Monday might be our least favourite day of the week, but we can grab it by the horns and use it as a fresh start to get organised and make the rest of the week seamless!  Here is our suggested list of chores to get out of the way on a Monday afternoon:

1. Book a date night with your partner
With a baby or children in the house, it's sometimes easy to forget to make time with your partner.  You both become so totally obsessed with the new additions to your family that you neglect the one person who helped you make them!  Have you been dropping hints to the the husband that he should make a romantic gesture and whisk you out on a romantic date just like he did pre-kids? Forget that!  Subtle hints just don't work... Carol Ummel Lindquist, PhD, author of Happily Married with Kids (Berkley, 2004). "Women tend to think if they say what needs to be taken care of, the other person will volunteer to do it. But men often respond better to direct requests."  So just be efficient about it and send him a meeting request now.

2.  Plan your meals for the week
Meal planning is a vital part of eating a healthy diet and there are many benefits of meal planning including:

• eating healthier meals: you don't resort to giving everyone pizza when you realise it's 4pm and there is nothing for dinner!
•  eating more diverse meals: if you plan in advance, you're unlikely to plan to eat chicken and rice every day of the week
• reduce in stress: remove the daily worry of “what am I going to cook tonight".  This might seem like a minor stress but if you're worrying about it every day, it adds up!
• reduce waste: Knowing your weekly food requirements in advance means that you will have very specific goals when shopping for your ingredients. Buying exactly what you need eliminates waste because every ingredient has a purpose.

3. Get your shopping out the way
Now that you have planned your meals, get your shopping out of the way!  With great grocery shopping services like HonestBee.hk (who deliver your groceries to you in 2 hours!) - there is no reason not to get it over and done with right now!

Of course you will want to buy everything you need for baby from Baby Central!  Make sure you have all the baby essentials so you don't run out mid week - like diapers, baby formula and snacks!

Is your little one attending a birthday party this week?  Then make sure you are not left running around at the last minute looking for a present.  Check out our toys section and stock up on birthday gifts

4. Book baby's playdates

Babies in Hong Kong are sooooo busy!  You don't want to be left mid-week with nobody to play with so book your playdates in advance.  This will help give baby's carer some structure (be it you or somebody else) and will also help them plan in advance how best to fit baby's schedules around his/her outings.

5. Write down 3 positive affirmations 

Yes - that's right - write down 3 amazing things about yourself.  How is this going to help me I hear you ask?  Not only did a recent study show that optimistic people have healthier hearts, but loving yourself can make you a better parent.  After all, if you are happy, then your kids are happy - and that's what all of us really want.  Here are a few to get you going..

"I believe in myself and my abilities"

"Miracles happen to me all the time"

"Yes I can"