Hey, guys.

It's Chelsea from The Financial Diet, and this week's video is brought to you by Wealthsimple. And today, I wanted to talk about something that's a little different.

But it's something that you guys have asked about a lot, both when I've talked about it here on the channel and also when I've talked about it on my social media. I'm someone who now has what you could call a pretty well-defined Sunday routine. And I definitely don't have that because I'm sort of this naturally type-A personality that really looks forward to getting everything organized and ready.

In fact, I'm the exact opposite of that personality type, which is precisely why I need to have this really intense Sunday routine. Both because I run a business, which is in and of itself very demanding in terms of structure and organization, but also just because I want to be a healthy and productive and responsible adult human being, I learned that I had to sort of get out of my own way and set up a routine on Sunday that allows my whole week to flow. So much of our time and brainpower in life is wasted running around doing things that we forgot to do, picking up things we forgot to get at the store, or wondering what we forgot we forgot.

But having a really solid Sunday routine combats that, and it has allowed me as a very type-B night owl to function as if I were a type-A morning person. It's sort of fake it till you make it, but for your schedule instead of for your self-confidence. All of that to say, if you have been looking to accomplish more during the week and be more focused, I recommend creating a Sunday routine like mine that will allow you to do it.

This is just my Sunday routine. Yours might be very different, depending on what you do every day and what your needs are. But the point is that you make it and that you stick to it so that it becomes second nature.

I promise you that the first Sunday you spend operating like this, you will be overwhelmed at how much easier, lighter, and honestly more fun your Monday is able to feel and how much better the rest of the week is, too. The first thing I do every Sunday basically without fail is make one big batch food item that I can freeze. Now, the two easiest ones for this type of cooking are pasta sauces and soups, and that tends to be what I make.

But as long as the food item freezes easily-- and you'd be surprised how many things can, even things like quiche, baked goods, et cetera-- you can do whatever you want on that Sunday. The point is you have it for dinner that Sunday, and then you portion it out into a couple different containers and freeze. I usually like to divide up the leftovers into three two-person servings because I live in a two-person household.

And that way, I can pull it out for dinner any time I want. But you could also do it in individual servings and take it with you to work for lunch, which is also something that I do. In fact, it's not uncommon for me to just have a Talenti jar full of frozen soup slowly defrosting on my office desk all morning.

Whatever it is for you, making that big batch and freeze routine part of your Sunday isn't just food for that week. It's food for the entire next six months to a year. And the better you label these items, the more you'll be able to reach for exactly what you need and know how long it's good for.

Your goal should be to work up to a freezer that's full of a variety of frozen items that you can pull out when you need. And plus, cooking is a very soothing activity that allows you to do something at the same time, like listen to an audiobook or a podcast. The second thing that I do every Sunday is create an Excel spreadsheet for any big task that I have coming up that week.

And now, I've said before many times on this channel that I'm really bad with Excel spreadsheets. But that's only half true. I'm really bad with them when it comes to using them for math.

So I don't use it for my budget because I know I would mess it up. But when it comes to things that are just lifestyle, like making lists, checklists, et cetera, I'm actually really good at using Excel. And it really keeps me accountable.

For example, I have my civil wedding at the end of this week-- whoo. Yay me-- and that requires a lot of logistics and remembering little details, especially because we have a few people coming in town for it. And so I have a pretty massive Excel spreadsheet going that has columns for everything from cleaning, to grocery shopping, to you have to go down and get your marriage license at city hall, and just all this random stuff that is so easy to forget when you're not paying attention to it.

There's something so satisfying about going into those little cells and turning them gray once you've completed the task. And it's also really nice to know that once it's all written out, you don't have to worry about remembering all those little details because they're laid out for you. It won't happen every week.

But any time you have some sort of big task with lots of little moving parts and things to remember, make sure to make an Excel spreadsheet-- or maybe use an app that works for you for list making-- to track this activity for you and make sure that you're not having to remember the details on top of actually having to execute the task. The third thing I do on Sundays is actually a fairly new addition to my Sunday routine-- I would say since maybe the holidays. But it's been huge, and that is scheduling at least two activities per week that are specifically about personal development.

Now, this could be anything from exercise to taking an online class to cooking something new to even calling your grandmother and spending an hour on the phone with her. The point is that these tasks are not about spending money, drinking alcohol, paying for restaurant food, or just zoning out in front of something you've already seen a million times. You should definitely have those activities that are just about letting go and turning your brain off for a while.

But it's so easy for our social calendar and our free time to become full of those kinds of activities and to have almost nothing in them that's really about making us a richer or smarter or more thoughtful person. Obviously, right now, since I'm still just getting into it, pilates is kind of taking up the bulk of that time. But since I received a wok for Christmas and have already been pretty into Asian cooking before that, my big thing that I want to work on is really expanding my repertoire of Asian cuisine.

