The Sunday Reset

It’s Sunday evening. You’re sitting on your couch, and that familiar feeling is creeping in.

The weekend is ending. Monday is coming. And you’re not ready.

You had plans for this weekend. You were going to plan out your week, get ahead on projects, maybe even work on that side business you keep talking about.

Instead, you scrolled. You watched. You “relaxed.” And now it’s 7 PM on Sunday, and you’re staring down a week that you’re completely unprepared for.

I know this feeling intimately because I lived it for years.

Sunday nights used to fill me with dread. Not because I hated my work, but because I knew I was walking into Monday blind. No plan. No priorities. Just reacting to whatever hit my inbox first.

That reactive mode cost me years of progress. I was busy, but I wasn’t building anything. I was working hard, but I wasn’t moving forward.

Then I discovered something that changed everything: the Sunday Reset.

It’s not complicated. It’s not time-consuming. But it’s the single most valuable 90 minutes I spend all week.

Why Sunday Matters More Than Monday

Here’s what most productivity advice gets wrong: they tell you to “start strong on Monday morning.”

But by Monday morning, it’s too late. The week is already happening. You’re already reacting.

The men who dominate their weeks don’t start on Monday. They start on Sunday.

Sunday is when you step back, assess, and strategize. It’s when you decide what matters and what doesn’t. It’s when you take control of your week before the week takes control of you.

Think about it like a chess game. The amateur makes moves as they come. The master thinks three moves ahead.

Sunday is when you think ahead.

The Sunday Reset Framework

I’ve refined this process over the past four years. It takes me exactly 90 minutes every Sunday evening, and it’s the highest-ROI time investment I make all week.

Here’s the exact framework:

Part 1: The Weekly Review (30 minutes)

You can’t plan forward effectively if you don’t understand where you’ve been. The weekly review is about extracting lessons from the past week.

I open my Notion workspace (https://www.notion.so) and answer five questions:

1. What were my three biggest wins this week?

This isn’t about humble bragging. It’s about recognizing what’s working so you can do more of it.

Last week, my wins were:

2. What were my three biggest challenges?

Again, this is about pattern recognition. If you’re facing the same challenges week after week, you need to change your approach.

My challenges:

3. What did I learn?

Every week teaches you something if you’re paying attention. Write it down.

This week I learned: I need to block my mornings for deep work and batch all communication in the afternoon. When I don’t do this, I get pulled into reactive mode and nothing important gets done.

4. What am I grateful for?

This might sound soft, but it’s crucial. Gratitude shifts your mindset from scarcity to abundance. It reminds you that you’re building from a position of strength, not desperation.

I’m grateful for: my health, my network, and the freedom to build businesses I care about.

5. What’s one thing I’m letting go of?

You can’t add new priorities without removing old ones. Every week, identify something you’re going to stop doing.

This week I’m letting go of: a weekly meeting that’s no longer serving its purpose. It’s an hour I can reinvest in higher-value work.

Part 2: The Strategic Plan (30 minutes)

Now you’re ready to plan the week ahead. But we’re not making a to-do list. We’re creating a strategic plan.

Step 1: Identify Your One Thing

What is the single most important outcome you need to create this week?

Not three things. Not five things. One thing.

This is the outcome that, if you accomplish nothing else, would make the week a success.

For me this week, it’s: Complete the sales page for the 2026 Revenue Reset program.

Everything else is secondary.

Step 2: Block Your Time

Now you’re going to calendar block your entire week. Not just meetings. Everything.

I use time blocking because it forces me to be realistic about what I can actually accomplish. If it’s not on my calendar, it’s not getting done.

Here’s what my week looks like:

Monday:

Tuesday-Friday: Similar structure with different deep work focuses

Step 3: Identify Your Top 3 Priorities

Beyond your One Thing, what are the three other priorities that need attention this week?

Mine are:

That’s it. Four priorities for the entire week.

If something else comes up, it either replaces one of these priorities (rare) or it gets scheduled for next week.

Step 4: Anticipate Obstacles

What could derail your plan? What challenges are you likely to face?

For me:

Now that I’ve identified these, I can plan around them:

Part 3: The Preparation (30 minutes)

The final 30 minutes are about setting yourself up for execution.

Prepare Your Environment

I spend 15 minutes getting my physical and digital workspace ready:

This might seem trivial, but friction kills execution. Every small obstacle between you and your work is an opportunity for procrastination.

Remove the friction on Sunday so Monday is effortless.

Prepare Your Mind

The last 15 minutes are about mental preparation.

I do three things:

1. Visualization

I close my eyes and visualize myself executing my plan. I see myself sitting down Monday morning and immediately diving into deep work. I see myself having productive conversations. I see myself completing my One Thing.

