7 Tips to Structure Your Week and Stay Productive
Weekly planning is my favourite way of getting organized. There’s something visual about looking at a weekly plan that just works for me. And here is how I plan my week and make the most of my time.
1. Make a list
First thing I do to get organized is list out everything I need to get done that week both at home and for my work. I get a pen and my printable weekly planer and just list everything that is happening or needs to be done that week. It does not need to be perfect, or neat, I just need it out of my brain.
2. Plan your week
Once I get my list done, it is time to look at the week ahead and slot the tasks on each day based on priority and the amount of time I have available to get it done. I usually set 1.5h each morning for exercise/ shower/ breakfast and work from 10am until I pick up Cora from school. That means I have about 5-6h a day to work each week so I need to be realistic about what I can do really well in the amount of time I have. I found working with a Week View planner is almost like a game of jigsaw where the tasks are the pieces and I have to think strategically to place each piece in the right place so I can make the most of my time and get things done. It’s simple planning but with intention and finding your flow will get you to accomplish so much more.
3. Prioritise
Spread out your priorities across the week. There is only so much time in a day so trying to get everything on your list done on Monday will only lead to disaster. Pick only 2-3 items on your list that must be done that day and make sure they are done well.
4. Do first what you don’t want to do
I am sure that like me there are certain things you do not like doing and avoid long as possible. For me is anything that involves writing content of any sort. But instead of letting it drag throughout your week, get it done as early as possible so is out of your way. This one take effort but I guarantee it will make your week less stressful.
5. Batch it up
Plan with intention to save time. Find the tasks that are similar and slot them on the one day where you can be hyper focused on that one topic. For example, with my Instagram posts, it would be so easy for me to just carve out time each day to take a picture, write a caption and post to keep up with the flow. Which would mean every day, I’d have to take one hour each day to get one post done. While this may not seem like too bad, it’s only one hour a day, it creates a stream of constant work because each day I would be thinking about what to post, selecting a picture, editing, writing a caption, organising hashtags, and posting…And repeating it all over again the next day. Not to mention the fact, that if anything went wrong (Cora is home sick, I can’t decide what to post…) I would have to rush to get the post done or miss out on that day completely. Ahh! It would be very stressful. So instead of repeating the same thing day after day, I try to get all the posts done at once, really focus on the intention, and plan effectively instead of scrambling.
6. End of day mind sweep
I finish my workday by revisiting my weekly plan and to do list, ticking everything I got done and jotting down things that came up and need looking at. This is also the time I might reshuffle my weekly plan if needed. The objective here is to end the day feeling in control of your plan an set yourself positively for the day ahead.
7. Find the tools that work for you
I love a beautiful year planner, however after a lot of trials I realised they simply don’t work for me. I get too precious about writing things down ad find them to chunky to carry around. My favourite tools for planning my week are a blank paper Weekly Planner and my iCalendar. I first use the Weekly Planner by listing out what needs to be done and then slot in the tasks on each weekday. Appointments and tasks that need reminders are added to my iCalendar so I can access on my phone/ iPad and computer. I think of it like a sketch and a final piece of art. I allow myself to “sketch” my weekly plan on a paper planner and have my “neat” plan on the computer. Might not work for everybody but I found works best for me.
My hope for you after reading this is that you now have the tools to work on your own weekly plan, and find a productive workflow so your time is used efficiently and you’re proud of what you have accomplished at the end of the week. Not every week will be perfect, and some days will be incredibly hard to tick just one item on your list but having a structure will help you find a productive pace that works for you.
And, of course, I’m including below my weekly planner as a Free Download for you! The page PDF is A4. You could print and use as loose pages (it’s what I do!). If you prefer digital planners on an iPad you can import your page into a PDF annotation app (like Goodnotes or Notability) and use an Apple Pencil.
