How’s your week so far?
I enjoy having a productive week. When I get things done and tick off those to do lists, I feel a different sense of satisfaction in the inside. I think all of us and in today’s post I will share to you the best tips I found on how to plan your week for success.
But first, what does a week of success mean to you?
Success is relative. Some people see a successful week when they are able to relax and have time for family and friends. Others when they are able to accomplish something they’ve been putting off for months!
For me I know my week is a success when I was able to finish the most important tasks I’ve scheduled. It’s when I feel ready to start another week and planned in advance another set of goals, intentions and to-do’s I have to get done.
Define what a successful week could be for you. Treat the answer as your why and start from really understanding by heart how important it is for you (and your sanity) to have a successful week.
Here are ways to plan your week for success
Check your yearly, quarterly and monthly goals
Before dealing with what you need to do for the week, step back and check your yearly and monthly goals first.
Why?
Because only then can you really have a successful week. As mentioned in the beginning, success is different to anyone. And you want to maximize your week knowing that it is helping you get to the person you want to be after the month, the quarter or the year ends.
If you haven’t made a yearly, quarterly and monthly goals yet then this is a good chance for you to do so.
How?
- Get a piece of paper and pen ready. If you have a bullet journal you can opt to do it in a new page. Try to list down what you want to do before 2019 ends. Every smart, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound goals you have. You can a 20 before 2020 list if you want wherein you select the top 20 things you want to attain before 2020 begin. Here’s a good example.
- Once you have a good list at hand find out what you can do in the next three months. This will now be your quarterly goals. For instance, if reading 12 books is part of your goals before the year ends then you have to read at least six books per quarter.
- Now as you plan for a new month, deliberately select what tasks you can do in order to achieve your quarterly goals. With the said six books per quarter you can write read two books for June.
- Doing the above things first and foremost give you clarity as you get started in planning for a successful week. Think of it as an inverted pyramid wherein you get to the bottom of that goal of yours by really working on it on quarterly, monthly and weekly basis. Read next: How I Find Time To Read Books in My Busy Schedule.
Have an Ideal Week
What for you is an ideal week?
Recently I've been stalking the blog of Michael Hyatt. He is a well-known blogger entrepreneur that focuses in intentional leadership. I stumble upon his blogpost on creating an ideal week. That post truly motivated me to create mine.
The idea of creating an ideal week is allowing yourself to plan how you would like your week to be if and then you have 100% of your time.
One of the key tips I found when it comes to planning is the importance of doing it in advance. If you want a successful week, then you need to plan for it at least a day before the actual week starts.
Try planning it on a Sunday. Sit down and brain dump every appointment, deadlines and goals you want to do for the next seven days. Just let everything be on a piece of paper for now.
Next open a weekly calendar. You can easily do this in Google Calendar, which I personally recommend. What I like is to calendar block each task I need to do on the day and time it falls in. I also calendar block periods of time I know I am doing my morning routine, I am working on my day job and my evening routine.
This is an example of how my ideal week looks like. All the specific tasks for each bucket of time I then write down on my bullet journal as the day goes on.
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| This is my personal Ideal Week :) |
Having an ideal week will serve as your base line to accomplish those things that matter most.
When you have a template on what your day is, it is very natural for you to live by that standard. Before I created this ideal week I procrastinate at work and really devote all of my time and energy to time-wasters. I feel so unproductive that I don't finish anything that I started.
But with this ideal week I realized that I can balance my life, my work and my hobby if only I give my 100% attention one item at a time. I learned the value of morning routines and how to wait productively. This is a primary tool to be a master of time and to live by your purpose.
Know your priorities
Time is such a limited resource so you have to really be intentional on where you spend it the most.
Knowing your priorities will help you plan your week for success even better. Not every task should actually be done in a week or today. To be effective and productive, you need to identify which to prioritize.
Have you heard of the Eisenhower Box or known too as the Productivity Quadrant?
To explain briefly, the Eisenhower Box is a decision making matrix that helps you prioritize. For every task that you have try putting it putting it pondering if this task is:
2. Important, but not urgent (tasks you will schedule to do later).
3. Urgent, but not important (tasks you will delegate to someone else).
4. Neither urgent nor important (tasks that you will eliminate).
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| Photo from www.jamesclear.com |
Insert self-care in your week
Having only a bunch of work in your list is not motivating. You need to insert self-care too and anything you can do for the week to have balance between work and life. And self-care is not pricey at all.
There are different ways I practice self-care despite the busy schedule.
When I write blog posts I listen to my favorite playlist. I do a demanding task but still find enjoyment with the songs that I hear in the background.
I do a five step pamper routine once or twice a week to destress. I also do light exercises in the morning to remove the bad vibes and help myself get ready physically and mentally for the day ahead.
Reading 25 pages day and night of a good book also helps me a lot.
Practice self-care and personally, I recommend that you put much importance to it more than the tasks of the day so you won’t feel burnt out.
Just start
Stop searching for the best tips and tools to use instead, start doing! Merely reading all the how to post on the internet will bring you success in your week. You need to act too.
Do what's most urgent and important for you now. If you find yourself procrastinating because the task is too hard, then try to do small and manageable tasks first. Train yourself being as productive as you can. Keep a timer and time yourself whenever you do something. This will help you avoid procrastinating.
I hope you enjoyed this post. This is a reminder for me too, as I strive to have a week of success almost every week.
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