Jul 6, 2025

My Sunday Rituals

Sundays are Important.

I am a systems nerd. I like to replace agony with systems. And another thing I like is reflection.

I value my weekends a lot. My Saturdays are completely devoted to play, passion projects and hobbies. While the Sundays are for reviewing, reflection and planning.

I do both a professional and personal reflection/review/planning. And so, my Sunday is divided into several parts.

Morning #

I like to get first part of my personal reflection done in the morning. I call this "Phase 1: Closure." (There are total 3 phases).

I like to ask myself these questions:

• 🌗 Overall Feeling?
  • What 3 words describe my week?
  • Mental energy: 🟩🟨🟥
  • Physical: 🟩🟨🟥
  • Clarity: 🟩🟨🟥
• 🌹 What went well?
• 📉 What drained me?
• 🌍 Wheel of Life Check
  (rating b/w 1-4)

• 🧠 Dumb Patterns I Repeated?
• ⚙ systems that I tried last week

Usually this takes about <25m.
I also do a few leftover tasks from the week (usually hobby related in the morning session.)

Afternoon #

I shift to a scholar mode here. I start around 1:30pm IST (but it really varies), and do some deep work for about 4 hours.

Here's what my professional (as in, STUDY) review consists of. I call this the "Ultrareview," inspired by the Ultralearning method.

Act 1: Recall Dump (~30m) #

I take a blank sheet of paper and dump everything I learned this week (that I can think of). I write formulae, problem-solving strategies, and almost any information that I can remember.

By leveraging active recall, you can see right away where you feel friction, what is clear and what is not.

Act 2: Triage (~10m) #

From that paper, I triage the information into three categories:

1. 🟩 cool, but need some polishing
2. 🟨 might be worth revisiting
3. 🟥 okay, bro, you MUST learn it again.

This helps figuring out what needs a deep dive and what does not.

Act 3: Consolidate (~30m) #

This involves making simple tl;dr like Obsidian notes and Anki flashcards that capture the gist of what the topic is.

Things I like to include:

• Problem solving strategies
• My intuition
• Sources
• The Why

But not every topic needs Obsidian notes (a simple Anki card would suffice). I am still working on my ability to pick the necessary topic to write notes on.

Act 4: Retrieval (~30m) #

Deliberate Practice.

I go to my Anki, create a filtered deck (F), and do all the cards for created that week:

deck:Default added:7

I would usually have blank cards on which I have written only the questions, and in this session, I might try filling in the gaps (if needed), or stylize my flagged cards for the long-term.

Act 5: Meta-reflection (~15m) #

At the end of the review session, I ask myself these questions:

• What method worked best? (e.g., problem sets, active recall, peer teaching?)
• What was a time-waster?
• What do I want to tweak in my workflow?
• What should I do less of, and what should I double down on?
• What topic(s) need a second pass next week?

You'd often find some really interesting information.

And we are done with the Ultrareview. I am left with some time, I would usually do some writing or leftover blog.

Evening #

I do the remaining two phases of my personal review/reflection.
I like to pair this with some nice ambient music. Thanks to myNoise.net for being and amazing resource.

Phase 2: Strategic Debrief #

🏹 War Reflection #

• 🏆 What specific wins did I have this week?
  ✅ Focus on outcomes you actually did, not vague feelings.
  e.g., “Finished 3 math chapters,” “Did 5/5 planned workouts,” “Fixed my sleep 3 days”
• 💥 Where did I fail or fall short—and why?
  💣 What did I plan but not do? What broke down?
  e.g., “Planned to review chem but skipped it 3 times. Got distracted by YouTube.”
• 🌋 What skills, habits, or mindset shifts improved this week?
  🔧 Look for internal growth. What became easier, smoother, or more natural?
  e.g., “Started asking better questions during math,” “Did focused study without timers.”
• 💤 What routines or tasks are too easy and not helping me grow anymore?
  🧱 What feels productive but is actually low-effort coasting?
  e.g., “Passive rereading notes,” “Highlighting without retrieval,” “Solving only easy problems”
• 🧙 What’s the one challenge next week that will require the most effort, focus, or courage?
  🐉 The real dragon. The thing you’re avoiding but must face.
  e.g., “Start writing physics notes from scratch,” “Fix my late-night doomscrolling”

⌛ Deep Work Stats #

• 💡 Best Session:

• ⏱️ Total Study Time:

• 😩 Where I Struggled:

• 💥 Most Valuable Thing I Learned?

This one is the core of the reflection process. I usually have my wins logged on this site, so it helps to know exactly what I did. I also use Timewarrior to track the time I spend on my computer.

Phase 3: Recalibration #

• 🎯 Next Week’s Focus (1 task each)

  • Learn:
  • Build:
  • Improve:

• 🧠 Themes / Intentions
  e.g. “Be decisive.” “Reduce switching.” “Start earlier.”

• 🪓 The "Stop Doing" List

• 🌱 What systems could be improved?

• ⚙ systems I will try next week

• 🧱 Lessons to Keep in Mind

• 🔋 Are you sure of your path?

  • [ ] Hell yes
  • [ ] Kinda
  • [ ] I need to fix some shit

• 📌 Weekly Quote / Reminder:
  “Don’t argue with the week. Rewrite it.”

This part sets me up for the next week. And so, this part is crucial as well. Sometimes I would pair this up with some good ol' forecasting.

And that's all about my Sunday rituals. I hope you will set up your own as well!
It's amazing, really.

Last Updated: July 6, 2025