Planning to Plan: Set Aside an Hour to Plan Your Week and You’ll Get it Back Tenfold

It’s Sunday night as I write this and I’m going over my Weekly Worksheet to ensure I’m prepared for the week ahead. I have this time scheduled each week. Scheduling to schedule? Planning to plan? Sounds a bit redundant, I know. But it’s worth it. You get that time back tenfold when you are proactive instead of reactive. It doesn’t have to take long. I do schedule an hour, but honestly, you could be in decent shape in minutes. It’s a matter of identifying what’s been scheduled as well as what you must do in order to move forward on your goals. These can include business, personal, health & fitness, and more. How often do you say “I’d like to {fill in the blank} but I don’t have time.” This is where you can change that. This is where you can carve out time to make things happen.

When? That’s up to you. I like Sundays so I’m ready to run when Monday begins. For some, Friday is great because it closes out the workweek and allows you freedom over the weekend. The time of day is up to you as well. Tips: Pick a time that will allow you some quiet reflection and try to stick to the same day and time. You’ll be much more likely to create a consistent habit this way.

How? Start with a piece of paper, or use my Weekly Worksheet, and do the following:

• Mini Mind Sweep – What’s on your mind? This is a quick brain dump that’s especially for the week ahead, but you can write anything down that comes to mind. The key is to get it out of your head so you free up your mind to think and you have the information in a safe place so you can decide what to do with it and when.
• Identify Must-dos – Where do you have to be and when? Appointments. Standard pickups and drop-offs. Repeat tasks. Take your must-dos and schedule them on a calendar.
• Identify your MITs – This can be a bit tricky, especially if life has been scheduling you and not the other way around. And MIT is a “most important task” and can relate to personal or work/business. It’s the task that will push you furthest toward your goal in that category. Instead of just one MIT, I’m challenging you to do 3 at a time. I want you to remember “MITx3, the last one’s just for me.” One for work/business, one for personal/family & friends, and one for YOU. Just you. Self-care. This way you keep a balance.
• Identify your Habits – Write down approximately 3 habits you want to focus on (some favorites are meditation, movement, clean eating, drinking water).
• Create Lists – Capture any extra pieces of the week that need listing. Groceries? A special shopping run? A home project? A special event? Have a space to keep notes handy. You can do this on paper or on an app. (One of my favorite grocery list style apps is Anylist.)

Once you have your notes in place, make sure you’ve scheduled your tasks. This includes both ones with obvious appointment times and the other types, which you can schedule in and around set appointments. The key to productivity is keeping appointments with yourself, not just with others.