I have been an event planner by profession for 16 years now. I plan and manage all types of events, but I was not always successful with managing my own day. I got in the habit of listing all my To-Do’s in my head, figuring out what I was going to do first, second and third and just getting it done.
After reading a few books and blogs through the years I decided to write things down based upon the results of professionals and those making the suggestions to see how it would work for me. To my surprise, when I wrote down my To-do’s and my schedule…….when I used my planner not only was I more successful with completing my task, but I was not as stressed and I was way more organized and prepared.
You would think that it stuck and became a habit for me, but it did not. I was not intentional and fell back into my comfort zone, my old normal of thinking about what needed to be done and just getting it done. I learned that I had to be intentional. I had to make a plan to plan my week. I have all the tools, multiple planners, notebooks, stickers, pins, an iPhone, etc, but it was still not easy or second nature for me to sit down and plan my week.
Now I am being intentional about setting aside time to plan for my success and I do see a difference. Here are five things that I do to help me plan for a successful week.
- PLAN the week out/Write it Down! – I am a planner-aholoic! I have an Erin Condrin Planner and Notique set. I have dashboards, stickers and planner inserts from Cloth and Paper and a million notebooks. But…sometimes I have my planner by my side, but I have not mapped out my week. Not good Jennifer! Even though I am a planner at heart, I have an issue with hoarding information and details in my head instead of writing it out! So now I write it all down! My first coach made that suggestion and she is correct. When you write out your schedule you can look at your plan, you can review it, update it, see your accomplishment and have everything you need to do right at your fingertips or on your phone. So what am I writing out to have a successful week?
Meal plan – in order to stay on point with my quest for health, I found it beneficial to plan out my family meals. When we meal plan it is so much easier for me to cook daily. When I meal plan I know what I have on hand and I’m prepared to cook, plus we don’t eat out as much or eat late in the evening which was a challenge for our household. The main thing that meal planning helps me with is it eliminates snacking! I know what I’m going to eat throughout the day and when.
Schedule all appointments – add your life in your planner. That includes workouts, hair and nails appointments, study time, date night, girls night out, etc. Everything you have to do should have an appointed time. Even if your reading a book, you should have reading time carved out in your schedule.
Make a To-Do List: To do List and task along with dates and time should also be included in your schedule. We are talking about planning our life so all components of our life should be included.
This is how planning out my week helps me to achieve success at the end of the week. See below for four more things that I do to help me achieve weekly success.
2. Set aside time to pray and meditate daily. Sometimes we hit the ground running. Alarm clock doesn’t go off. We hit snooze. Don’t know what to wear, but we must not let these things get in the way of our time for prayer and meditation. Having time to read God’s word, listen to HIM and meditate is non negotiable. Now if I miss this part of my day, Shame on me, but this is an important part of my day and weekly success.
3. Make your bed daily – I know you probably did not expect to see this one on the list, but making your bed daily is a MOOD. I am so serious about this. When you come home to a bed that has been made up there is a much better atmosphere in the house. When your bed is not made there is a mess, and a large mess I might add because your bed is such a big piece of furniture. So you walk into a large mess. When the bed is made you have a place of organization and comfort physically and visually. It only takes two minutes to make your bed, ok, if you have a million pillows, a throw, a comforter, and a bedspread it may take a little longer but trust me it will make a major difference in the feeling in your home.
4. Grocery Shop – Having groceries on hand for the week makes it possible to a meal plan which saves time, helps us to practice healthy eating, and also saves money. Shopping for the week also prevents me or Eban (my husband) from making multiple trips to the grocery store during any given week.
5. Waking up at a set time everyday. I am not a morning person. I like to wake up as the sun is coming up. I do not like getting up when it is dark, but waking up at 5:30 AM makes such a better morning. Everyone is still sleep. It gives me the perfect quiet space to pray, meditate and read God’s word alone and in a peaceful environment. Getting up at this time also allows me to workout Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings as well. Another benefit of getting an early start is not being in a rush. Really looking at what has to be done for the day before the day gets going.
Business Owner Bonus: Review your social media plan – this applies to the business side of things. I have struggled for years with my social media simply because I did not have a plan. Yes, there will be current events that pop up or there might be something in your day that’s worthy to share with you, my audience, but the planning makes it possible to be consistent. Plus it gives me a chance to look at my content as a whole. Although I have not mastered this to date, I have gotten so much better and I am committed to building my brand by consistently providing you all with relevant content. I am in it to win it! And you business owners out there let me know how you stay on top of your social content too.
I hope this was helpful to you. I am sure my five will turn to six or change over time depending on what my life’s season looks like, but I will definitely keep planning out my week because it has really made a difference in my life. What do you do to help your week flow smoothly? What are your top five things that help you get from Monday to Friday? Let me know in the comments.
Plan-fully your’s,
Jennifer
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