This post is for high achievers.
Entrepreneurs, athletes, creatives, students, and anyone who wants to use their time more productively. People who want to significantly multiply their results, income, and impact but not have it cause more stress on their lives and families.
If that’s you, you’re in the right place.
As a driven high achiever, you have a lot going on. At any one moment, you have different things and people vying for your attention.
And it’s OVERWHELMING.
You’re not sure which activities to prioritize and which ones to forego.
You’ve previously tried creating a to do list, but this has been counteractive. Although your to-do list gives you a direction of what needs to be done, you’re always overwhelmed.
So many things to do yet very little time.
To add to the anxiety and dread, most of the things vying for your attention don’t contribute to your life goals.
This is why you need a new approach to your weekly planning. A bulletproof weekly planning strategy that will keep you productive and consistent as you work towards achieving your goals.
But first, why Create a weekly plan?
Tell me if you can relate to this.
It’s Friday, and you haven’t done as much as you thought you would during the week. Although you’ve been busy, you’ve not been as productive. You’ve been stumbling your way through the week, trying to accomplish everything.
And it COSTS YOU precious time and energy.
Which is why you need a weekly plan. A plan to help boost your productivity. With a weekly plan, you’re able to prioritize activities that matter and FOCUS your energy and time towards completing those tasks.
Do you struggle with finding a balance between your personal and professional life?
You’re not alone
According to a 2007 study, 1 in 4 adults reports that their work interferes with their personal lives. However, planning your week allows you to schedule time for both personal and professional goals.
Planning your week can also help you develop the virtue of SELF CONTROL. With a plan, you understand which activities to prioritize and can reject working on projects that are not a priority.
Now that you know why it’s crucial to plan your week, let’s get into how to create an effective weekly plan that you can use to meet your most audacious goals
Step 1: Plan on Sunday
Never begin a new week if you don’t have a plan of attack.
Every Sunday afternoon, set some time aside to organize your week. Planning your week on Sunday allows you to schedule a time for different activities in advance. Sunday planning also grants you a preview of the type of work to expect during the week
When you wake up on Monday, you don’t have to waste time thinking of what to do for the week.
By planning my week on Sunday, I’ve noticed that I wake up on Monday with a sense of order and feel more in control of my week. I also wake up ready to conquer all that I set out to do.
Step 2: List Your Most Important Tasks
You can’t do everything in one week.
So, how do you decide which activities to include in your plan and which ones to postpone?
First, think about your goals. What do you want to accomplish in 90 days? What’s your overall life mission?
Next, think about the three most important things you can do during the week to move closer to your goal. These are your Most Valuable Priorities (MVP)
For each MVP, write down three tasks that you need to accomplish to meet your Most Valuable priorities. These will be your High Focus tasks for the week. Even if you don’t do anything else, make sure you work on these tasks.
Third, categorize your tasks into three major groups.
- High Focus Tasks: These are tasks that will have the biggest impact on your MVPs.
- Is improving your revenue an MVP? Put client acquisition as your high focus task.
- Is starting a business your MVP? Make writing a business plan a high focus task
- Is improving your work-life balance an MVP? Set spending time with your family as a high focus task
Make sure that you’ve completed your High Focus task before starting to work on any other activity.
2. Easy Wins: Some activities on your list may not require a lot of effort but are equally as important as your high focus tasks. However, due to their simple nature, they are easy to forget or postpone.
Easy win tasks can include calling a prospect, drafting a proposal, or planning a meeting.
3. Productivity Killers: These are tasks that eat into your productive time but have little impact on your goals. Examples of such tasks include posting on social media, constantly checking emails, and attending to projects that don’t contribute to your goals.
When faced with such tasks, ask yourself these questions:
· Can it be automated?
· Can someone else do it?
· Can it be done at a later date?
· Does it have to be done?
This categorization allows you to decide on which activities to prioritize and which ones aren’t worth your time.
Step 3: Block time for different tasks
Now that you know which activities to prioritize, the next step is to set time aside to accomplish them.
Purpose to have at least 90 minutes of DEEP WORK every day for your high focus tasks. No calls, no emails, and no interruptions during this period. Ideally, these 90 minutes should come shortly after waking up.
If you think that your high focus task will run for more than 90 minutes, leave out more time in your plan to allow its completion. If you only work on this task for the day, consider that day a success.
You can check your email and make phone calls after your 90 minutes of deep focus. But don’t work on anything else until you complete your MVP.
For easy win tasks, block 60 minutes every day to work on them. This can be at different times of the day depending on the activity. I personally like to spread out my easy win tasks throughout the day. For example, I make prospect calls and send batch emails in the morning but work on admin and creative tasks in the evening.
When creating your weekly plan, you’ll notice dead time. This can include your commute time, the twenty-minute walk to the gym, or the fifteen minutes spent switching between tasks.
Schedule time-filler tasks for this dead time. You can listen to a podcast on your commute or while walking from the gym. You can return a call or check your email while switching between tasks.
Have a flexible approach when creating time blocks. Include breaks to help prevent burn out and set time aside time for personal care activities such as eating, cleaning, and sleeping.
Step 4: Introduce Rewards to Stay Motivated
Tell me if you’ve been here…
You create a plan, accomplish a few tasks, but LOSE MOTIVATION after several days.
I have…
Sometimes following a weekly plan can be stressful and dull. For you to accomplish everything you set out to do, you’ll make sacrifices.
However, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take time to appreciate your efforts.
Find ways to REWARD YOURSELF after a successful week.
These rewards can be anything, including an hour of guilt-free Netflix, treating yourself to your favorite meal, or taking a road trip on the weekend to celebrate your accomplishments.
Having a reward system ensures you’re always motivated and creates forward momentum which keeps you productive.
Another way to boost your motivation is by having a DONE LIST. When creating your weekly plan, set aside space for your done list. Having such a list provides you with a fun way to track your progress and also gives you another reason to be grateful.
You can also use your done list to MOTIVATE yourself to work on tasks that you feel are impossible to accomplish.
When reviewing my done list, I always feel proud, and this pushes me to work on tasks that seem insurmountable.
Over to You
Napoleon Hill once wrote that “Knowledge is only potential power. It becomes power only when, and if, it is organized into definite plans of action.”
Don’t only read this article, but take time to experiment with some of the tips discussed. One way to make sure you follow up with these tips is to invest in a journal.
And what better journal than the Plan & Conquer: Bushido Journal
The Plan & Conquer: Bushido Journal is specially created to help you understand, orient, and distribute your time to ensure you have the most productive week. The journal planner hybrid utilizes a unique layout that features weekly planning pages that you can use to record both your MVPs and High Focus tasks.
With this journal, you’ll procrastinate less, and ACHIEVE MORE in one week
The weekly planner features a 7-day blueprint that you can use to create time blocks for all your activities. Whether it’s deep-focus work, or easy win tasks, you’ll always set time aside for them ensuring you have the most productive weeks.
As a high achiever, this journal is a MUST HAVE especially if you want enjoy your life and reach your goals faster.
Check out the Plan & Conquer: Bushido Journal Kickstarter page to learn more about this journal planner hybrid that you can use to plan your life and conquer your goals.