232: The Sunday Planning Routine That Sets You Up for a Productive Week (10-Minute Reset for Entrepreneurs)

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The Sunday Planning Routine That Sets You Up for a Productive Week (10-Minute Reset for Entrepreneurs)

Tired of Monday morning chaos? Constantly starting your week in reactive mode? In this episode of The Overwhelmed Entrepreneur, execution coach Cindy Gordon reveals the Sunday planning routine that sets you up for a productive week—in just 10 minutes.

Discover how to plan your week on Sunday using the Reality Check Method, why most weekly planning fails (and what to do instead), and how this Sunday reset routine prevents Monday overwhelm for busy entrepreneurs.

Perfect for overwhelmed female entrepreneurs and small business owners who want a weekly planning system that actually works—without spending all Sunday planning.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why Sunday planning routine is the secret to productive weeks (and why most people skip it)
• The 10-Minute Sunday Reset: quick framework for business owners with no time
• How to plan your week without overwhelming yourself
• Weekly planning for business owners: integrating business AND life priorities
• The Reality Check approach that makes planning actually work
• How to prevent Monday overwhelm before it starts
• Real examples of entrepreneurs who transformed their weeks with Sunday planning

If you're tired of starting Monday in chaos and ready for a Sunday reset routine that creates calm instead of stress, this episode will show you exactly how.

Resources mentioned:

• The Reality Check Method at ExclusivelyCindy.com
• The Growth Collective - $1/day business support membership
• Weekly productivity tips (link in show notes)

Keywords: Sunday planning routine, weekly planning for business owners, Sunday reset routine, how to plan your week, prevent Monday overwhelm, productive Sunday, weekly planning system

🎯 You don't have to figure this out alone! The Growth Collective is your $1/day business support community with weekly office hours, strategic frameworks, and entrepreneurs who get it. Less than your coffee, more than a mastermind. Details at https://exclusivelycindy.thrivecart.com/the-growth-collective/

💡 Don't forget to subscribe for more quick productivity tips for overwhelmed business owners and female entrepreneurs!

💌 Join 1,400+ entrepreneurs getting exclusive overwhelm solutions and productivity strategies straight to their inbox - sign up now! https://cindygordon.myflodesk.com/countmein

Connect with Cindy Gordon - Reality Check Method Coach for Overwhelmed Entrepreneurs:

• Website: ExclusivelyCindy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exclusivelycindy/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@cindygordon

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Monday morning, your alarm goesoff and immediately the stress
hits.
What should I work on first?
What's most important?
Where do I even start?
You already feel behind beforeyou've had your coffee.
Monday morning overwhelm doesn'tstart on Monday morning.
It actually starts Sunday nightwhen you didn't plan.
Hi, I'm Cindy Gordon, aself-made entrepreneur, busy mom

(00:23):
and execution coach.
I've built and sold multipledigital businesses, and I can
tell you the difference betweena chaotic Monday and calm
productive weeks.
It comes down to 10 minutes thatyou spend on Sunday.
Before we dive in, if you're notgetting my weekly productivity
tips yet, grab them using thelink in the show notes.
These are the behind the scenessystems that I use to stay

(00:45):
productive while running mybusiness.
In the next five minutes, I'mbreaking down the exact Sunday
planning routine that I use toset up productive weeks Sunday
evening rolls around and you'reprobably enjoying some downtime.
It may be catching up on Netflixor 90 day fiance if you are like
me, sunday evening rolls aroundand you're probably enjoying

(01:06):
some downtime.
Maybe you are spending time withyour family if you have one,
catching up on Netflix orbinging some 90 day fiance if
you are like me.
But when Monday morning arrives,it comes fast and suddenly your
scrambling, which client neededattention first?
What project deadline islooming?

(01:27):
Should I be working on marketingor operations or the thing that
I've been putting off for weeks?
This recurring theme?
This is yet another recurringtheme that I see with the
incredible women in mycommunity, the entrepreneurs in
my dollar a day business supportsystem.
The Growth Collective describethis perfectly.
They spend Sunday eveningavoiding.

(01:49):
Even thinking about the weekahead, then they pay for it
Monday morning when the panicsets in.
You know, you should plan yourweek, but planning feels like
work and Sunday is supposed tobe a day off, right?
The truth is when you don't planyour week on Sunday, Monday
makes the plan for you, andMonday's plan usually involves
some chaos.
Your brain actually resistsplanning because it feels like

(02:12):
additional work on top ofeverything you already do.
Planning takes cognitive energy,and when you're already
overwhelmed, you brain says,Nope.
We're conserving energy for theactual work.
When you start Monday without aplan, your brain has to make
hundreds of micro decisionsthroughout the day.
Every email that lands makes youwonder, is this important?

(02:34):
Every task makes you question,should I be doing this now?
And then decision fatigue, itsets in by 10:00 AM and suddenly
you've wasted three hours justfiguring out what to focus on.
Sunday planning gives your braina roadmap.
When Monday arrives, you're notstarting from zero.
You're starting from whatmatters.

