Sunday Resets, Thursday Chaos, and the Art of Starting Fresh (LinkedIn Backlog | January 2025)

I rent a townhouse currently caught in the chaos of being sold between property management companies. Over the past few months, it’s been a revolving door of Realtors, buyers, inspectors, and maintenance people. I thought we’d seen the last of them for the year—until one of them showed up at 8 a.m. on December 26 to… paint the unfinished basement stairs, of all things.

The dining table had become a catch-all of gifts that we brought home from various celebrations over the last week and the living room looked like a candy tornado had come through overnight. I hurriedly apologized for the mess as I moved the Christmas tree for him to be able to get into the basement, though he didn’t acknowledge it—he’s probably seen worse.

While he painted, I got to work tackling our Sunday Reset… on a Thursday. ‘What’s a Sunday Reset?’ you ask? Great question, I’d love to tell you!

Every Sunday, my partner and I work through a simple checklist to “reset” our house—laundry, vacuuming, mopping, etc. The goal? Start the week fresh, with as little stagnant chaos as possible. We hung a printed checklist in the kitchen with dry-erase markers, so we can track our progress and work independently to make sure it’s finished quickly.

This was a ritual born out of necessity when we moved into this house, which was much larger than my one-bedroom apartment. The space required more effort to maintain and I’m not naturally inclined to be a house keeper, so something had to give.

Left to my own devices, I’d probably skip the Reset more weeks than not, but my partner keeps me honest. This habit works for us because it’s manageable, it keeps us accountable, and it reduces that creeping overwhelm that builds up over time. It’s less about striving for perfection and more about creating space to peacefully exist.

I share all this because the New Year often comes with pressure to overhaul your life overnight. And for what? We all feel the weight of resolutions—promises to ourselves to be better, do more, or change everything, starting January 1. But meaningful change doesn’t magically arrive with the flip of the calendar. It happens because you’re ready.

Take some time to think about what needs to shift or change in your life. Not to impress someone or fulfill some arbitrary resolution, but to create the life that you dream of having. And if you falter, that’s okay! The power of a reset is that it’s always available to you—on a Sunday, on a Thursday, in January, or in July, whenever you need it most.