The Power of a Sunday Reset

Set yourself up for the week ahead

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“Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning.”

Thomas Edison

The more I’ve leaned into intentional living, the more I’ve realised that feeling accomplished and fulfilled doesn’t just happen by chance—it’s a result of the choices we make every day. 

It’s not about waiting for the right circumstances or relying on something external to give us a sense of direction. It always comes back to what we choose to prioritise and how we set ourselves up for what’s ahead.

And one of the best ways I’ve found to start the week feeling grounded and prepared? 

A Sunday reset.

Now, I won’t lie—I’m a bit of a Type A personality.

I like knowing exactly what I’m doing, when I’m doing it, and why. But I wasn’t always this way. I used to move through my days without much direction, always feeling like I was playing catch-up or that time was slipping through my fingers.

That’s why having a solid Sunday reset has been nothing short of a revelation for me.

It’s a simple, structured way to set myself up for the week ahead—without the overwhelm or the last-minute scramble. Here’s exactly how I do it.

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What Is a Sunday Reset & How to Make It Part of Your Weekend

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about the power of a daily reflection practice—checking in with yourself at the start and end of each day.

A Sunday reset works in a similar way, but instead of focusing on a single day, it gives you the space to step back and look at the bigger picture: the entire week.

At its core, it has two main purposes:

• Reflecting on the past week – What went well? What didn’t? What could be adjusted?

• Planning for the week ahead – Setting yourself up so you start Monday feeling prepared, not overwhelmed.

It doesn’t take long—just 30 minutes to an hour. If that sounds like a lot, think about how easily that time disappears scrolling social media or watching TV. A Sunday reset is a small shift that makes a huge difference in how you move through the week.

We’d never think twice about having weekly team meetings at work—checking progress, planning priorities, and making sure nothing falls through the cracks.

So why don’t we respect our own lives in the same way?

Instead of leaving things to chance and reacting as we go, a Sunday reset gives us the same structure and clarity—but for ourselves.

I set a reminder every Sunday to make sure I don’t skip it, usually tackling it in the afternoon when I have a bit of breathing space. You can fit it around your plans—what matters is making the time.

A little effort upfront can make the whole week feel more intentional and in control.

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Part 1: Review

Quick Reflection

This part of the reset is all about checking in with yourself—no pressure, no overthinking, just a moment to reflect on the past week.

I use four simple journal prompts to guide this process:

1. What went well this week?
   Take a moment to celebrate your wins, no matter how small. Progress isn’t just about big milestones—it’s built in the little victories along the way.

2. What could have gone better?
   This isn’t about being hard on yourself. It’s about self-awareness. What challenges or setbacks came up? How could you approach them differently next time?

3. What habits or routines supported me this week? Which ones didn’t?
   This is where I review my daily habits and stats—consistency, mood, sleep, movement, nutrition. What’s working? Where am I falling short? What small tweaks could make next week feel smoother?

4. What have I felt excited or ambitious about?
   Tuning into what excites you is just as important as tracking productivity. What sparked your curiosity or motivation this week? Staying connected to that energy makes it easier to keep moving toward what you want.

Quick Score Exercises

These exercises add structure to your reflection, helping you stay aligned across different areas of life—not just the ones that demand the most attention.

1. Wheel of Life Exercise

I first came across this in High Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard, and it’s been a great tool for stepping back and assessing life as a whole. It’s easy to focus on one area—maybe work is going great, but your relationships or health are slipping. This exercise helps bring awareness to all aspects of life.

Here’s how it works:

• Break your life into key areas. You can tweak this, but common categories include:

  • Home & Admin

  • Work

  • Finances

  • Relationships

  • Health & Fitness

  • Fun & Leisure

  • Spirituality

  • Personal Growth

• Score each area out of 10 for the past week (where 1 = needs improvement, 10 = thriving).

• Reflect on why—what’s working well vs where are you struggling?

I track this in a simple table with the column headers: Life Area | Score | Why—this makes it easy to spot trends over time.

2. Values Check-In

I take the same approach with my personal values. It may feel a bit crude to score something as intangible as values, but it’s a good way to check in with how I’m showing up.

• I list my core values and score how well I lived in alignment with each one (again, 1-10).

• Quick notes on why—where did I stay true to them, and where did I fall short?

Like the Wheel of Life, this helps me spot patterns early so I can course-correct before small misalignments become bigger problems.

Review Projects & Goals

Once I’ve reflected on the past week, I zoom out and check in on the bigger picture—my projects and long-term goals.

This step keeps me from getting lost in the day-to-day and ensures I’m making real progress where it matters.

• Progress check – What did I accomplish this week toward my current projects and goals?

• To-do list review – I go through my project lists, check off completed tasks, and assign new ones where needed.

• Milestone tracking – Have I hit any key milestones? If not, am I on track, or do I need to adjust my approach?

Refresh Vision & Values

The final step of my Sunday reset is revisiting my Vision & Values—something it’s all too easy to set and forget.

It’s one thing to define a vision for your life, but the real power comes from keeping it front and centre. When we consistently remind ourselves where we’re headed and why, we naturally align our actions with that direction.

As part of my reset, I take a few minutes to re-read my answers to three key questions:

• My ideal life – A few paragraphs on what I ultimately want.

• My mission – The deeper purpose driving me forward.

• My anti-vision – A reminder of what I don’t want, helping me stay on track.

Since each of these is only a few paragraphs, they’re quick to revisit but serve as a powerful grounding exercise.

I also take a moment to re-read my core values, along with the short paragraph I’ve written on why each one matters to me. It’s a simple but meaningful check-in—a reminder after the hustle and bustle from the week as to what’s truly important.

