3 Steps for Organizing Your Week
So, you’ve pulled out your planner and calendar and are ready to get started on your plan for this next week. Where do you usually start? What tasks get scheduled first? WHOSE tasks take priority...and what ends up pushed off?
I have three steps for you to follow as you start to plan out this next week. As you start your time blocks, I invite you to notice what’s different about this week compared to how you’ve been doing things. Then, at the end of the week during your recap and reflection time (you block off time for this, right?), spend some time looking at how you experienced this week differently by having these three steps in place.
Before we jump into the three steps, I encourage you to check out Your To-Do List: Remember the 4 Ds. This post walks you through how to cut your list of to-dos down to just the crucial few. This should be your starting place before organizing your week.
Now, let’s get started…
1.) Use Your Core Values Filter
As I covered in How (& Why) To Define Your Core Values and Mission, your core values are your boundaries that help you stay on track both in life and business. They are your key beliefs that drive your decisions and influence how you see the world. Once you uncover and declare what your top values are, you can consciously use them to help guide your yeses and nos.
Does writing this article for a parenting site align with my values of family and creativity? What about partnering with another coach on a project? Does it fit with my value of connection?
Running your tasks through your core values filter lets you truly see if a task truly is worthy of your time and attention. We’ve all caught ourselves spending crazy amounts of time on things that take us off course and end up being more of a burden than an aligned joy.
So ask yourself, does this task fit with my core values? If yes, move on to step two. If not, it might be a good idea to let it go.
2.) Put Yourself First
When it comes to blocking off time in your calendar, WHO makes the cut? Clients? Family? And what about YOU? You know the sayings: put on your own oxygen mask first and you can’t pour from an empty cup. I hate using them because they are so overused, but that’s because they’re true. You have to set aside time for what YOU need first so that you can be at your best for everyone else. Your clients will appreciate it. Your family will appreciate it. Your Facebook group will appreciate it.
So, start with yourself. The 30 minutes on Sunday night to plan your week so that you feel prepared instead of frazzled is ESSENTIAL. Plan it first. Your self-care time to recharge, destress, and find joy is ESSENTIAL. Plan it BEFORE your open client spots or partnership meeting.
Think of it this way: part of a CEOs job is to ensure their employees are performing at their best. Underperforming employees means less output, poorer company image, and possibly less revenue. If you knew that one of your employees needed to start their day with meditation, exercise, or reading time in order to be their best, most productive self, would you make sure they had that time?
Whether you’re a solopreneur or manage a team, you as the CEO want to perform at your best. You as a representative of your brand want to perform at your best. You more than likely want you--wearing all the hats you wear in life--to be able to be your best self. So, put yourself first. Then, those most important to you. Finally, everything else.
If you need help figuring out what self care can look like, check out Self Care for Productivity: 3 Questions to Finding What’s Right for You.
3.) Intentionally Evaluate Your Time
You know one of the perks about breaking free from the 9-5 and becoming your own boss? Breaking free from the actual hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. I’m not really sure how it became known as 9-5 anyway. Anywhere I’ve ever worked it was more of an 8-5 or 9-6 kind of thing...you work 8 hours and take an hour for lunch after all, right? I digress.
The point is that barring outside influences, you can set any time you want to work. If you find yourself agonizing about making it all work between only these hours, then maybe reevaluate the hours you WANT to work. Yes, you probably want to have work meetings and possibly some client sessions during “normal” business hours, but if 8 p.m. works better for creating content or wearing your CEO hat, maybe you shift that block until then. For me, I naturally feel more inspired and motivated in the evening. Also, my child is in bed, and I can focus more.
I want you to really focus on that INTENTIONAL part of setting your schedule. If you have trouble focusing in the afternoon or others in your household require your attention, don’t even try scheduling work time. Set yourself up for a win. If you know that scheduling any more than 20 hours in a week will set you up for burn out, be intentional about how many hours you allow.
On a final note, there is a reason that evaluating your time frame is the third step. You must run everything through your core values filter and take care of yourself first. You don’t want to create a schedule that will undermine your own health and happiness. Remember, hours spent does not reflect productivity. Effectiveness reflects productivity.