(02:55):
The 10 minutes you spend onSundays saves you hours of
confusion and decision fatiguethroughout the week.
That's not extra work.
That's strategic efficiency.
Let me show you the Sundayplanning routine that transforms
Chaotic Mondays into calmproductive weeks.
So this is exactly how you'regonna plan your week in about 10

(03:16):
minutes.
First, you're gonna start with athree minute brain dump.
Just a small brain dump.
Get absolutely everything out ofyour head that needs to happen
this week.
Client deliverables, teammeetings, marketing tasks, that
dentist appointment, thebirthday gift you need to buy
for your kiddos birthday partyhe's attending next week.
All of it.
Don't organize it, just dump itonto paper onto a note on your

(03:38):
phone.
This clears your mental clutterso you can actually see what
you're working with.
Then you're gonna reality checkyour priorities for three
minutes.
So this is where my realitycheck method comes in.
You're looking at everything youjust dumped and you ask yourself
what actually matters versuswhat just feels urgent.
Circle or highlight the threethings that will truly move your

(04:02):
business or life forward thisweek.
Not 10 things, definitely not 20things, but three things when
everything feels important, thisreality check helps you see what
genuinely is a priority versuswhat's just noise.
Take about two minutes toschedule in those top three
things into your calendar, soyou're putting those three

(04:23):
priorities into your calendar,blocking time for them before
everything else fills up yourweek.
This type of weekly planning isfor business owners who
understand that if it's notscheduled, it's not gonna
happen.
So that revenue generatingclient work, schedule it,
strategic business planning,schedule it that important
personal commitment, scheduleit, for the next two minutes.

(04:46):
Identify your flexibilitypoints.
Where can you adjust?
If life throws you a curve balland spoiler alert, it probably
will.
Maybe Thursday afternoon islight enough that you could move
something if you needed.
Maybe you have buffer time builtin around certain meetings.
Knowing your flexibility pointsprevents a total schedule

(05:06):
collapse when somethingunexpected happens, and usually
something always happens.
When you start to feel like,I'll do this later tonight, and
suddenly it's 10:00 PM on aSunday and you are just too
tired, I want you to think aboutbuilding the Sunday planning
routine and something youalready do.
Maybe it's Sunday afternoonwhile your kids are napping.

(05:28):
Maybe it's Sunday morningcoffee.
Pick a time and stick with itfor four weeks until it becomes
automatic.
The biggest obstacle is thinkingthat you need a perfect planning
system with color codedcalendars and fancy tools.
You don't.
A simple notebook works phone'snotes, app works too.
The system that you'll use for10 minutes every Sunday beats

(05:51):
any elaborate system youabandon.
By week two, when resistanceshows up and you start to think,
I literally don't have 10minutes.
Remember this, you are notsaving time by skipping your
Sunday planning.
You are just moving the chaos toMonday morning when you'll have
even less mental capacity tohandle it.
Those 10 minutes on Sundayprevent hours of scattered

(06:12):
reactive work all week long.
The women in the GrowthCollective who've made this a
consistent habit reportsomething powerful.
They feel like they're runningtheir week instead of their week
running them.
This shift alone is worth 10minutes of your time on Sunday.
One of my clients who's a smallbusiness owner, managing a team
of two contractors, told me thatthis Sunday reset routine

(06:36):
changed her relationships withMondays completely.
She used to dread her Mondaymornings.
They felt like she was gettinghit by a Mack truck.
Now, she actually feels readybecause she already knows what
matters.
And the power of preventingoverwhelm before it starts,
instead of trying to recoverfrom at midweek is key.

(06:57):
Here's what I want you toremember from today, Monday
morning.
Chaos is optional.
It's your choice.
Starting your week, feelingbehind and overwhelmed is a
choice you're making on Sundaynight.
Even if it doesn't feel like achoice.
When you invest 10 minutes onSunday to reality, check your
priorities and plan your week,you are choosing calm over

(07:17):
chaos.
You are not weak for needing aplan.
You are strategic, and the mostsuccessful entrepreneurs aren't
the ones who wing it.
They're the ones who know whatmatters before the week tries to
tell them what matters.
This approach to preventingoverwhelm before it actually
starts is exactly what I helpentrepreneurs through in my

(07:38):
Growth Collective membership.
If you want ongoing strategieslike this plus a community of
entrepreneurs who get it, pleasecheck in the show notes for the
link to read more about mygrowth collective.
My dollar a day business supportmembership, where we seriously
tackle real challenges likeChaotic Mondays together.

(07:59):
When you stop letting yourMonday plan your week and you
start planning it yourself,everything becomes clear.
So my challenge to you is thiscoming Sunday, set aside 10
minutes.
And plan your week.
Follow me on Instagram atexclusively Cindy, for more
strategies like this.
And remember, you've got this.

Speaker (08:22):
Thanks for spending these few minutes with me today.
Remember, overwhelm isn'tpermanent.
It's simply your brain's way ofsaying pause and take a little
reality check.
If this was helpful, you'll lovemy weekly email tips where I
share the systems that keep meand hundreds of other
entrepreneurs on Track Link inthe show notes.
If you got value in today'sepisode, please share it with

(08:43):
another entrepreneur who needsthat reminder.
If you're loving the show, I'dbe so grateful if you could
leave me a quick review.
It helps other overwhelmedentrepreneurs find us.
Make sure you hit subscribe soyou never miss your weekly dose
of clarity.
For more resources and toconnect with me, visit
exclusively cindy.com.
Until next time, remember you'vegot this.