You know how the saying goes – “A Sunday well spent brings a week of content.” Yes it’s true. Just few hours spent planning for the week on Sundays can really change the course of your week.
Why do I need to plan my week ahead you may want to ask? Because planning helps us evaluate what really matters to us and what we can actually dedicate our time to. When we don’t plan, we plan to fail and tend to allow important things slip past us.
If you follow these tips, you can find yourself living happier and peaceful with more time on your hands doing the things that are really important for your life.
1. Organize with a calendar/planner
I often emphasize on the importance of getting a planner in your life and that’s because with a planner, everything becomes easy. Get a planner that supports your lifestyle or career. You can also plan or schedule your activities on Google Calendar which makes things a bit easy because I believe 8 out of 10 people have a Google mail account. You can as well set a reminder on your calendar.
2. Prioritize
Ensure you make time for the most important things first. We often tend to spend our time doing things that may be necessary but are not very important, this is why you should prioritize. If an activity does not align with your goals, say NO.
3. Have a To do list – Your Action Plan
To-do-list comes in all forms of sizes, shapes and forms. It can be on your phone or a sticky note glued to your mirror, walls, office cabinet or screen. However you want it, keep it simple, be specific about it, and make it a handy one. Just make sure you have a list of things that needs to get done for each day.
4. Cut the things that aren’t important
For instance, if I know I need to go shopping, I won’t schedule that on a Monday or Tuesday morning. Yes I know it’s important but I also know I will be having a crazy work schedule during the week, so I might just cut out shopping until weekend. Once you identify the important and the unimportant things on your to-do list, it’s easier to cut out what is not important so you can spend more time doing what is really important.
5. Schedule a time for each tasks listed above
In case you don’t know, having accurate time estimation is a crucial skill in project management. Without it, you won’t know how long your project will take, and you won’t be able to get commitment from the people who are to sign it off. So before committing to anything, try to estimate the start time and the completion time for the task in order to effectively manage time.
6. Be Realistic. Ask yourself Is this too much?
This is the big question everyone should ask his or herself at the end of each planning. Doing too much can make you expect too much which often leaves one with a sense of guilt and discontentment. So as you plan for the week, be honest with yourself and slow down if you have to. Ask yourself this question, can you really achieve this at the end of the week? Is this too much? If you find yourself in any form of doubt, why not try focusing all your attention and energy on the ones you can achieve even if it’s just one thing. You progress better that way.
So, how do you plan for your week? Do you schedule, prioritize or have a planner that aids you as mentioned above? Do let us know your thoughts and opinions below.
I love this! I am a planner geek, but I haven't been writing todo lists… I gotta wedge it in!
Yea you should…It simplifies a lot. Thanks for reading Mads!
These are great tips! I often have the perfectionism syndrome, where I end up setting super unrealistic expectations and then flog myself afterwards — so I think #6 TOTALLY applies to me fo sho!
Love it. I think planning and have a set of intentions for the week is so important. I don't know what I'd do without a well thought out and realistic to-do list!
Planning and organizing are important for busy people to handle all the tasks that come their way. Excellent post!
I have that perfectionism syndrome too but I try not to beat myself up for not attaining it. Life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful you know!
Yes Deryn! Thanks for reading!
Hey Jasmin, thank you! Love your blog???
Love this! I am obsessed with planning ?
I dream that someday I'll be a planner! hah. This is inspiring though and a good reminder to invest the time upfront to minimize the chaos later!
awesome hints – thank you
Very helpful and doable tips! I love using my planner and have found that being a bit more organised helped as I set up my own business. Also cutting out less important stuff is huge, particularly when separating urgent from important.
Yes! I am a fan of being intentionally organized and the to-do list.. sometimes I have too many on the go but I usually get it all done which is always very satisfying.
This is definitely sound advice. Oh, easier said then done. I will need to have faith that repetition will help me plan out my week more smoothly! Thank you!
xo Debbie | http://www.tothineownstylebetrue.com
Great tips and I need them now more than ever!
love this post, awesome work
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Being a planner is one cool thing but it's lot of work…you should consider it☺
Thanks for reading!
Thank you Halima???
Naomi, this post is coming right on time. I'm actually putting together a content calendar right now so I can have a schedule for my YouTube channel and blog. Thanks for the helpful tips.
That's great to know Heather! I still struggle with getting everything on my to-do list done sometimes but I make sure I cover at least 90%. Thank you for reading!
It's always easier said than done…which is why setting realistic goals is important. Thanks for stopping by Debbie…you have a lovely blog???
Thank you!
Thank you Betty!
I'm glad you found the tips helpful Sophie! Kindly drop a link to your YouTube channel so I can check it out.
Being realistic is definitely my problem. I ALWAYS over schedule. I think prioritizing will help a lot here, so I'll work on that for the rest of this week. Thank you for the writeup!
I've tried planners, but I find writing out my schedule in a notepad works better for me for some weird reason. Writing out my to-do list is a must for me! You feel so accomplished when everything is crossed off your list.
I always look forward to going out. A good tip would be to look out for those places with interesting concepts. The San Francisco venues are pretty amazing. I came up here with a friend. The place was spacious and food was great.