How to Plan The Week in 30 Minutes or Less.

It legit doesn't take long.  

People see my planner and the first thing they say is, "I don't have the time to do all that."  Now, I am true believer that time is created, but that a different story for a different post.   But for not, planning your week actually doesn't take that long.  You can get it done in 30 minutes or less. 

Why not spend 30 minutes to set yourself up for a focused, intentional, and productive week, cutting the chaos in half?

Heres a sample minute by minute planning guide.

Step 1: Pick a time (2 mins)

The key is consistency, picking a date and time to plan helps to making planning a habit.  I'm a big fan of planning early Sunday morning, but Mondays can work as well. View it as part of your self care routine, and not another chore.

Step 2:  Brain Dump (5 mins)

Get everything off your mind.  Dump it on a paper, sticky notes, or create a space on your planning page for write down everything you can think of that needs to happen this week.  Not particular order, just get everything out and on paper. 

Step 3:  Create Priorities (5 mins)

Now that everything is down, and you can look at it, pick the top three most important task, those will be priorities for the week.  Create a section of your page or create a way to mark priorities.  These are your "Must Do" for the week; everything else moves to a To Do List.    

Step 4:  Review Your Calendar (5 mins)

Review your Outlook or Google calendar; or flip back to the Year - At - A - Glance and Month - At - A - Glance pages in your planner to see if there are any important dates or events happening this weeks.   

Step 5: Plan (8-10 mins)

Now you have your schedule along with the big rocks that need to happen this week.  After you add all the meetings, events, birthday, etc. to the page, plug in your task.  Priorities task are scheduled first, To Do List items fit into the time slots, or days, when there is room.  This is where it gets tricky, because there are so many different ways that you can do this step.   

Planner Tip:  When trying to sort out your week, try to assign tasks to specific days, so you are not trying to do everything on Monday morning.  And remember, to leave some buffer time because life happens. 

Planner Tip:  This is just a shell, its okay if you have to mix things up or move tasks around.  This is your starting base and much as we want to stick to plan, it doesn't always work that way.

Step 6:  Prep (3 mins)

Do one thing today to make tomorrow easier.  Pick out your clothes, pack your work bag, meal plan, set reminders, or clear out your work space.  Small things can make a huge impact. 

You don't need hours to plan.  You don't have to obsess over stickers and layouts, or which pen to use on which type of paper; nor do you have to rearrange your life to start planning.  Thirty minutes to reclaim your time, take charge of your week, and plan accordingly.