This isn’t woo-woo nonsense. Visualization primes your brain for execution. Athletes do this before competition. You should do it before your week.

2. Affirmation

I write down three statements about the week ahead:

These aren’t magic spells. They’re reminders of who I’m choosing to be this week.

3. Commitment

I write one sentence committing to my plan:

“This week, I will complete my sales page and move my business forward, regardless of distractions or obstacles.”

Then I sign it. Literally. I sign my name at the bottom.

This might seem dramatic, but it works. There’s something powerful about making a written commitment to yourself.

The Sunday Reset in Action

Let me show you what this looks like in practice.

Last Sunday, I did my weekly review and realized I’d spent the previous week in reactive mode. I was busy, but I wasn’t building anything.

My One Thing for the week was: Outline the 2026 Revenue Reset program.

I blocked Monday morning for deep work. I anticipated that client emails would try to pull me away, so I set up an autoresponder: “I’m in deep work mode until noon. I’ll respond to all emails after 12 PM.”

Monday morning, I sat down at 8 AM and worked uninterrupted until 11 AM. By the time I checked email, I’d completed the entire program outline.

That three hours of focused work created more value than the previous week of reactive busy-work.

That’s the power of the Sunday Reset.

The Tools That Support Your Reset

You don’t need fancy tools to do a Sunday Reset, but these make it easier:

For Planning:

Notion - This is where I do my weekly review and strategic planning. I have templates for everything, so I’m not starting from scratch each week.

For Time Blocking:

Google Calendar - Simple and effective. I color-code my blocks: green for deep work, blue for meetings, yellow for admin.

For Focus:

Freedom app - I block all distracting websites during my deep work blocks. If I try to check Twitter or news sites, I get a reminder that I’m supposed to be working.

For Energy Management:

I use Rize to track my actual productivity and energy levels throughout the day. This data helps me optimize my schedule.

For Accountability:

Growth Day - I use this to track my daily habits and weekly goals. The accountability keeps me honest.

The Common Mistakes

I’ve taught the Sunday Reset to dozens of men. Here are the mistakes I see constantly:

Mistake #1: Making It Too Complicated

Your Sunday Reset should take 90 minutes, not 4 hours. If it’s too complicated, you won’t do it consistently.

Keep it simple. Review, plan, prepare. That’s it.

Mistake #2: Planning Too Much

You cannot accomplish 20 priorities in one week. You can accomplish 3-4 if you’re focused.

Be ruthless about what makes the list. Everything else gets scheduled for later or deleted entirely.

Mistake #3: Not Blocking Time

A priority without time blocked on your calendar is just a wish.

If it matters, it gets time blocked. Period.

Mistake #4: Skipping the Preparation

The 30 minutes you spend preparing your environment and mind on Sunday will save you hours of friction during the week.

Don’t skip this step.

The Compound Effect

Here’s what most men don’t realize: the Sunday Reset compounds.

The first week, you’ll see a noticeable improvement. You’ll feel more in control. You’ll accomplish more.

But the real magic happens over months and years.

After 52 weeks of Sunday Resets, you’ll have:

That compounds into a completely different trajectory.

I’ve been doing Sunday Resets for four years. That’s 208 weeks of intentional planning and execution.

The difference between where I am now and where I’d be without this practice is staggering. We’re talking about millions of dollars in revenue, dozens of strategic relationships, and a business that runs on systems instead of chaos.

All from 90 minutes every Sunday.

Your Sunday Reset Challenge

Here’s what I want you to do.

This Sunday, block 90 minutes. No distractions. No interruptions. Just you and your plan for the week.

Follow the framework:

Do this for four weeks. Just four weeks.

I guarantee you’ll see a difference. You’ll feel more in control. You’ll accomplish more. You’ll build momentum instead of constantly starting from zero.

And if you want support with this, the 30-Day Executive Presence Blueprint includes a complete Sunday Reset system with templates, prompts, and accountability.

It’s $47, and it’s designed to help you build the habits that separate high-performers from everyone else.

If you want access, comment “PRESENCE” below and I’ll send you the details.

You can’t control everything that happens during your week. But you can control how you prepare for it.

You can’t eliminate all distractions and obstacles. But you can anticipate them and plan around them.

You can’t guarantee success. But you can dramatically increase the odds by starting your week with clarity, strategy, and intention.

That’s what the Sunday Reset gives you.

It’s not magic. It’s not a hack. It’s just 90 minutes of focused planning that sets you up to win the week before it starts.

The question is: are you willing to invest 90 minutes on Sunday to gain control of your entire week?

I know my answer.

— Marcus Cole

P.S.

— If you found this valuable, forward it to another man who’s tired of feeling behind. The Savage Gentleman community is built on men who take control of their time and their results.