TikTok’s ‘Sunday Reboot’ Trend Is Actually a Great Way to Prepare for the Workweek
I love useless social media trends as much as the next person, but that doesn’t mean I immediately understand what they are. For months, I’d been seeing people on TikTok and Reels doing the “Sunday reset,” but each reset seemed a little different: In one video I saw someone cleaning their apartment, while in another I saw someone doing Pilates. However, over time, the idea of a Sunday reset has finally started to make sense to me, and I actually think it’s a great way to introduce a little structure and mindfulness into your daily routine before starting the work week.
What is a “Sunday reset”?
There are currently over 500,000 videos tagged #SundayReset on TikTok, but since relatively few people consistently use the hashtag compared to those who don’t, we can go ahead and assume that the number of Sunday reset videos is much higher overall. Search the term and you’ll find plenty of examples of people filming themselves doing something—usually a lot of something—on Sunday to prepare for the week ahead. The problem is that all videos are very different. One creator’s Sunday reset might involve running to Costco and restocking the kitchen, another might involve meal prepping, another might involve cleaning the bathroom, and yet another might involve all the steps they take in their weekly self-care and relaxation routine. Examples of Sunday resets I’ve seen lately:
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Grocery shopping, cleaning and restocking the refrigerator.
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Cleaning the kitchen, bathroom or bedroom from top to bottom
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Washing and replacing sheets, pillowcases and blankets.
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Laundry for the whole family
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Doing homework or professional work in a home office
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Bathing the dog
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We prepare a complex, tasty drink and sit down in a cozy place to read.
So what’s going on? The idea here is not that the Sunday reset is a predetermined thing that everyone agreed to do before the new week. Rather, it’s about getting rid of all the baggage from the previous week and starting the new week with a clean slate, both mentally and physically. Think of the Sunday reset as actually your way of overcoming your Sunday fears (remember when everyone said that?). Whatever you want to look forward to for the week is your reset goal.
Obviously, some reset forms on TikTok are oversampled as they are more suitable for visually appealing videos. Restocking the fridge is a classic example of something that’s easy to film and enjoyable to watch, whereas sitting with a planner planning out the week ahead is less appealing to the viewer, so you’ll see much less as you scroll.
How to do your Sunday reset
The reason this concept works well is that it gives you some structure to a day of the week that might otherwise slide into laziness or freefall, so you get a little routine and can feel more prepared for the week. Whether you decide to declutter, get ready for work, or practice self-care as a personal reset, make it a goal to do it every Sunday for at least a few weeks to really feel the impact it has on your overall preparedness and mood when Monday comes.
For me, a Sunday reboot involves tidying up my apartment in the morning and afternoon, and tidying up in the evening. I take out the trash, do laundry, organize, mop, and do any small home project I need to do. For example, last Sunday I framed all the photos I’ve taken with friends over the years and started creating a huge gallery wall, which was the perfect and sentimental way to bridge the gap between my “home improvement” and “self-care” sections. In the evening, I go on a giant self-care adventure, focusing on hair care, skin care, the classic “everything shower” and finding the most fragrant lotion, the softest pajamas, and the tastiest tea in my newly clean house. Together, these resets prepare my space and my body for what the week might bring, but I prioritize these reset categories, say working out or grocery shopping, because those are the things I have less time for during the week and I get stressed out trying to plan differently. To find the perfect reset, think about what you typically feel least prepared for during a given week and what you dread most as Monday approaches, then do it all on Sunday.
As an example , I’ve put together some checklists for resetting Google Sheets that you can use—just make a copy of the document that you can edit. These are just suggestions based on general guidelines for weekly cleaning and what you can do to start your work week, so feel free to customize them as you see fit. While you should follow the same routine every week, it shouldn’t be stressful or too difficult. The idea is to prepare you for what you need to do over the next five days and make it easy to get back to work and life outside of the weekend, so be sure to approach it like the creators of TikTok: light a few candles, make your favorite drink, listen to some music, and put on your comfiest loungewear.