Have you ever dreamed of planning out your perfect week where every minute of every day is spent in a productive manner? A week where things go exactly as planned. A week where each event brings a smile to your face, and there is no stress. You are in control, and the universe is aligned completely with your task list.
I’ve had visions just like this on Sunday night as I write in my calendar for the following week. I set aside a time block here, I put a fun task there, and soon my week is completely full. I go to bed knowing that the coming seven days will be total bliss.
As I awake on Monday morning, the sun crawling through the blinds, I look across the room. My day planner is where I left it the night before. There is total quiet in the room. This is going to be a great week, I tell myself. I step out of bed, and walk slowly across the room to open the planner and start the day. As I walk past the dresser I happen to notice the alarm clock on top. As my eyes focus, I make out…
It’s seven bleepin thirty… the STUPID alarm clock was supposed to go off at 5 am. I’m two and a half hours late for my perfect day. YIKES. I need to be at work… now. How could this happen?? I take the alarm clock and bang it down on the dresser, the lighted display now flickering. I can feel my blood pressure rise, and my mind is thinking up excuses for why I am late. I stumble to the bathroom and I trip over my well placed shoes. Bammm … flat on my face. As I pick myself up from the floor, I pick up my planner and turn to the front page… ARRRGh I was supposed to start the day by working on the Smith project and send 10 emails out to the account managers of our branch offices. Now they will be behind, and I’m to blame. I can see my bosses beady eyes now as I pull into the office an hour late… HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN???
Have you been there? I certainly have. The best laid plans always seem to get messed up.
Design Your Ideal Week
Here are three simple things I’ve learned that help when I plan out my week.
1. Projects and Tasks always take longer to complete than you think!
When scheduling always allow extra time for completion.
2. Schedule the block of time but not the exact activity.
When scheduling, be flexible with your task list. This will lower your stress level and help you be more productive.
3. Set your alarm clock.
Getting up late will throw off your schedule for the whole day
While these three things can help you get through your week, you may want to know a great system for planning your week out in advance. Michael Hyatt, a very busy executive, has a great article on this: How to better control your time by designing your ideal week
A great way to plan out your day is to use our Daily Planner
Have a great week!
Question: What tools do you use to plan out your week?
