How to Plan Your Week So Your Important Shit Gets Done

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Mama, wondering how to plan your week so that the shit you actually want to do gets done? Here’s my system.

Although I LOVE planning, for the first few years that I had kids, I felt like my weeks just kind of bulldozed over me. I was busy all the time, but I rarely got anything accomplished that was actually important to me.

I suspected that life might look different if I actually stopped to plan it, but I felt like I couldn’t get off the hamster wheel or everything might fall apart.

Now, though, I absolutely swear by taking time to plan my weeks (and my days, months, and years, for that matter) in advance. Wondering how to plan your week so that it looks (mostly) the way you want it to? I’m happy to share the things I do every weekend to set me up for a great week.

First, a recommendation:

Make your planning time a ritual.

I’ve got my ritual down pat. It usually happens on Sunday and is my top priority whenever it’s scheduled.

I grab my weekly planning checklist so I don’t miss a step. I snuggle in with a tasty beverage. I might light a candle. I make sure the kids are occupied so I can have a little peace and quiet. And I figure out how I’ll make my dreams happen.

It’s one of my favorite parts of the week.

My Weekly Planning Procedure

Step 1: Reflect on last week

Mama, I’m willing to bet that you usually spend very little time thinking about your last week, but taking a few minutes here can make a huge difference in how our lives look over time. Consider asking yourself the following questions as you start your weekly planning.

What went well last week?
What went poorly?
What were your biggest accomplishments?
Did you have any favorite moments?
What’s something you could improve this week?

This reflection time gives you a chance to celebrate and a chance to pivot if you need to. Don’t leave it out.

Step 2: Check your calendar

What’s happening this week? Is it someone’s birthday? Do your kids have any activities you need to plan for? Are any days particularly busy or light? Is there anything that you really don’t want to do that can be cancelled?

Knowing what time has already been claimed will help us with the next step.

Step 3: Look at the big picture for the week

When you’re thinking about how to plan your week, it’s tempting to jump right into randomly listing out all your to-dos. This is a mistake.

It implies that everything you might do this week is of equal importance. It also ensures that some things that are important to you but not urgent might never get addressed.

Take a few minutes instead to answer some of the following questions first:

What are you looking forward to? (And if you don’t have an answer for this, make sure you find something before you plan anything else.)
How will you have fun? (Yep, this is a priority when you’re planning your week, too!)
How will you grow?
What’s your main priority for the week?

Now you’ve likely got some terrific fill-your-soul projects to sprinkle in among the doctor’s appointments and laundry. Here’s how.

Want more time to play the piano? Schedule it, Mama!

Step 4: Look at your big picture ideas and break them into tiny chunks

It’s essential to put that big picture stuff on your schedule right now.

First.

We’re not going to hope that you get around to it after you’ve unloaded the dishwasher, built a city out of Legos, and taken the kids to the library. You will create a plan for exactly how you’ll make it happen this week.

If you’re looking forward to reading a book, get specific about how many chapters you’ll read each day. Will you read during lunch? Right before bedtime? While the baby naps?

If you’re planning to have fun by playing a board game with your spouse, when will it happen? Do you need to clear the time with him? Do you want to pick up some snacks or a bottle of wine to share?

Maybe you’re growing by taking an online course or doing a yoga challenge. How much time to you need for this each day? What, specifically, will you do during your learning time?

Finally, what is your main priority for this week? Decluttering your house? Finishing up a big project for work? Finishing your son’s baby book? Break these tasks into manageable chunks and plan to work on them for a few minutes each day.

How to avoid overwhelm with big projects:

Choose the next action step.
Schedule that step on the calendar.
When the time comes to work on the next action step, set a timer for 10 or 25 minutes. (I like these two blocks, depending on the task.)
Work until the timer beeps (or longer if you get in the groove and no children need you).
When you stop, make sure you know the next action step for this task so you can jump right into it next time.

Scheduling these commitments first will totally change the way your life feels.

The days no longer bulldoze over you. You’ve chosen your main priority and you know exactly how to accomplish it. You have things on the calendar that you know you’ll enjoy, and you know (approximately) when you’ll do them.

Yep. It’s as amazing as it sounds.

Step 5: Add your to-dos

Now you’re ready to add some of the other stuff from your to-do list onto your schedule for this week.

Be smart about it.

First look to see if anything can be crossed off. Is there anything you can delegate? Something that can wait until next week? Something that might not be so important to do after all?

If everything is a priority, nothing is. If you’re going to have the full, vibrant life of your dreams, some to-dos might need to be eliminated.

Once your list is pared down, get efficient about what’s left.

Can you group tasks together? Maybe run a bunch of errands in one go or make several phone calls during the baby’s nap time on Thursday?
Should you instead break tasks up? Will your house cleaning feel less overwhelming if you clean the bathroom one day and vacuum the floors another? Consider sprinkling this stuff throughout your week, making sure not to over-schedule.
Can you take a few extra minutes now to save yourself time in the future? For example, perhaps you could put a few bills on autopay and hardly think about them again.

Now you should have a full, vibrant calendar, full of both things you have to do, and things you want to do. You might do a couple more tasks to be sure you are totally prepared for this week.

Other Tasks You Might Include As You Plan Your Week

Plan your meals and make your store list

Get in the habit of planning your meals in advance.

I tend to do this step separate from the rest of my weekly planning. However you do it, check your calendar first so that you can plan for any special occasion meals or busy evenings.

While I plan my menus, I order my groceries for pickup the next day at my local grocery store. This saves time shopping and ensures I don’t come out with any impulse buys.

Many mamas also make time for food prep as part of setting up for the next week. Cooking big batches of soup, muffins, or chicken saves time and can make life lots easier when life gets busy.

Make your life easier by prepping healthy breakfasts as part of your weekly planning.

Pay bills/check in with finances

Every week, I take a few minutes to log onto Mint and peek at my finances. This way, I’ll know right away if a credit card charge looks off, if a student forgot to pay an invoice, or if we’re over-budget in a particular category.

I also use this time to pay any bills online that are coming due in the next week and to add money to our IRAs. Paying regular attention to our finances helps to keep our family on track with long-term goals.

Revisit and adjust your plan throughout the week

Now you know how to plan your week, but know that stuff will still come up. Plans will need to be changed. Life will happen.

Plan to take a few minutes every evening to ask yourself the same questions you asked when you were planning your week. If tasks were missed, see where you might reschedule them. (I love doing my planning in Trello so that I can just drag a card to another spot if I need to.)

Make sure you’re reminding yourself of your priority throughout the week and spending at least a little time every day chipping away at it.

Be sure, too that you don’t always bump your planned fun to tomorrow. Remember what you scheduled first, and keep your promises to yourself.

In this way, little by little, even with all its surprises and imperfections, your life starts to look the way you imagined it would. All because you got off of that hamster wheel and learned how to plan your week.

Are you a planner? I have loads of free resources you’ll love–Trello boards, goal trackers, planner pages, and much more–in my Subscriber Hub in the Mamas’ Lounge. Check it out!