First, every month I create a monthly plan that includes my areas of growth. Having this blueprint REALLY helps speed up and dictate what I plan each week, which is why it only takes me ~5 minutes to decide what 1-3 *results I’m going to produce each day.
*Results are different than to-do’s.
To-do’s are focused on the action you need to take.
Results are focused on what you’ll complete.
It’s a subtle shift but it makes planning easier (because it has you visualizing the end product – this is a powerful tool for getting into action).
Before I decide what those results are, I determine my daily capacity. That looks like taking the time to look at my calendar and see what I already have going on that week. For example, if it’s a heavy client day (right now, that’s Mondays for me) I typically won’t plan anything else to do on those days. If I do (which is really rare), I limit it to 1 result that I’ll create.
I’ll dive deeper into specifically what I do include as a part of these 1-3 results, but here’s what I don’t include: admin, client communication, tweaking my website, etc. Basically, no busy work. Nothing quick and easy.
Monday-Friday, my job is to enjoy my life, be calm and present, and follow my plan. & my plan is essentially kept in three places: my head, my paper calendar, and my digital calendar.
Here’s what I mean by that. My habits are kept in my head, right now, this includes walking 1 mile & my simple marketing plan that I’ve been following for 2 and a half years. My simple marketing plan is 4 posts/week & stories M-F on IG. These happen pretty much automatically at this point. I don’t schedule any of these things in, I just do them when I feel like it. Other habits that I don’t plan for are: client admin like checking Slack or scheduling new appointments, leaving comments or sending DM’s on IG, and checking email, to name a few.
Then, I have my plan that I write down in my paper calendar, which includes the 1-3 daily results I’ll produce. Next to each thing I’ve planned, I have a little circle for me to color in when I complete it.
I’ll write those results out as what I will have created by the end of the day. These 1-3 results require the most mental effort in my week, which is why I plan it out really clearly and specifically and it’s why I only plan on creating 1-3 new results/day (and there are some days where I don’t plan anything).
If something is taking longer than I anticipated, it’s just not a big deal. I’ll get down what I know, add time to complete it another day in the week, and then I’ll move on to the next thing. This is why I don’t recommend maxing out your schedule.
The goal isn’t more; it’s doing things well, from a calm place.
The results I create are things like live trainings, creating concepts for my coaching program and then turning those concepts into IG posts/blogs/emails or videos for my clients.
Finally, there’s the direct time I spend with my clients either through 1:1 sessions or consults, and I keep those times in a digital calendar (Google Calendar) so I can be reminded of those times + for ease of scheduling for everyone.
I use Fridays to briefly reflect back on my week. I spend 10 minutes to be really honest with myself and answer these questions (I keep them in a Google doc):
1. What lessons or takeaways or problems did I solve for that moved me closer to my goal this week?
2. Where am I still getting stuck/repeating the same mistakes?
3. What ONE thing do I want to focus on/shift/change next week that will get me closer to my goal?
4. How will I know if I’ve shifted that one thing/made progress on it when I ask myself these same questions next Friday?
I use these answers to help guide my planning on Sunday.
Saturdays (and evenings) are my time to clean, get re-organized, take mental time off of work, do laundry, do nothing, etc. Basically just take care of my environment and myself. I create LOTS of time to rest and recharge. My rest to work ratio is close to 2:1. I work about 25-30 hours/week, and that includes direct client time. The rest is downtime.
To sum it up, it’s not about doing everything perfectly on time or following rigid rules. Successfully managing your time means enjoying your life & getting the things done that you want to get done, creating serious forward momentum, and not staying stuck in the same place. That’s it!
That’s my week. Below you’ll find an extra tip for how I stay on top of things! Let me know in the comments which part you found most helpful. I can’t wait to hear what’s shifted for you when you try some of this on for yourself.
Talk to you next week,
Gretta
Note: I don’t put set times on anything (outside of client appointments, obviously). I generally jump into action whenever my dogs calm down, which is typically around 11am or so and I’m typically done no later than 3pm but I don’t have set work hours. I’ve tried them out and don’t really find them necessary at this point. For me, time blocking and set work hours created a lot of unnecessary time drama and I find I actually get way more done when I have more space in my calendar.
If you loved this and want to get an outside perspective on why your planning process isn’t working well for you and what you can do to tweak it, we can do that on a consult. If we decide to work together, we can create your own weekly game plan if that would be helpful for you.