10 Basic Ingredients For A Super Sunday
It’s Sunday, one of my favourite days of the week. Many of us are busy at work through the weekend, and Saturday comes with a side-helping of chores! Sunday is a day I embrace for myself. I relax, indulge in my hobbies, and try to replenish my resources for the week ahead. Making time for yourself is not selfish, it’s vital. You can’t be your best for everyone else if you don’t look after your own needs.
So, here are my basic ingredients for a super Sunday.
1) Lie In
Sleep is so important, and most of us don’t get nearly enough. So try to embrace Sunday as a day to lie in a little later and catch up on your sleep. Admittedly, this is easier if you don’t have kids! I don’t have any, so I have no first-hand experience. Would it work to let them stay up a bit later on Saturday night? Maybe have a high-energy activity that day too? An extra hour’s sleep is a huge benefit for your wellbeing.
2) Breakfast
I love to cook, and I love to eat. Breakfasts through the week are rushed grab-it-and-go affairs. Sundays are perfect for a bit of pottering in the kitchen and taking time to really enjoy your meal. I tend to prefer sweet breakfasts and my go-tos are pancakes or muffins. Both are easy to make, have endless permutations, and can be partly prepped the night before.
If I do go down the savoury route, it tends to be a full English or sourdough toast with pesto, Parma ham and poached eggs. Poached eggs are a faff, but as the rest of the breakfast is just an assembly job, it’s totally worth it 😋
Starting your day with a relaxed and delicious meal is a perfect part of an uplifting Sunday.
3) Pamper Yourself
If I’m feeling a bit grotty, I use Sunday to spruce myself up. Regular activities include:
- Face masksÂ
- Long baths with something gorgeous and fragrant added
- Applying a hair mask – a necessity now I dye my hair
- A full body moisturiseÂ
- Shaving my legs, underarms and bikini line. Tedious, but I feel fresher and cleaner afterwards
- Painting my nails
- Trying out new makeup combos
4) Meditate
I struggle to meditate and always have. However, it’s supposed to have so many benefits that I’m trying it again as we speak. My mind always seems to be running at a million miles an hour, and I’m looking for ways to slow down.
5) Indulge In Your Hobbies
When I’ve read about happiness and fulfilment, one of the key elements listed is mindfulness and living in the now. An important part of mindfulness is flow. Flow is being so absorbed in an activity that you don’t even notice the passage of time.
If you have a hobby like that, then Sunday is a great day to spend time doing what you love. Nothing recharges your batteries like getting lost in your favourite activity. In my case, it brings us neatly to…
6) Reading
Whether it’s fiction, non-fiction, the Sunday papers, or your favourite blog, Sunday is the perfect day for making your favourite drink (tea for me), curling up in your favourite chair and reading. It’s one of my favourite activities, and I can easily spend a couple of hours getting lost in a book. Sunday is a relaxed day, so it’s a great pass time.
7) Go For A Walk
Getting sunlight and fresh air is good for you emotionally, mentally and physically. My favourite place to go is the beach. Admittedly it’s usually a fair bit busier than I’d like, but the sun, wind and the sound of the sea seem to charge me up. It makes me feel energised and happy. For my sister, it’s all about nature. Her happy place is somewhere with trees, plants, flowers, and soil. Find a place that makes you feel rejuvenated. It doesn’t have to be a long walk; even 15-20 minutes will work wonders.
8) Bake
The smell of something sweet and comforting drifting through your home is guaranteed. Most children love to bake, so if you have them, it’s a fun activity you can do together. Cupcakes, muffins, brownies, blondies and cookies are all very easy.
9) Gardening
I did have a veggie garden a couple of years ago, and I loved working there. Seeing the green shoots pop up and caring for them. Harvest day was always exciting, and I loved to try out new recipes. Cooking with fruit or vegetables you’ve grown yourself is so rewarding.
If you have a green thumb get out in the garden 🙂 Again, gardening is a great activity you can do with kids. You can even give them a little area of their own and let them pick out what to grow there. Seeds are inexpensive, and it’s a great skill to pass on to them.
10) Get Organised
I know the rest of this list contains fun and relaxing tasks, but I also use Sunday to get ahead for the week. Yes, it involves effort, but taking a small part of my Sunday to prep leaves me more relaxed and avoids extra stress during the week.
You’ll know best what stresses you out, but here are some of my Sunday tasks:
- Plan and lay out my outfit for Monday morning. It takes 3 minutes but massively streamlines getting ready the next day
- I prep overnight oats for breakfast for the next three days. The oats would probably be ok all week, but three days is as long as I want to leave them in the fridge
- Sometimes I batch cook a meal for lunches too. I like meals with the same base that I can vary to stop them from becoming boring. For example, I might marinate and roast some chicken breasts. I can have a sandwich one day, a salad the next, and mix it with rice and veggies on the third day.
- I write a list of tasks that need to be accomplished in the next week and create a tentative calendar. Writing them down reassures me they won’t be forgotten and gets them out of my head
Takeaways
You might think this is a pretty basic list, but that’s the point! Sometimes we get so caught up in life and so busy looking after everyone else that we neglect ourselves. This is not a good thing, and before long, our physical, mental and emotional health will suffer.
I want to remind you all of the importance of self-love, self-care and making time for ourselves. Please don’t use my list as a rule book; that’s not the point at all! My list is to get your mind moving and mulling over what would make Sunday a great day for you. A day that recharges your batteries and leaves you ready for whatever Monday throws at you.
Please feel free to pop your top tips in the comments 😃
