What does the beginning of your week look like? Do you have a week-long game plan? Do you take each day as it comes?
Do you “attack” the week, starting right out of the gate with vigor? Are your Monday mornings slow, easing into the week?
You can tell from looking at the Google results for “How to plan your week” that people are fascinated with improving their productivity and organization.
I’ve never been one for a system or a regimented plan–I just fail at it within a week and then am frozen in indecision and disorganization.
I generally have a “job” for each day of the week:
Monday-groceries, Tuesday-wash slipcovers, Wednesday-hour of cleaning, Thursday-bills and errands, Friday-hour of cleaning
As long as I get that job done, the rest is just icing on the cake. I generally fill in other tasks and goals around the “main job”–but as long as I get the “main job” done, life is good. I find it rewarding to focus on one main and mostly achievable task.
This also helps my week run with a rhythm. I know what to expect. Husband knows what to expect. And, my kids measure their weeks by the activity we are doing on any given day.
I generally have 3-5 other “to-dos” that I like to get done on any given day. I make sure that those tasks fit in with the “main job” of the day.
Here are some of my favorite planning links:
Moleskine Notebook Transformation
I like this visual record of your week!
This is a great post about life management.
Life/Project Management for Creatives
Are you a hard-core planner or do you more go with the flow? Any great planning tips or posts?
22 Comments on "monday and weekly management"
I think that your idea of picking one main goal for the day is a great one! I usually end up trying to do too many things and then feel defeated when I only get 4 out of 5 things done. Will definitely be changing that!
We usually sit down on Sunday nights and go over what’s ahead for the week, and plan out our suppers using this printable from the artsy-fartsy mama. It’s helped immensely with the day to day organization of life and our grocery bill!
http://www.artsyfartsymama.com/2012/01/lets-get-organized-printable.html
good idea! i’ll take a look. :)
I’m definitely a planner. I get anxious if I don’t know what’s next. I also love office supplies, notebooks, pens, and calendars. To me, organizing my day is fun.
i love that! ;) and i LOVE office supplies!! my favorite time of the year was back to school time when i was a kid. i’m weird.
Thanks for sharing your tips! The one goal a day is the perfect idea. I’m going to employ that one for sure….I’ve been struggling with motivation on the home-front lately. I need a notebook to stay organized for sure. I also love the DIY Moleskine planner, thanks for pointing it out!
I think there is a lull for me at the end of winter to want to stay motivated at keeping up with my housework. I want sunshine! and fun! and play time! :)
I use this planner from Jen Allyson – http://www.designhousedigital.com/jen-allyson/the-project-girl-weekly-planner-2012 – you can edit the daily/weekly tasks and it is really helpful for working in the little things. Right now we’re very “routine” based rather than schedule based and that helps with letting me feel more flexible and less rigid with a toddler running around :)
yes-that is the PERFECT way to describe it. routine based rather than schedule based. i MUCH prefer that way of life. i am not one to love living by a schedule. ha, i think that says a lot about me.
I’m a planner & a list-maker, but I usually try to let myself have a slow Monday…catching up on dishes, cleaning, menu-planning, blogging. It seems to work for me. ;)
yes. i LOVE slow mondays. it feels restful and a good way to ease into the week. i am sure i’ll love it even more when all my kiddos are in school. my mother-in-law loves mondays because life gets back into a rhythm after a weird weekend schedule.
Nothing beats a good old-fashioned pen and paper planner. I have to see everything laid out in front of me, and I would be lost without post-its!
:)
i have an erin condren planner that i love–and then a good old piece of computer paper and colorful markers. :) plus, you’re right–post-its are AMAZING!
Love the one goal/day. I think I would be happier if my weeks had a rhythm. My husband is very goal-oriented and will talk out his goals for the next day or month. We use the kitchen calendar to remind us of big stuff but I think the weekly organizer from the first commenter would be great for us! I’m about to go print it off. Thanks for sharing!
We are very 30,000 foot thinkers–planning big dreams and hopes. We get a tiny bit lost in the the details, though. :) I am hoping to meld the two together. P.S.–I realized we have mutual friends IRL. Small world. :) :)
I’m all about organisation and getting things done, but my life is all over the place and I’m finding it hard to have a plan. I’m working as a casual relief teacher during the week and only find out when these days will be on the day, I’m working one day a week tutoring and then on the weekends I’m working evenings and late nights for a catering company. It’s killing me a little bit at the moment, but I’m hoping to find some method in the madness.
I know those seasons well. I think sometimes just having a loose daily plan is just as good as a week plan. I definitely operate more on the “plan per day” way right now.
I finally made myself a Home Management Notebook last fall and it has changed my life. I’m more productive, less stressed (read: I can sleep at night without worrying I’ve forgotten something) and learning how to plan beauty and breathing room into my life.
My Notebook is unique in that I organize it by my roles, and then put the roles into the binder in order of their priorities. This has helped so much in keeping the main things the main things. I’m making steady progress in the areas most important to me. I blogged about it here…http://trinaholden.com/2012/01/me-first-and-other-secrets-to-well/
I’ve tried to do the whole Home Management Notebook thing, and I think it’s just a tiny bit too regimented for me (at least how I’ve tried to do it in the past). I’ll check out your post to see if maybe can do it in a way that “fits” me better.
I plan some things (i.e. schedule in the gym 4 days a week) and then some things are just go with the flow. Thanks for sharing!
I’m the same as you! I have one task for every day that is the same every week (the chores that keep the house at the minimum level of functioning and cleanliness), and then fill in the rest when there’s time. I keep a weekly planner with my to-do list for each day, and at this point, I don’t know what I would do without that! If it doesn’t get written down, it doesn’t get done!
yeah, if it isn’t written somewhere it escapes my mind. awful.
Oh my. I am not a planner. I was never a planner at work and I’m even worse now that I stay at home. Somehow, I just get it done. (And sometimes, admittedly, I don’t!)
I tend to have a short attention span and so I find that I work better if I just do things throughout the day in shorts burst. I’ll sit down and play with the girls for ten minutes….and then I’ll get up and do some of the dishes. Then we’ll read books. And then I’ll throw in a load of laundry. And etc. etc. etc. And all of a sudden the day is almost done :)
The MOST critical thing for my well being is to make sure I have a meal planned before noon. I wish I could plan those out weekly…and I’ve tried and challenged myself to do better…but I find that as long as I’ve got everything on hand for dinner by the time the girls go down for their nap, I can prep while they’re sleeping. And that sure makes the early evening hours/cooking dinner/waiting for dad to get home/almost bath time hours much more pleasant :)