My Weekly Planning Process

How I plan my week to maximize my time and efficiency!!⁣
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Every Sunday I wake up before the kids and plan for the week ahead. I reassess how the previous week went, what my priorities are for the next week, and my daily non-negotiables. ⁣In my IGTV, I walk you through how I start each Sunday and plan my entire week for success. Everything from weekly goals to brain dumps to how I actually time block!!! ⁣
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I use the planner @hollyhillyerdigitalplanning in this tutorial but really any planner will work! The important part is giving yourself space to become clear or your goals and priorities for the week ahead. ⁣Keep reading to learn the step-by-step process I use to plan my week to maximize my time and efficiency!

QUARTERLY + MONTHLY PLANNING

I like to plan out each quarter. That is more for business planning in terms of quarterly goals , travel (before COVID), and any other business projects that might be coming up.

  1. IDENTIFY BUSINESS GOALS FOR THE MONTH

I then go to my monthly calendar and look at what business goals need to be achieved in that month and how I will build my marketing plan for that particular month.

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WEEKLY PLANNING

  1. LOOK BACK AT THE PREVIOUS WEEK’S BUSINESS + LIFE GOALS

    I then go back to the previous week and look at the goals I set that week. These do not have to be just business goals, they can be life goals too! Some examples of weekly goals could be: “I will workout 5x this week” or “I will not drink alcohol this week.”

  2. TO-DO LIST/ BRAIN DUMP

    Then I look at the “To-Do List/ Brain Dump” section of my digital planner. You will have different categories for each “To-Do List/ Brain Dump.” You will have a Work, Home and Kids “To-Do List/ Brain Dump” section. So for example, in your Home “To-Do List/ Brain Dump” section, list out that you need to go grocery shopping, your child has soccer practice, you need to vacuum the house, you need to clean the bathrooms.

  3. TIME-BLOCKING

    What is time-blocking? It is taking everything that is in each categorized “To-Do List/ Brain Dump” sections and assigning them time-blocks. So the first thing I am going to do is to create my blocks. So for example, my first morning block is a work block. See below my time-blocks!

    5:30 A.M. - 7:00 A.M. - WORK BLOCK

    • Read 1 chapter of a Personal Development Book

    • Meditation 

    • Write Out My Affirmations

    • Gratitude Practice

    • Clear inboxes, write social media posts

    7:00 A.M.- 8:00 A.M. -FAMILY BLOCK

    • Make boys breakfast

    • Get Sam ready for school

    • Morning time with my boys

    8:00 A.M- 8:30 A.M. -WORKOUT BLOCK

    • Workout with William 

    8:30 A.M- 11:00 P.M: -HOME BLOCK

    • One on one time with William and household chores

    11:00 P.M.- 12:00 P.M: -FAMILY BLOCK

    • Lunch with David and William

    12:30 P.M.- 3:00 P.M: -WORK BLOCK

    • Nap Time Hustle: responding to messages, tackling to-do list, one on one mentorship calls

    • David gets Sam from school

    3:00 P.M- 7:30 P.M: -FAMILY BLOCK

    • Family time

    • Family dinner

    7:30 P.M.- 8:00 P.M: -HOME BLOCK

    • Household chores

    8:00 P.M.- 10:00 P.M: -WORK BLOCK

    • Income producing activities to build my business


    The most rewarding thing about time-blocking for me has been to see how I get more done more effectively. I get to spend more time with my family while also getting more done in my business as well.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOUR KIDS DON’T NAP OR YOU GET INTERRUPTED DURING YOUR TIME-BLOCKS?

This happens all the time. Here are 4 ways in which I handle interrupted time-blocks:

  • I am very fortunate to have my husband David home with me. So when one of my time blocks gets interrupted or my kids don’t nap, David will take care of our kids so I can get my work done.

  • If David is not around, I will go take care of the kids and stop working. Then, the next time I go back to my desk to work, I will move the tasks I didn’t get done during that interrupted work block to later in the week or I move it to next week’s tasks.

  • I also work for 2 hours or more at night. So let’s say one of my kids didn’t nap and interrupted my time-block and I didn’t get important business- building tasks done during the day, I will make sure I get those tasks done at night before I go to sleep and get them done or move them to later in the week.

  • When anxiety about not getting things done kicks in, remind yourself of your biggest priorities. So for me, my family is my biggest priority. In the end, I am building my business to provide for my family so if certain tasks for the business don’t get done because I was taking care of my family, that is ok.

ASK FOR HELP!

You need to remind yourself that you cannot do it all on your own. If you have someone to help you with your kids, ask them for help so you can get some of your work done. Don’t be afraid to ask for help because if you don’t, you will get burnt out and you will not be able to get as much done. Looking at your schedule, identifying your priorities and ultimately, deciding what gets your time and when is empowering!

TAKEAWAYS

  1. Every Sunday I wake up before the kids and plan for the week ahead.

  2. I reassess how the previous week went

  3. I decide what my priorities are for the next week

  4. I decide what daily business activities are non-negotiables. ⁣

  5. I decide what my weekly goals are.

  6. I brain dump my to-do list items by category.

  7. I actually time block!!! ⁣

  8. If you don’t get to a task, move it to another time in the week or do it at night!

  9. Remember to ask for help!

Ashley Cerbone