One of the most effective ways to keep organized is to put a bit of time, once a week, into planning for the week ahead. You’ll probably never need more than half an hour to put such a plan together. Once it’s completed, you’ll find that your week practically runs itself.

Most people do such planning either on Friday or Sunday, but when you do it is a matter of personal style. On Fridays you may be chomping at the bit, waiting for the weekend to start, and thus find it impossible to think about the coming week. For you, sometime on Sunday might be a much better time to focus. On the other hand, maybe you’ll find Friday to be the perfect time to settle in and plan, knowing that—once you’re through—you’ll be completely free of thinking about work until Monday morning.

Regardless of when you do it, here’s how to put together an effective plan for the week ahead:

1. Make a list of tasks that need to be accomplished next week.  Be realistic. Don’t turn your list into a Mindsweep (see our post, What’s a Mindsweep).
2. Prioritize the list into two categories: Primary (must be accomplished next week) and Secondary (accomplish if time permits).
3. Break each task into action steps. Put time-completion estimates beside each step. In the interest of flexibility, allow yourself a bit more time than you think you’ll need.
4. Examine your calendar for the coming week, taking note of appointments, meetings, lunch dates, etc. This is also a great opportunity to build in those important “appointments” with your family and friends. Getting those special times scheduled means never having to say “Sorry, but I just don’t have time” to the ones you love.
5. Once you’ve got your calendar in shape, seek out the remaining half-, one-, and two-hour blocks of time.
6. Fill these blocks of time with the action steps you completed in Step 3. Be sure to leave room for unexpected interruptions and water-cooler chitchat.
7. Complete what you’ve planned to do.

There’s an old saying that goes something like “Those who fail to plan, can plan to fail.” Maybe a more accurate and positive way to phrase it is: “Those who succeed in planning their tasks, can plan to succeed in accomplishing them.”
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© Suzanne Rodriguez
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