By the way, the Woks of Life, who are also in our book, is a great website to check out if you're interested in getting into more Asian cooking. You might have different goals every week, and the activities might change. But the point is making sure to schedule that time for personal development, just like you would a meeting at work, makes you much more likely to actually get it done.

The next thing I do may not be for you. But as someone who has struggled with skin issues her entire life, I make sure to do a much more fleshed-out skincare regime on Sundays. I have the time to dedicate to it and kind of the mental energy to spend a lot of time touching and looking at my face in a mirror, which, if you have skin issues, you know is not always the most pleasant thing.

I typically do a face mask, a toner, a cleanser, a whole routine that I don't always frankly have time to do during the week. While I'm doing my face mask, I'll also probably do my nails or anything else that needs attending to. The point is whatever part of your body or appearance you're having a hard time with, make sure to dedicate that energy to it on Sunday, when you can really lean into it and give yourself what you need.

It's not just about relaxing. It's also about starting that Monday off on a much more confident note. So the second to last thing that I will do almost without fail-- and I know this sounds like I'm a three-year-old, but whatever.

It works like you can't believe-- is I set out my outfit for the next day, and I pack myself a lunch to take to work. And I actually do this basically every night. But on Sunday, it is so important just because I know that nothing is going to be worse on a Monday morning than running around my apartment trying to figure out what to wear and what to eat.

I have a big standing mirror in my room, and I typically just hang up my outfit on a hanger on that standing mirror. And I pack whatever I want for lunch and put it all in a little bag and put it in the fridge so I can just grab it and run. Not everyone's into clothes, but I think it's pretty undeniable that when you feel good, comfortable, and confident in what you're wearing, the whole day feels better.

There's nothing more distracting than that feeling of tugging at your sleeve or feeling self-conscious because something doesn't fit right or you have a stain on it. You want to make sure that your clothes are just an afterthought and that you can get past them to do what you need to do. And the best way to do that is to plan out exactly what you're going to wear when you have a clear, open mind and the time to actually think about it.

And when it comes to bringing a lunch, I think we all know how easy it is to just run to the corner or order something online because you, once again, forgot to pack a lunch. But very few people, even true morning people, are really that good about packing a healthy and diversified lunch when they're standing half asleep at their counter on Monday morning. Even if you do manage to throw something together, it's guaranteed to be less appealing than something you took time and energy to make nice the night before.

And the very last thing I do before I go to bed is I check my email to make sure that there's nothing I can get done ahead of time. One of the worst things about Mondays is that feeling that we've avoided our professional selves for the entire weekend, and all of that stuff is going to hit us like a freight train when we come into the office. And while I don't think you should become one of those people who work seven days a week, I also think that taking 30 minutes to go through your email on a Sunday night, get rid of the junk, and deal with any little things that you could deal with so you don't have to think about them Monday morning is super beneficial.

You want your Monday morning to feel smooth and calm and, most importantly, clear so that you can focus on the things that really demand your higher-level attention. You're not doing the Sunday night email check for your boss. You're doing it for yourself so that you can get those things out of the way.

And maybe you prefer not to. This just happens to be my Sunday routine. And like I said, yours is probably going to look different.

I can assure you that creating a Sunday routine that's tailored to your life will make your whole week feel smoother and your Monday mornings feel way less full of dread. Learning to take care of yourself like a parent would care for a child is so important because it's not only about planning ahead. It's also about eliminating the feeling of constantly having to think about the little details or the little tasks that you're likely to forget.

Get a solid Sunday routine in place so that Mondays can feel awesome instead of scary. And one super productive and valuable thing that you might want to start doing this Sunday is investing. And a perfect place to start investing, even with just $1.00, is Wealthsimple.

Wealthsimple is an online investing service that you can start using with literally just $1.00. And they'll build you a custom portfolio to fit your personal needs, goals, and timeline. Just answer a few simple questions about your financial goals, and they'll manage it for you on autopilot.

Think of it like the Roomba of investing. Just set it, forget it, and let it go to work in the background. They even offer retirement accounts like Roth IRAs that have huge tax benefits, and saving for retirement should be your first investment stop.

You could invest up to $5,000 with no management fees whatsoever. And TFD viewers get a cash bonus for getting started. Check them out at wealthsimple.com/tfd.

Or use the link in our description. And remember, you can get started with literally $1.00-- no excuses. So as always, guys, thank you so much for watching.

And don't forget to hit the Subscribe button and to come back every Tuesday and Thursday for new and awesome videos. Bye.