How are those new year’s resolution going? While I love the inherent freshness of January 1st, grinding away at a new habit for 52 weeks straight isn’t exactly my cup of tea.
Apparently, it isn’t other people’s thing either. This New York Post article says the average date people fail resolutions is January 12th!
While I don’t believe in perfection, as a Christian, I absolutely believe in God powered self-improvement and I am not about to give up growing myself just because the newness of 2020 is beginning to wear off.
There are varying seasons of life, even within the span of one year, and our goal setting and habit creation need to reflect that reality. This is where yearly resolutions fall short-there is little room for adaptation and reworking
I like to think of the year in weeks that are begun, as Catholics, strengthened and nourished by the ultimate gift that is the Eucharist. Put this way the year has 52 opportunities to start fresh– (really, 365, but that is a subject of another post- hello, daily examen!).
But we can easily let these weekly opportunities slip by if in the busyness of life we don’t implement self awareness and reflection.
This is where a guided weekly review comes in.
A Guided Weekly Review
Sundays are a true day of rest, family, and service in our Catholic home. It is on this day I grab my planner (still my favorite one around ;), a coffee, and settle in to reflect and plan.
It isn’t just looking to the week ahead, but, more importantly, looking back over the frustrations of the past week. I will most likely carry frustrations into the coming week unless I recognize and attack them head on.
Of course, I also take time to notice the good. Where did I experience God’s grace and what is working well?
Sacramental Graces and the Guided Weekly Review
After some self reflection, I often bring in Husband to help me troubleshoot points of frustration where I struggle to find an answer. He has a wonderful ability to see the forest for the trees and then apply good-ole common sense to the situation.
I encourage you to problem solve with your husband. The unique graces given you through the sacrament of marriage makes you each other’s perfect helper and equips you to tackle the challenges of life together.
Your cord of three strands is what will propel your entire family toward God!
Guided Weekly Review Checklist
While the habit of a Weekly Review is one I’ve had for awhile, I was really needing a standard format for going about it. So one of my goals this week was to create a Weekly Review checklist that I could use in my Sunday reflections and today I’m sharing it with you!
This one page Guided Weekly Review will help you access the varying areas of your family life and also help you move forward.
You can access it in the Subscriber Printable Library along with a lot of other goodies!
Guided Weekly Review
- REFLECT – what went well last week and what were sources of frustration
- PLAN– how can you concretely grow in your relationships this week, how can you improve trouble areas, what are anticipated challenges, how can I best prepare for the week ahead, what is a beneficial habit to begin this week, list to-dos
- SCHEDULE – get out your planner and write down what needs to be done
- REST – bring the week ahead to the Lord, dedicating it to Him and asking Him to supply the grace needed to grow and accomplish what needs to be done
How to use the Guided Weekly Review Checklist
You can print one out every week and then use it to reassess your progress every week. Or just keep a copy on hand to guide you as you process everything in a notebook or planner.
Example Guided Weekly Review
Here is an example of what is on my weekly review this week.
REFLECT
Praise God for– regular morning prayer time, sharing openly with Husband, getting back into the swing of homeschool after Christmas break, exercising regularly, being able to discuss solutions to homeschool problem with Husband, finishing some projects around the house.
Points of frustration – desiring to love God more, kids leaving messes around and not keeping up their rooms, eating too many sweets, need to make sure I don’t get distracted from school during “school hours”
PLAN
How to grow relationships – continue in commitment to daily mental prayer, begin reading through the Catechism and praying with Husband before bed, spend time with kids cooking meals
How to improve problem areas from last week – asking for God for the grace to love Him more during daily prayer, require a clean house and bedrooms before serving every meal, don’t make any treats, stay focused on school during school hours and write down things in my planner that I need to do after school is finished
This week’s challenges – family colds, monotony of winter, difficulty waking up early this week for prayer, tech class at school Thursday during regular school hours (how are we going to get school done?)
How can I best prepare myself for the week ahead– figure out a back-up prayer time that will work if I don’t get up early enough, schedule school for Thursday afternoon, plan and prep healthy lunches for Husband and me
Weekly Habit -continue daily mental prayer
To-Do’s
Must-do: Zone 2 (Baths/Laundry Room) Cleaning, prep for religious class Tuesday night
Like to do: Write one friend, choose and print 3 hymns to sing as family, get up one new post, complete 2021 Traditional Catholic planner
SCHEDULE
I get out my plan and write my to-do list on the task section, plan out our meals, start a grocery list, and note anything else that needs done. I may put a little circle I can check off each day if I want to work on a specific habit.
REST
It’s so important for me to remember I can’t do anything without Him and the gifts He has given me!
Happy planning mamas!
Stay close to Him!
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