As the weekend draws to a close and we enter into a new week, it can be a good time to check in with yourself and reflect on your progress.

The weekends are normally less structured than our weekday routines, which can lead to us feeling like we've 'fallen off track' if we do things differently. But instead of seeing the weekend as a hurdle that can trip you up, try to see all of these experiences as part of the journey and use the weekend to help prepare you for the week ahead.

To support you with this, here are some of our top tips to set you up for a good week.

Setting mini-goals can help us to sharpen our focus for the week ahead. For example, if you'd like to set an exercise-based goal, you might aim to get outside for a 5-minute walk each day. If you'd like to improve your sleeping pattern, you might set a goal of reading before bed once a week, instead of watching tv.

Setting mini-goals is a great way to help boost our motivation. Smaller goals are closer in distance compared to larger goals, so we'll be more likely to reach them during the week and feel a sense of achievement when we do.

Taking a couple of hours out of your weekend to plan for the week ahead and get a head start on batch cooking, can help to make things more manageable during the week.

If you're feeling tired after a busy day or things don't go to plan, having already planned and prepared some balanced meals will make it easier to maintain your healthy eating habits.

To plan some of your meals, you might like to sit down with a pen and paper or use our 'Meal Planner' in the app.

Keeping consistent with our healthy habits on the weekend (such as eating balanced meals and meal prepping) can help us to avoid slipping into 'all or nothing' thinking. For more information on thinking patterns, take a look at this blog post.

Aiming for 7-9 hours of good quality sleep each night is important for our overall health. Getting a good night's sleep has a large impact on our energy levels, mood, and even our productivity - all of which can be helpful for getting us motivated for the week ahead.

During the weekend, it's common for our sleeping patterns to change. For example, we may go to bed later or wake up later. Drinking alcohol over the weekend will also influence our sleep quality as alcohol can suppress our REM sleep, which is an important part of our sleep cycle.

For some more support on improving your sleeping pattern, take a look at our guide 'How to sleep better'.

Sometimes, we can be hard on ourselves for the decisions we make over the weekend. However, we can use these experiences as a learning opportunity. It's possible to enjoy ourselves on the weekend, while maintaining healthy habits.

To learn from our experiences over the weekend, we can start by noticing our less healthy behaviors, identifying what led to those behaviors, and asking ourselves whether we'd do things differently next time. We might then consider a different way to act next time that's more in line with our goals.

For example, if you've noticed that you consumed more alcohol or had larger portions than you usually would, take some time to think about whether you would change anything if you were in that situation again. Perhaps you could try having a glass of water between alcoholic drinks, or focus on mindful eating techniques to enhance your satisfaction and portion awareness. You can read more about using these techniques here.

You might also like to take some time to reflect on what went well or what you felt grateful for over the weekend. Maybe you enjoyed spending time with loved ones or eating out at your favorite restaurant!

Practicing gratitudes has been shown to improve our mindset and our mood, which can help us get into a positive headspace for the start of a new week. If you find it difficult to think of specific gratitudes, you could scale it back and start with one positive word instead. For example, friendship, relaxation, or dogs!

Written by Jemma Joel, Second Nature Coach