of these five things I’ve shared.  Relax, rejuvenate, do what you love and spend time with the people and animals you love!

I truly hope that these ideas have sparked a little something for you and that you are able to apply them to your week.  It’s all about living life to the fullest and keeping things balanced.  Work hard, prep hard, and play hard!

I will see you again next week, right here, with my next installment of my time management for teachers series.

Before you go, please take a minute to sign up for my email newsletter over there to the right.  It would mean so much to me!  And it will help you stay up-to-date on all my new posts and products.  I would love to stay connected with you!   Have a dee-lightful week, everyone!