Closing out the reflection process with this always feels inspiring.

Vision and values are the bigger picture behind everything I’m working on, and ending the review with them helps bring everything into focus before shifting into planning for the week ahead.

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Part 2: Planning Ahead

1. Clean Up Tasks

“The Weekly Review is the time to: Gather and process all your stuff. Review your system. Update your lists. Get clean, clear, current, and complete.”
—David Allen

Before diving into planning, I start with a quick clean-up process—clearing any loose ends from the past week so I can move forward with a fresh slate. This means:

• Rescheduling unfinished tasks – Anything I didn’t get around to gets reassigned or reconsidered.

• Processing notes & tasks – If I jotted something down during the week, I make sure it’s properly added to my system.

• Reviewing inactive tasks – Checking for anything on pause or waiting for next steps, ensuring nothing get forgotten.

• Clearing my task bin (if working digitally) – If you use a digital task manager, a quick clean-up of completed tasks can help keep things organised.

2. Plan Upcoming Week

1. Schedule Tasks

This is where the reset shifts from reflection to action.

Instead of reacting to the week as it unfolds, you’re taking a proactive approach—mapping out your plans in advance. When you do this with intention, you’re far more likely to have a week that actually goes the way you want it to.

I like to automate my scheduling as much as possible, so I rely on recurring tasks rather than manually adding new ones each time. This means organising tasks into two categories:

• One-off tasks – Things that only need doing once.

• Regular tasks – Recurring tasks that repeat on a set schedule.

My regular tasks include things like blog work (research, writing, scheduling) or household chores (laundry, food shopping), as well as other routine commitments.

I use Notion to streamline this—my weekly review template has a quick button that resets all my regular tasks. From there, I drag them into my weekly calendar, making it easy to plan without overloading my days.

Once those are scheduled, I can then add in any specific one-off tasks—things unique to this particular week that I need to factor in.

The key isn’t necessarily the tool (though this setup makes it much quicker)—it’s the process.

However you plan, having everything roughly mapped out in a Monday-Sunday format ensures you stay on track and don’t forget anything. You can always adjust things as you go.

2. Plan Health & Fitness

I’ve found that when I plan my health and fitness in advance, I’m far more likely to stick to it.

There’s a big difference between thinking about working out or eating well… and actually writing down what you’re going to do to make sure it happens. Seeing it scheduled holds you accountable in a way that vague intentions don’t.

• Workout Plan – I map out my workouts for the week, ensuring a balanced mix of movement and rest days.

• Meal Plan – I plan my meals in advance to make sure I have healthy options lined up, removing the guesswork or last-minute convenience foods.

Both of these go into a weekly view so I can see at a glance what Monday-Sunday looks like.

It’s surprisingly motivating to have everything laid out like this—it makes it so much easier to follow through!

3. Check Subscriptions & Renewals

In a world where everything seems to be on subscription, it’s easy to lose track of what’s coming up. That’s why I make it a point to check in on upcoming subscriptions, renewals, and annual expenses as part of my Sunday reset.

I have a calendar view set up to make this easier—it gives me a quick glance at what’s due soon, whether it’s my MOT, home insurance, or software renewals. This way, there are no unexpected charges catching me off guard.

It’s also a great time to pause, skip, or cancel any subscriptions I don’t need for the upcoming month. A five-minute check-in now can save a lot of hassle (and money) later!

4. Reminder of Birthdays & Occasions

I’ll be honest, I used to be terrible at remembering birthdays, especially for friends. Not because I didn’t care, but because I didn’t have a solid system for tracking them. These things just don’t naturally stick in my head!

Now, my Sunday reset helps me stay on top of it.

I do a quick check to see what’s coming up so I can plan ahead—whether that’s sending a message, buying a gift, or making time for a catch-up. It goes a long way towards making sure the people closest to me feel remembered and appreciated.

5. What is my #1 priority for the week?

Finally, I like to close out with this one simple question: 

What is the most important thing I want to focus on this week?

After reviewing everything—tasks, goals, habits, and plans—this question helps cut through the noise. It’s easy to get caught up in the endless to-do lists and small tasks, but this ensures I’m anchoring my week to something that actually moves the needle.

This priority might be a big work project, a personal commitment, or something foundational like prioritising sleep or setting better boundaries.

Whatever it is, I write it down to keep it front and centre of mind throughout the week.

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Final Thoughts: Keeping Track of the Bigger Picture

Your Sunday reset isn’t just a planning tool—it’s also an archive. Over time, it becomes a powerful way to look back and see patterns, progress, and the bigger picture of your life.

Using a digital system makes this even more effective. In my Notion setup, I can see all the information I input on a daily basis reflected in a weekly view. It’s far more powerful than a simple journal practice because everything connects—giving me real insights rather than just a collection of random entries.

For example, my setup automatically rolls up daily data into weekly, monthly, and yearly views, allowing me to track:

• A short weekly summary

• My average habit score over time

• How many days I exercised

• My daily stats (mood, diet, steps, weight, sleep)

It’s incredibly motivating to go back and see this information presented visually. If I’m having a rough time, it’s a reminder of how much I’ve actually accomplished.

You can copy my exact playbook and set up your own system here.

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As a final note, if you struggle to make reflection a habit, try scheduling it—just like you would a meeting or a workout.

You could pair it with something you genuinely enjoy—take your laptop to your favourite café, sip a coffee, and do your review there. Treat it as an act of self-care. When you make the process enjoyable, it feels less like a chore and more like a ritual.

Before long, your Sunday reset will become something you look forward to—an integral part of your week that keeps you feeling grounded, focused, and intentional.