The Power of a Weekly Reset: The Small System That Keeps Me From Chasing My Week
What if you could walk into Monday without feeling like you're already behind?
For almost two decades, I've practiced a simple weekly reset. It's one of those small systems that has had a mighty impact on my ability to run multiple businesses, help my husband with our farming life, raise four kids, manage our home, and still stay present in the life God has given me.
And today, I'm walking you through exactly how I do it.
Every Sunday night, I sit down with my Weekly Agenda and zoom out before the week begins.
First, I look backward before I look forward.
What didn't get done last week? What actually needs to move forward? What did I forget?
And maybe most importantly:
What can I simply let go?
Not everything unfinished deserves to be transferred to another week.
Then I look at my calendar and ask:
What kind of week is this?
Heavy? Light? Kid-heavy? Work-heavy? Travel-heavy?
Instead of planning for an imaginary perfect week, I want to build systems around the reality of the week I'm actually walking into.
Next, I take care of a couple of home basics that otherwise take up way too much mental bandwidth: food and laundry.
I quickly decide our meals based on the calendar, and I know when laundry is happening. For me, that's Monday.
Then comes one of the most important parts of my reset: my six priorities.
I choose:
- 3 priorities for work
- 3 priorities for my family/home
Not 15. Not my entire to-do list.
Just the things that need to move forward that week.
Because productivity isn't only about your work.
Getting to your child's event matters.
Creating space for your marriage matters.
Having groceries in the house matters.
Stewarding your family well matters.
And finally, I end the entire reset in prayer.
I lay the week before God and ask Him to help me steward what's in front of me, be present where I am, and make it incredibly clear when He wants me to shift my plans.
I make the plan—and then I hold it with open hands.
My challenge to you isn't to copy my Sunday reset.
It's to create your version.
Maybe yours happens Friday afternoon or Monday morning. Maybe you check your budget, order groceries, prep kids' clothes, look at school assignments, or coordinate schedules with your spouse.
Make it personal.
Make it simple.
And most importantly, make it something you'll actually do.
Don't build the perfect weekly reset. Build the one you'll actually use.
YOUR WEEKLY RESET
- Review last week.
- Look at the calendar.
- Plan meals and home rhythms.
- Choose your top priorities.
- Pray over the week.
That's it.
A small system with a mighty impact.
FREE RESOURCE: Want to use the same Weekly Agenda I use during my Sunday-night reset?
Head to theencouragerpodcast.com and download the free Weekly Agenda.
And if you want help creating simple systems that fit your actual season of life, I currently have a couple of openings for one-on-one coaching. I'd love to work with you to build rhythms that help you steward your home, family, and work well.
