How To Love Mondays (Tips and Forms for Weekly Planning)

Posted on 11.10.09 in Productivity and there are

photo by nheussin
I actually LOVE Mondays.

Each week I do my Weekly Planning. I review my schedule, plan my meals, review my to do list and select projects to complete. I love the feeling of a fresh new week and knowing what I need to accomplish before it even starts. As a result I love Mondays.

No really, I do. And you can too.

Weekly Planning Tips and My Overview Form

In case you’re one of those people benefits from a bit of planning, here are a few tips to get you started.

1. Schedule a time to do your weekly plan.
Yes, even planning requires planning. Ironic, isn’t it?

2. Create a master list of what you need to do.
It sounds a bit silly, but I’ve found it incredibly helpful to list out the things I want to accomplish in my weekly planning.  If I have a master list, I don’t feel as though I’m reinventing the wheel each week. l just need to fill in the blanks.

3. Use this form.
This makes it super easy for me to plan my week. It’s my Weekly Overview Form. (Yes, I made a form. Yes, I’m a nerd. Yes, office supply stores are my love language.)

Once I complete the form, I print it out and put it at the front of my notebook. This one page contains everything important I need to remember in order to stay on track for the week.

Example Weekly Overview - This is a generic version of the one I use. It will give you an idea of how I use the form.

Blank Weekly Overview - This one is completely blank for you to use as you wish.

How To Use The Weekly Overview Form

On one side of the form I have my Mission Statement, Yearly Goals, and a Master To Do list. This helps me make sure that the things I plan to accomplish this week are relative to what I want to accomplish this year and are also in line with my personal Mission Statement. This page is my road map.

On the other side of the page, is everything I need to know for the week:

1. Projects
I look through my to do list and pick 3 projects that will move me towards accomplishing my yearly goals. I try not to list mundane projects that will somehow get done anyway, like laundry or dishes.

2. Habits
These are the habits that are important to me. I check them off each day to help make sure I find time for them.

3. Calendar
I list all the events happening this week.

4. Meal Plan
Based on the events we have going on during the week, I plan my meals; making sure I plan simple recipes on busy nights etc.

5. Notes
I use this section for...notes. Shocking, rebellious, scandalous. I know. That’s how I roll.

A Few More Tips

I usually start my weekly planning on Friday night or Saturday. I can’t tell you how nice it feels on Sunday night to know that I have a good handle on the week ahead.

Don’t make it too complicated. If this all seems overwhelming, just pick one section each week to plan. Look at your calendar or plan your meals or write down the habits you want to work on or pick 3 projects to complete. Keep it as simple as you need it to be.

Give yourself grace. I don’t plan perfectly every week. In fact, I never plan perfectly. More often than not 1 or 2 projects are left uncompleted, meals unmade, habits forgotten. I am still working on DOING everything I plan, but just the act of planning has DRASTICALLY increased my focus and productivity.

If you found this post helpful, you might also want to read these posts:
How To Take a Daily Retreat
How To Take a Weekly Planning Retreat
How To Take a Yearly Planning Retreat

This post is part of WFMW.

The Comments:

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I love Mondays too. The weekends are so packed and the house gets torn apart because we’re rushing everywhere. On Monday I can put it back together again. Thanks for the forms. They’re great!

Love your forms - thank you for sharing them! I was just thinking today that I need to get a schedule for house cleaning and other things I want to accomplish during the week. I’m about to be a first-time mom in about two weeks and will be a stay-at-home mom after that. So this is very helpful! Thanks!

Thanks so much for sharing this.  It is very inspirational and I love how your incorporate your yearly goals.

Forms printed off and I am ready to get organized, thanks so much for sharing.

Love these forms - thanks for sharing them with us!

I always find it encouraging to see how others organize their days.

Jamie

Very impressive, Kat. And that is a big compliment from someone who has been playing with forms since I was 6.

Ohhh forms..... thank you!!!

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